30 Mar 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
PBK Daily reports that the government is planning to launch a “national search engine” which would aim at satisfying “state-orientated” needs such as “facilitating access to safe information” and “filtering websites which feature banned content”. It has been suggested that the move may be designed to topple the growing power of Google in Russia. Although Google controls only 22% of the market, its share has been growing rapidly against its nearest competitor, Yadex. Yadex is increasingly coming under government control. Russian authorities have recently stepped-up efforts to tighten their control of internet use. From 1 Aoril, anyone who registers a .ru domain will need to provide legal proof of their identity.
16 Feb 2010 | Comment, News and features
Andrei Soldatov reveals that the Russia’s Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB, has granted the same office that responds to journalists requests licence to search their homes, wiretap them and place them under surveillance
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12 Feb 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Officials detained for 15 hours three human rights activists who were attempting to compile a list of missing persons. Aleksandr Cherkasov of the Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center said neither the reason for their detention nor their release were explained. Civil liberties groups including Human Rights Watch have called for an investigation into the detentions.
11 Feb 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Moscow gay pride parade organisers have complained to the European Court of Human Rights about the ban on the 2009 parade. Moscow’s Mayor Luzhkow has previously labelled the parade “satanic” and the case follows a number of unsuccessful appeals against the bans in the Russian court system. Moscow Pride are seeking €200,000 in damages from the Russian Federation. The Strasbourg court has given Russian authorities ten days to lay out their position on the ban.
