Russian President Vladimir Putin is known as an authoritarian leader who rules through an almost Orwellian-like oppression and censorship. Through his use of self-promoting propaganda and state-run control of the Russian media, he maintains a surprisingly high approval rating among the general public.
Putin recently took yet another step forward in his pursuit of total control over the Russian people. He has enacted “a law banning main-stream electronic devices – including phones and computers – that do not come pre-installed with Russian software.” (Doffman, 2019). This comes on the heels of another new law called the Sovereign Internet Law which gives the Russian government the power to block internet content.
These were sold to the public as means by which to protect them from cyber attacks and to “prevent Western dominance of tech sold inside the country.” (ibid, 2019) However, it is really just a tactic to implement state surveillance and control the people’s access to information that is contrary to what the Kremlin wants it to believe. “Invoking the West as the enemy is a device intended to re-create a Sovietskii narod (Soviet people) that felt a common threat.” (Tipaldou & Casula, 2019).
This “us versus them” populist mindset is dangerous for the Russian people. It will only serve to further isolate Russia from the rest of the world, make the Russian people more dependent on the government, and provide Putin and his Kremlin increasing amounts power and control which is exactly what Putin is aiming for.
Works Cited:
Doffman, Z. (2019). Putin’s new gadget ban: another warning sign for Russia. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/11/22/putins-new-gadget-ban-another-warning-sign-for-russia/#2d46da8b2556
Tipaldou, S. & Casula, P. (2019). Russian nationalism shifting: the role of populism since the annexation of Crimea. Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization. 27:3.