In Russia it is common for Rozcomnadzor to block websites, be it pirate websites, proxy websites, or websites that the Russian Government just doesnÂt like. Recently, websites such as Google.ru and RussiaÂs version of Facebook vKontakte were not available to Russian citizens.
The Google.ru issue seems to have arisen from a redirect to an unauthorised gambling website. However, the problem has now been fixed and Google is no longer on the banned website register in Russia.
This was all too much for activists from the ÂOpen Russia and ÂCivil Petersburg groups. Activists from the group travelled to the Rozcomnadzor HQ in St. Petersburg with a block in mind. Their block was not the usual website block, in fact it was a barricade of boxes. The boxes were labelled with the wording ÂBlocked Citizens of RussiaÂ.
Andrei Pivovarov, Open Russia coordinator, explained that ÂFreedom of information, like freedom of expression, are the basic values of our society. Those who try to attack them, must themselves be Âblocked from society,Â