In an attempt to police Russia’s ocean of foul language, enter the swearbot, a computer programme forecast to go live this autumn, enforcing laws passed last spring. It should automate the rooting out blasphemous Russians, Alastair Sloan reports
This week cartoonist Ben Jennings takes on Vladimir Putin’s information war.
Reforms are on the cards for internet governance, but no one seems to be clear what exactly these will do to the way the web is used. Sentiments of doom and gloom mix with utopian forecasts of freedom, Binoy Kampmark writes
It’s been a bad week for the internet in Russia, with the founder of “Russian Facebook” claiming that Putin loyalists have total control of the site, and the Duma adopting controversial amendments targeting bloggers. Milana Knezevic writes
Censorship of anti-war sentiment in Russia now uses a mixture of state-sponsored media attacks, arms-length loyalists, crooked think tanks and legal strong-arming – but is it working? Alastair Sloan reports
A recent study of Vladimir Putin’s gangster tendencies has been suppressed: not by the Kremlin, but by a UK academic publisher living in fear of England’s libel laws, writes Padraig Reidy
Punitive psychiatric treatment is returning to Russia. This is a throw back to Soviet times, with opposition activists condemned by a kangaroo court to bogus psychiatric treatment courses, with no chance of release until a doctor says so, Alastair Sloan writes
The tightening of control over the Russian media is likely to continue, writes Valeria Costa-Kostritsky
Authorities have have banned 13 sites said to be promoting Ukrainian nationalist groups
The noted regime critic has been placed under house arrest
Some of the biggest talking points from the Winter Olympics were muted in the host country. Alastair Sloan reports
Homosexuality and LGBT rights have has been making headlines. Index hosted a Google Hangout to debate young people’s views on same-sex relationships
