Thousands of Russians went to the rally for free Internet, the Kremlin blamed the United States
Rallies against Internet censorship organized by the unofficial Libertarian Party of Russia were held in Russian cities.
According to the White Counter organization, 15,3 thousand people attended the rally itself; at the end of the action, people remained outside the framework - their exact number is not known, writes Present Tense. As observers noted, the police slowed down the inspection of those who had come, because of this, the action began a little later. In total, the organizers applied for the participation of thousands of 10 people.
According to the party itself and a correspondent for Present Time, 15 people were detained before the start of the action - among them members of the party’s party and the “Spring” movement. After the end of the action, according to OVD-Info, 13 more people were detained, including a Radio Liberty journalist who had a press card with him.
After the rally for free Internet, 13 people were still detained, including Radio Liberty correspondent Andrei Kiselyov. Here is his video from avtozak: pic.twitter.com/iTdtXxW4DN
- Radio Liberty (@SvobodaRadio) March 10, 2019
People wearing “Druzhinnik” badges appeared at the rally. Some of them refused to talk to an NV correspondent. But according to one of the “vigilantes,” up to 50 such volunteers are working at the current event at the invitation of the police; they must guard the event and inform the police about “possible provocateurs.”
According to party chairman Mikhail Svetov, before the start of the action, the police began to take away posters and propaganda materials from those who came. For example, an armful of balloons was confiscated due to the fact that they are “an unmanned flying vehicle and require a license,” posters with the slogans “For a free Internet,” “Against censorship,” and a stage backdrop with the text “Against the isolation of the RuNet.” According to the organizers, they were not explained why the seizure of campaign materials was connected.
On the same day, meetings for the freedom of the Internet and against the bill of the State Duma on the isolation of the Russian segment, coordinated with the authorities, were held in three Russian cities.
According to local publications, up to 300 people came to the coordinated action in Voronezh. Detention is not reported.
According to MBKh Media, about 50 people came to the rally in Khabarovsk.
The action was organized by activists of the unregistered Libertarian Party. The creator of the Telegram messenger and the VKontakte social network, Pavel Durov, supported the rally for freedom of the Runet. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny also called for people to come to the rally. Last year, the Libertarian Party already held a large rally in defense of the Telegram messenger, which the Russian intelligence services tried to put pressure on.
“Russia is not Iran or North Korea, we are part of the civilized world. But Putin’s government is doing everything to ensure that we continue to lag behind the West. <…> The web of censorship is increasingly entwining our lives. We are against the adoption of a law to isolate Russia from the international Internet and demand a free Internet,” the organizers of the current rally said in a statement.
In the capital and other cities of the country, rallies for Internet freedom are being held. According to the organization "White Counter", 15,2 thousand people have already passed the framework https://t.co/6RRG8WxT1l pic.twitter.com/IO7SLgRwTu
- Present Time (@CurrentTimeTv) March 10, 2019
The first step to isolate Runet
12 February 2019, the State Duma of Russia adopted in first reading bill to isolate the Russian segment of the Internet. He was proposed by the deputy Andrei Klishas. 334 MPs voted for the adoption of the document, 47 voted against. It is assumed that the isolation of the Internet will require 20 billion rubles.
The authors of the document are Andrei Klishas, head of the Federation Council’s committee on constitutional legislation, his first deputy Lyudmila Bokova and State Duma deputy Andrei Lugovoi (the LDPR faction previously demanded Lugovoi to withdraw his signature, and after his refusal promised to take disciplinary measures against him).
The explanatory note explains that they prepared the law “taking into account the aggressive nature of the US National Cyber Security Strategy adopted in September 2018”: “Russia is directly and without evidence accused of committing hacker attacks, and there is open talk about punishment.” According to the authors, RuNet will be disconnected from the World Wide Web only in emergency situations.
Kremlin version
The Kremlin commented on the action, saying that the rally participants are mistaken about the actions of the authorities, writes Tjournal. According to presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, the bill on Runet autonomy is intended to protect the stability of the Internet from “aggressive actions.”
“One of the protesters said that the authorities want to press a button and turn off the Internet. This is wrong. We must be afraid that overseas they will press a button and turn it off,” Peskov said, referring to the threat from the United States.
The press secretary added that the government and the Kremlin support a free Internet: “The authorities’ actions are an attempt to insure citizens against shutdowns in the event of such a situation.”
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