As the war in Ukraine drags on, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has intensified his long-standing battle against freedom of information at home. In addition to extensive legislation to control the internet, Russian authorities have blocked several media websites and US-based social media. However, their success remains limited and Russians still find ways to get around censorship. At the same time, Russia is running out of key technologies due to technological sanctions. And thousands of IT specialists are leaving the country. The consequences are fatal for innovation and the digital economy.
We will present findings from the recent DGAP-Analysis “Russia’s Quest for Digital Sovereignty” and examine current developments around RuNet. We want to discuss, what the “sovereign internet” means in the light of the Russian invasion? How dependent is Russia on Western technology? What is China’s role in replacing the West as the main supplier of IT to Russia?
Speakers
Alena Epifanova, Research Fellow, International Order and Democracy Program, DGAP, Germany
Philipp Dietrich, Project Assistance, International Order and Democracy Program, DGAP, Germany
Nikita Istomin, Digital Rights Lawyer, Roskomsvoboda, Russia
Natalia Krapiva, Tech Legal Counsel, Access Now, United States
Chair: Stefan Meister,Head of International Order and Democracy Program, DGAP, Germany
Please register for the event via events@dgap.org. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event. Participants will be able to ask questions via Zoom’s question and answer function during the discussion. You will find information related to data processing at https://dgap.org/en/zoom.
For any questions, please contact Yulia Loeva (loeva@dgap.org).