Censorship in Russia, 1991 and 2001

Abstract

Censorship, a central means of control for the Soviet Communist Party, has proved difficult to break away from, despite its formal abolition even before the collapse of communist rule. The idea of freedom of information and of expression is not firmly grounded in Russian society, and the lamentable results of a liberal decade cause many to call for a return of censorship, even as economic problems put the regular press beyond the reach of the masses. In any case, the state has stepped in to stifle the private media, and informal censorship is now manifest in various guises and imposed for various reasons, alongside new legislation on military and state secrets. While the old censors of Glavlit had a difficult time as the organization's budget was cut, censorship remains a part of Russian, as of Soviet, reality.