Russia Kremlin justifies censorship because of the war

Against the backdrop of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on for more than two and a half years, the Kremlin has justified the suppression of freedom of expression in its own country and the censorship of the media.

"In the state of war in which we find ourselves, the restrictions are justified, just as the censorship is justified, let's be honest," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state news agency Tass on the fringes of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on the Pacific. After the end of the war, however, freedom of the press must be restored, he said.

Peskov's remark is unusual because the Kremlin usually denies that censorship exists. Opposition, civil rights activists and independent media have been harassed in Russia for years. The persecution of dissenters has intensified once again with the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by President Vladimir Putin. In particular, information about failures and crimes committed by the Russian army is being strictly prosecuted.

The parliament, the Russian State Duma, approved a law to punish the alleged "discrediting of the Russian armed forces" as soon as the war began. Opposition members were even condemned for calling the invasion a war. The Kremlin itself calls its attack on the neighboring country a "special military operation". The actions of Ukraine and the West against Russia are described as a war.

SDA