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Russian Leader Putin Signs Controversial 'Big Brother' Law (venturebeat.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Today Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the controversial "anti-terrorist" legislation adopted by the lower and upper houses of parliament in late June, despite the flurry of criticism from opposition-minded circles and the serious concerns expressed by Russian telecom and internet companies. As reported earlier by East-West Digital News, the new legislation -- which Edward Snowden has called "Russia's new Big-Brother law" -- is not only severe against those involved in "international terrorism," its financing or non-denunciation. Law-enforcement agencies will also be granted access to any user's messages without any judicial oversight. Several key provisions will directly affect the internet and telecom industry. In particular, telecom operators and internet resources will need to store the recordings of all phone calls and the content of all text messages for a period of six months. They will be required to cooperate with the Federal Security Service (FSB) to make their users' communications fully accessible to this organization.
"Law-enforcement agencies will also be granted access to any user's messages without any judicial oversight. Several key provisions will directly affect the internet and telecom industry. In particular, telecom operators and internet resources will need to store the recordings of all phone calls and the content of all text messages for a period of six months. They will be required to cooperate with the Federal Security Service (FSB) to make their users' communications fully accessible to this organization."
We will marvel at this here in the US, but it's on the way here as well. It won't just be terrorism fears, it'll be cries from the other side of the aisle about political corruption and tax evasion and everything else.
Unless we resist it, government will always be seeking more power, as will the half of the political spectrum that is always seeking ever-more government.
To be fair the Georgian conflict was started by Georgians attacking a peace keeping mission. Russia then recognized the independence for South Ossetia and Abkhazia or however you spell it. It was all to get back at the west for Kosovo, as I understand it. Ukraine was more of an aggressive act, but again there's the question of how the ouster of whatshisname was done and the money coming in from the west to undermine him. Putin's been more reactive than aggressive so far. When he matches into Estonia or Finland unprovoked, then you can call that aggression.
Note: I think Putin provoked the west into anti-russian positions by being an authoritarian.
And the West provoked Russia into attacking both Ukraine and Georgia.
Georgia was a Soviet satellite and when the USSR broke up the government was pro-Russian. In 2003 the Rose Revolution occured putting into power a pro-Western, anti Russian government, and the Rose Revolution was heavily influenced, encouraged, and funded by US foreign policy makers such as the US ambassador to Georgia and former Secretary of State James Baker, while the IMF cut off funding to the previous pro-Russian government to encourage a transfer of power. Shortly after the Rose Revolution, Georgia entered talks into joining NATO, an organization who's sole purpose was the military containment of the Soviet Union. The Russian entry into the South Ossetia War had nothing to do with South Ossetia, it was entirely aimed at spoilng any country in the Caucasus from joining NATO by showing them that the Americans would not honor their military obligations and come to their aid. And would you do different? Given what happened in the span of 5 years, where an allied government of your neighbor is replaced by a hostile government trying to join a military alliance of your primary competitor, if you were in Putin's shoes what would you do?
Ukraine is practically the same story. Suddenly a bunch of pro-European protesters in just a few short months knock down a pro-Russian government, and Ukraine poses an existential threat to Russia. The border with Russia is a giant flat plain; they simply do not have the resources to defend that length of border and just the other side is Russia's primary manufacturing and economic centers. Given the Russian experience where allies can turn to mortal enemies in the span of just a few years (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Georgia, the Grand Armee invasion by Napoleon, the Crimean War), and suddenly your neighbor's government switches it's loyalty to your primary competitors, what would you do in Putin's position?
I'm not justifying Russian actions, but they follow from an entirely logical place. Russia has suffered more than any nation in history at the hands of foreign invaders; they're a naturally paranoid people who can't afford to trust even signed treaties. The West's actions over the past decade has simply provoked them more and more and I don't think the Russians feel they have the luxury of playing nice regarding security.