Meduza

Meduza is an independent-minded online media that brings news and feature stories from hundreds of sources in Russia and across the former Soviet Union in both Russian and English languages. This publication has been designated a "foreign agent" by the Russian authorities under a controversial law.

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How Russian law enforcement identifies Facebook and Telegram users

March 8, 2019

When policing online behavior in Russia, law enforcement agencies enjoy total compliance from the country’s most popular social network, Vkontakte, which coughs up users’ personal data whenever requested. This information — account registration times, linked email addresses and phone numbers, and IP addresses — constitutes sufficient evidence in court to prove that an individual is …

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Online voting is coming to Russia

March 2, 2019

Just before Russia’s most recent presidential elections in 2018, several fundamental changes were made to the country’s election laws. Absentee ballots were replaced with the so-called Mobile Voter system, which allowed voters to switch precincts ahead of the election either online or in person. Both election observers and opposition politicians immediately criticized the new system. Less than one year later, Russian …

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Russia’s government bans the use of satellite Internet without ground stations

February 27, 2019

The Russian government has adopted a resolution requiring all satellite traffic in Russia (including telephone and Internet communications) to transmit through ground stations. The new requirements take effect in six months. According to business daily RBC, the resolution is based on findings by the Communications Ministry that operators might create a national security threat by offering “uncontrolled use …

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Introverted, daring, and very rich: Meet Tatyana Bakalchuk, half of Russia’s woman-billionaire population

July 13, 2019

In the spring of 2004, school teacher Tatyana Bakalchuk and her husband Vyacheslav, a radiophysicist, realized they weren’t earning enough money to provide for their infant son. So they decided to launch an online clothing store. Fond of brightly colored clothes, Bakalchuk named her business “Wildberries.” She was the company’s first customer, and she used …

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Russian parliament discusses Internet isolation plan amid budget uncertainty

February 8, 2019

The Russian parliament is discussing draft amendments to the existing legislation to ensure a “secure and stable functioning” of the Internet network. Should these amendments be adopted, the country would use its own domain name system and Internet traffic routing, where only Russian websites would work. The telecom and Internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, would be responsible for centralizing …

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Google agrees with Russian authorities to filter censored content

February 11, 2019

Google has “established a constructive dialogue” with Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecom and Internet regulator, to delete from search results websites that are banned in Russia, the Russian media reported, citing the Roskomnadzor press office. While refusing to connect to Federal State Information System (FGIS), Roskomnadzor’s registry of banned sites, the US company began deleting blacklisted links …

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Russian Big Data business wants to create legal market for ‘depersonalized data’

January 29, 2019

The Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF, FRII in Russian) is lobbying Russian lawmakers to adjust the legal definition of personal data, introduce the concept of “depersonalized data” and allow citizens to sell their own “depersonalized data” on the market. According to the fund, which has prepared draft amendments to the existing legislation, individuals could earn as much …

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Russian lawmakers to outlaw ‘fake news’ and insulting the government

January 29, 2019

Yesterday the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, voted to approve the first reading of two bills that place certain limits on freedom of speech in Russia. One essentially prohibits citizens from publishing unreliable news stories on the Internet while applying the same prohibition to news outlets both online and in other media. …

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How Russia could build its own, autonomous Internet

December 21, 2018

On December 14 Russian lawmakers Lyudmila Bokova, Andrey Klishas and Andrey Lugovoy submitted to the State Duma draft amendments to the existing legislation to ensure a “secure and stable functioning” of the Internet network. Should these amendments be adopted, the country would use its own domain name system and Internet traffic routing, where only Russian websites would work. …

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How the Kremlin conquered Russia’s Telegram channels

November 30, 2018

Proekt.Media, a new independent online publication which claims to cover even “complex and dangerous topics,” has inquired about “how the authorities turned Telegram into television” by colonizing and buying out the medium. According to journalists Mikhail Rubin and Roman, Kremlin officials were initially worried about the influence of Telegram channels on Russia’s political system. In late …

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Google faces fine for refusing to censor search results in Russia

December 4, 2018

On November 26 Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecom and Internet regulator, announced administrative charges against Google  for failing to comply with a law that requires online search engines to purge any hyperlinks to materials that are banned in Russia. Google has also refused to connect to the federal information system where these websites are listed. For violating …

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