Vladimir Putin’s popularity in Russia has been falling for years. The war in Ukraine is accelerating the downward trend. Angry citizens breathe air online. What is said about him is meticulously monitored, as internal documents from the Russian censorship authorities now show.
The Federal Service for Supervision in the Field of Information Technology and Mass Communications – that is the cumbersome title of the Russian agency that could also be described as the supreme censorship agency. Called Roskomnadzor for short. The agency monitors online activities of Russian citizens. It regulates the work of the media and blocks entire websites.
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Roskomnadzor blocked numerous websites that the Kremlin did not like. Among other things, the Bellingcat computing network, the news service from Google News and the website of the “Bild” newspaper fell under the blockade.
Now it has become known that Roskomnadzor also conducts systematic monitoring of social networks for publications and comments insulting Vladimir Putin. This emerges from internal documents that fell into the hands of the Belarusian hacking group “Cyberpartisans”. The Russian examined the official correspondence and published the list of terms and words that Roskomnadzor classified as insults. There are more than 700 in total.
From tsar to palace
The use of these words is considered a violation by the authority only when they are used in connection with Putin, including in captions on pictures of the Russian President.
Insulting and obscene words make up the largest part. The forbidden list includes such terms as shit, asshole, bastard or blockhead. But there are also many terms that appear harmless at first glance, but which become explosive in connection with Putin and should therefore not be associated with his name. Below: corruption, sanctions, tsar, KGB, palace, bald head, no money.
Vladimir Putin and sex
Also, Putin must not be placed in the context of sexual intercourse. According to Roskomnadzor, words like sex, porn, vagina discredit the Kremlin boss. Curiously, terms like elections, term, bully, and demonstrations have ended up in this category.
The statement “has attracted heels” and adjectives such as short or small also fall under insults. Apparently, jokes about Putin’s short height, which he tries to cover up with heels, are to be prevented.
Who is Lyudmila?
There is also a name on the banned list: Lijudmila. The only woman who played a central role in Putin’s life and bears this name is his ex-wife. In 2013 he divorced her. The public should probably not be reminded of her – and with her not of the unknown marital status of the Russian head of state.
The career of a dictator
From the “moth” to Putin, the eternal – the bloody path of the Kremlin boss in pictures
Judging by Roskomnadzor’s leaked correspondence, the agency’s staff have been working for at least a year to compile the list of terms used to refer to Putin on social media.
The Russian Code of Administrative Offenses provides for a fine of up to 100,000 rubles for insulting government bodies on the Internet.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
