Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements, affirmations and denials in recent months have caused the US State Department, the New York Times, and other news agencies to begin to publish articles labeling his words “lies,” “fiction” and “false claims.” Putin has maintained strong stances against accusations of Russian involvement in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, as well as on the purpose and presence of Russian troops stationed near the Eastern Ukrainian border, but realities have shown otherwise. On April 17 chinks in the veneer began to show when Putin publicly stated that Russian troops were at work in Crimea from the outset. Putin
Vladimir Putin
Russian President Putin “Lies,” Speaks “Fiction” and Makes “False Claims,” Say US State Department, NY Times, Others
Russian Government’s Own Civil Society Organization Finds Crimean Referendum Falsified
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Council on the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights has published a report that finds that the Crimean referendum that served as the sole pretense of validity in Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea, was falsified. Council member Yevgeny Bobrov, human rights worker Svetlana Gannushkina and lawyer Olga Tsetlina prepared the report after visiting Simferopol and Sevastopol April 15-18. The report was published on the President Soviet website Monday. Although many reports from various sources have found that Russia had falsified the vote, these reports were discredited by the Russian government as US propaganda. The report finds
Russian Law Allows Blocking Facebook, Google, YouTube, and Any Other Foreign Site (Feb. 1 Amendment)
Feb. 1, 2014, an amendment to Russia’s “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” law took effect. The amendment allows the government to restrict access to websites with content that calls for riots, extremist activities, and participation in mass public events. The bill is part of a trend in Russian law which began with President Vladimir Putin’s election to a second term in 2012. The amendment in question allows the government to silence not only national criticism–it does this through other laws, such as its 139-FZ (2012) censorship law–but also criticism anywhere else in the world. The measure shields Russia from political
