The Washington Post has published a story from its Foreign Service that begins, “After ignoring the Internet for years to focus on controlling traditional media such as television and newspapers, the Kremlin and its allies are turning their attention to cyberspace, which remains a haven for critical reporting and vibrant discussion in Russia’s dwindling public sphere.” The article goes on to say ” there is talk of creating a new Russian computer network — one that would be separate from the Internet at large and, potentially, much easier for the authorities to control.”The article focuses mostly on censorship in Russia and talks of how the internet is the only free medium for the exchange of ideas, and goes on to say “in July, Putin briefed his Security Council on plans to make Russia a global information leader by 2015. Russian news media reported that those plans included a new network apart from the global Internet and open only to former Soviet republics.” Dmitri Peskov, the deputy presidential spokesman, said in an interview with the Washington Post “that a Russia-only Internet was still in the ‘investigative phase,’ adding, ‘I don’t know if it’s more than thinking aloud.'” Further, “‘It’s not meant to get rid of the global network,’ Peskov said. ‘It’s a discussion of creating an addition.'”To read the full article, see www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/27/AR2007102701384.html