Russia Employs China to Crack Down on Internet

Russia is looking to learn from China’s Great Firewall so that they can more effectively censor the internet for its citizens.

Russia, China cooperating on Internet censorship, report says https://t.co/yjIKv2LfBl pic.twitter.com/Rme1ZAEfRM

— Patrick 📎💙 (@cahulaan) November 29, 2016

This is the latest move which has deepened Russian-Chinese ties.  They are economically ever more reliant on the other. In 2014, China signed a $400 Billion Gas deal to buy from Russia, and even more recently, the Chinese Government has bought a 20% stake in Rosneft, which is majority owned by the Kremlin.

#Beijing Gas Group buys stake in #Rosneft -owned oil, gas field#obor #onebeltoneroad #infrastructure #Russia #Chinahttps://t.co/npc3VaazCR

— The Asset (@TheAssetMag) November 23, 2016

"China remains our only serious 'ally,' including in the IT sector," a source in the Russian information technology industry told The Guardian, adding, "we are in fact actively switching to Chinese."

In a throwback to the Soviet Era, Putin recently passed a new law, which will stifle dissent and repress opposition, known as Yarovaya’s law.  This requires Russia’s telecommunications companies and Internet providers to store users’ data for six months and metadata for three years.  Beyond the internet, this law “will make it easier for Russian authorities to repress religious communities, stifle peaceful dissent, and detain and imprison people,” said Thomas J. Reese, who heads the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Great rundown of Yarovaya's harsh "anti-terrorist" draft law, which now may be partially altered. https://t.co/V4997pOiwC #Russia

— Matthew Kupfer (@Matthew_Kupfer) June 23, 2016

Putin is attempting to re-create the Glorious Days when the Soviet Empire was a global threat to freedom