Freedom of Speech in Russia

All too often there are references to the "clamp" down off democracy in Russia under President Putin. The Media and freedom of speech are usually the main targets.

Below is a quick exchange between Putin and one off his biggest critics in Russia, Alexei Venedictov and where Putin elegantly schools the clueless opposition journalist on Free Speech.

I personally found this highly entertaining (don't wait for this to be show in Western tv)


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_yo4ilzvB7o&ebc=ANyPxKrwtfa8nPk-bznLiDmsgdyj2zB06Yfwr5akw6Gkn43zj1nYpJ7vpG0Vw1hIb59pFTPZLuZmq24ZlcH7Sj0V6gRaRFe2DQ

 

best line was, he doesn't get ''offended when they sling mud at him from dawn to dusk'' ....and still talking about missile bases?

 

What's remarkable is the channel "Echo Moskva" is a channel virtually dedicated to the opposition and it is also partly funded by the Kremlin.

This channel still exists and the journalist is not in jail. In fact everything continues just as before (including $$ from the Kremlin).


Not bad for Freedom of Speech....

 

Interesting law in Russia though:

The Russian "foreign agent" law, officially "On Amendments to Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation regarding the Regulation of the Activities of Non-profit Organisations Performing the Functions of a Foreign Agent", is a law in Russia that requires non-profit organizations that receive foreign donations and engage in "political activity" to register and declare themselves as foreign agents.

As a follow-up to the Foreign agent law, on 23 May 2015, President Putin passed the Undesirable Organizations Bill into law citing "national security". The law bans non-governmental organizations that it deems undesirable as a "threat to the constitutional order and defense capability, or the security of the Russian state." NGOs that do not disband when given notice to do so are now subject to high fines and significant jail time. Critics say the terms are unclear and lead to dangerous precedent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_foreign_agent_law

 

Hail Putin!

 

Soros isn't liked very much in Russia (or by most honest educated individuals). NGOs were responsible for many of the internal conflicts within countries who don't see eye to eye with the United States. NGOs have received direct funding from the CIA. If it walks like a duck and talks likes a duck...

Please understand that this isn't a "Putin" law but a Russiam law.... Russians overwhelmingly support it.

 

Finland for instance gives money to many organizations to help the people. Do you consider that CIA or Foreign agent action Sloniksp? Because they are considered foreign agent we are not allowed to give money anymore because the groups are considered hostile and people in Karelia cannot be helped in any way. Although I am sure Russians consider this a move by Finnish CIA movement to build churches etc...I am confused. I say let St Petersburg sink in toilet problems because it is Foreign agent problem even if our neigbouring sea goes as well.

 

NGOs were created (on paper) to spread democracy and her values. On paper these groups exist to help people but do they? When the CIA runs or infiltrates an NGO what isn't trying to accomplish? The CIA is not a humanitarian mission and the only reason it's present in NGOs is to promote its own agenda. This Ofcourse isn't the case for All NGOs and the ones that are "clean", continue to operate as before. IMO, George Soros isn't interested in improving the lives of the less fortunate or demacrocy as much as he is interested in putting as much pressure on Russia/Putin as possible. The man is a special kind of slime.

Why aren't there any of these NGOs in Turkey or Saudi Arabia? All of these NGOs have one thing in common, virtually all are in countries that don't see eye to eye with the United States.

I how this is what you had in mind (unless Ofcourse I completely missed your point).

 

Well, Sloniks, it just stops the helping organizations and scientific work as well. That´s the price Russia pays then.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/russia-cracks-down-on-charities:



Dmitry Zimin has spent more than a decade supporting scientific research, education, and publishing; he is the largest private donor to these fields in Russia.


Wednesday, Russian academics, authors, publishers, and journalists gathered at the Theatre Center in Moscow to honor the winners of the annual PolitProsvet (or political education) prize, backed by Dmitry Zimin, one of Russia’s most prominent philanthropists. Mikhail Iampolski, an émigré who teaches literature at New York University, was recognized for his political essays on the Web site colta.ru; Vladislav Inozemtsev, an economist, for his columns about the Russian economy. But the festive atmosphere was dampened by an almost funereal tone. Most speakers mentioned “hard times” and expressed hope that this year’s award ceremony would not be the last, even though they knew that it most likely was.
On Monday, two days before the ceremony, the Russian Ministry of Justice put Zimin’s Dynasty Foundation on its list of “foreign agents,” or nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign funding and are engaged in loosely defined “political activity.” (The foreign-agents legislation, aimed at eliminating unwanted Western influence, has been recently enhanced by new regulations around “undesirable organizations.” If a prosecutor decides that a foreign organization presents “a threat to Russia’s constitutional order, defense, and security,” it will be banned from operating in Russia, and Russian individuals and organizations will be prohibited from cooperating with them. Violations are punishable by fines or jail terms.)

By the way, what happened?

I also saw a document the local amateur theatres cannot work because they are helped by foreign money and they are thus ended in Northern Karelia.

 

You win some you lose some

Speaking out against your government with financial backing from another state is something that many seem to have an issue with. Russia isn't the only country voicing her concerns.

Would Finland be ok with a program airing on national tv (funded entirely by Russia) on a regular basis committed to dragging Finland through the mud?

 

Why not?

RT America is HQ'd at 1325 G St NW, Washington, D.C.

Although, their purpose also includes the promotion of Putin, so it is not just committed to dragging America through the mud.


Russia is not as free as you would like to believe...

 

Takao my friend I don't have to believe anything. I have been to Russia many times and several on extended stays. I have witnessed all myself. May I ask the last time you visited Russia?

You are going to have a difficult time convincing any serious enthusiast that RTs main objective is to drag the US through the mud. RT has come a long way.

Let me share a story with you Takao. I have Comcast (major cable provider in the north east) . With this company I bought the "Russian package". In this package I received 2 channels with RT news being included in the package. Around the time of the Ukrainian crisis, RT was replaced with a Ukrainian news outlet (spoken in Ukrainian which I don't understand). To include RT I would have to now pay an additional $53 dollars a month (the entire package is $30).

It's a great lesson in freedom off press/speech; "yea we have it but we will make the price so outrageous that no one in their right mind would ever buy it". Now that is something you can believe or not

By the way, CNN is free in Russia. Not bad eh?

 

Really? It's only been 2 years since Liz Whal quit RT America. What's changed?
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/03/liz-wahl-quit-russia-today-putins-pawn-104888

A story for you...

Cable companies are a business, and the point of a business is to make money. Last time I had cable(Comcast) was back in 1992. The had just put through another rate hike, and my bill was going from $15-a-month to $24-a-month. Now, while I did like my HBO, the 60% increase was outrageous. So, I cancelled the service, and haven't had cable since...

Funny thing is, my internet bill had never increased, until I upgraded to high-speed internet.

 

That Elizabeth Wahl story - excellent.
Journalists who work hard and dig deep should be our hero's. Truth is our last bastion.

 

I'm afraid you have missed my point completely. Did you get a chance to watch the video I posted in the opening? What are your thoughts? I'm genuinely interested.

 

Dan Rather was my hero. Remember him?

 

I'm not seeing how non-governmental organisations that hold governments accountable for their obligations (national and international through treaties and the UN) towards their constituents, consitutes "dragging through the mud". In my simple mind, that is exactly the kind of work that is sorely needed in many countries. Regardless of where their funding lies.

If I'd hazard a guess, it would be rather difficult to drag Finnish society that far into the mud, given that it is a rather small, rather corruption resistant (no one is perfect, of course), rather open, rather democratic society. So if Russia wants to waste it's hard-earned cash on a tv-show in Finland, why not? Not sure there'd be that much controversy, nor viewers, but that is another story all together.

Try the same in Sweden: a couple of years there was a media scandal involving a politician because she had bought a Toblerone on her government expense account.... Shocking stuff, I know. Maybe the whole of Swedish society is threatened.

I do see how many governments (public servants and politicians) that don't like being reminded of their failings, leap up and quash dissension. Generally, it takes place when there are large sums of money involved, in one way or another.

 

Idealisticly I can't say I disagree The CIA has infiltrated or has funded several NGOs. The CIA isn't a humanitarian mission. NGOs funded by the CIA will do what the CIA says. Questions fall off such a relationship. I don't see why the title "foreign agent" is inappropriate in such cases. Again not all have been banned. Those that play by the rules continue to operate.


Cheers

 

Well, at least Finland has even accused itself of being led from Moscow since WW2....funny isn´t it...?

 

Speaking from memory, Finland and Russia have veryfriendly relations and the border between them is calmest in all of Europe.