Over the course of the past five years, the Russian government has dramatically expanded its control over the internet. This acceleration in developing internet governance and implementing various mechanisms of direct and indirect online censorship occurred largely in response to the protest movement of 2011-2012, which demonstrated the mobilizational potential of online and social media. With the 2018 presidential elections approaching, we see a renewed intensification of efforts to control the Runet. The talk provides an overview of the most recent developments in how the Russian government seeks to influence and control online discourses, e.g. through restricting online privacy. Based on the example of Aleksei Navalny's current anti-corruption campaign, attention is drawn to the many paradoxes that continue to exist when we speak of internet control in Russia: from the influence of multinational technology companies such as Facebook and Google, to Russia's adoption of open government principles and aspirations in the sphere of "digital economy".
The talk has been organised by the RSCPR research group.