RuNet 2016: Pressure shifts from companies to citizens

A space beyond governmental control, the Internet has long been a thorn in the Kremlin’s side. The search for a solution began in 2012. Various tricks have been tried, from the introduction of internet filters and the updating of a national system of online surveillance known as SORM to the direct intimidation of Internet giants both domestic and international.

By 2014 the Kremlin had came up with something akin to a strategy.

Accustomed to dealing with a defined hierarchy and organizations that can be coerced by targeting bosses, the Kremlin has been inclined to pressure companies rather than users. Every pretext has been used to lure Internet giants into dialogue with the authorities. Top-level officials of companies like Yandex and Google have rushed to the Kremlin to talk behind closed doors about the repressive Internet legislation, constantly updated by the State Duma.