Internet control through ownership: the case of Russia

Abstract

The Russian Internet remained relatively unregulated compared to the media sector as a whole until about 2012. One of the levers for increased control over the Internet was ownership, direct or indirect, of the most important infrastructure and websites. Control through ownership over the Russian Internet companies has increased, but in a finely calibrated fashion in order not to spark discontent and risk the formation of a social movement. The Internet’s global nature, however, has made it impossible to use the same methods against international companies. The Russian government has had to exert other forms of pressure, change legislation, or block entire social networks. Furthermore, increasing and more systematic control through ownership carries with it considerable long-term consequences and costs, both when it comes to the modernization of Russia and in terms of possible rising discontent if Internet users no longer accept that the repressive measures taken are in their interest.

Keywords:

• Russia
• Internet
• domestic politics
• social movements
• authoritarianism

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Geir Flikke, Ulrik Franke, Gudrun Persson, and Jardar N. Østbø for comments on drafts of this article. An early version, in the form of a conference paper, was presented at the 14th Aleksanteri Conference in Helsinki on 23 October 2014. I am also indebted to Ilya Viktorov for the comments and suggestions he delivered at the 9th ICCEES World Congress in Makuhari, Japan, on 6 August 2015.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The ROMIR survey was conducted in two phases in the autumn of 2014. Phase one (September 2014) surveyed 1007 respondents divided into seven large districts ranging from major population centers to rural districts, and phase two (November 2014) surveyed 1,802 respondents in three large cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg). Phase one consisted of face-to-face interviews, while phase two was done with computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). The sample is representative for the Russian adult population according to the following criteria: federal districts, population patterns, urban/rural population, gender, and age. The questionnaire was collectively produced in June 2014, consisting of 70 questions.