Brian Krepto

Freedom of Expression
(A Russian Overview)

Russias freedom of expression to many seems to be slowly going away or

eroding. Russian government promises to human rights, including the freedom of
expression, and it seems that they are not doing as good of a job as they could be.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and the feeling that they were moving on
from an old Russia and on to a new one, came with many new hopes and promises.
One of the promised was the promise of freedom of expression. This promise was
made in May of 1998, and many are still waiting to see improvement.

Political speech and criticism towards the government were banned and
highly restricted during the entire Soviet Era. In the early 1930s, political speech
and criticism of the government were controlled very heavily with starvation
created by the Soviet government, then by placing its citizens in labor camps and
by deporting citizens into remote and undeveloped areas of the country. Then after
this, the period of mass repressions began with hundreds of thousands of people
executed without trial. Any government criticism was reported and those who
critized were immediately prosecuted by the government without a hearing. All of
the actions were performed in complete absence and disregard of any human
rights, erased any thoughts of freedom of expression and changed the mentality of

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the people for years to come. It took many years before individuals would attempt
to criticize the government again.

There have been two rights groups that have launched to try and assist
Russias Freedom of Expression since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency.
"In the year since Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency in May 2012, the
Russian government has unleashed a crackdown on civil society unprecedented in
the country's post-Soviet history," Human Rights Watch said in its report. Many
Russian citizens were blinded by Putins false advertising ad inaccurate
propaganda but are now realizing that they are not as free as they should be, and
are speaking out more. Their opinions will have no impact on Russians because
Russia will not be able to make any advancements in their lifestyle until Putin is
out of the picture.

Russia began its commitment to its promises by implementing what was

known as the International Law Provisions in its domestic legal system. During
the early post-Soviet era, the international law provisions were put into place in the
Russian legal system in several ways: through special provisions in the Russian
Constitution; through the ratification of the Convention; and through the

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interpretation of the ECHR (European court of Human Rights) decisions by the

Supreme Court of Russia for further implementation by local courts.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/24/world/europe/russia-free-speech-report/

http://law.emory.edu/eilr/content/volume-27/issue-2/comments/freedom-expressionrussia.html

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/russia#.VUtrk_lViko

Russia began its commitment to its promises by implementing what was known as the International Law Provisions in its domestic legal system. During the early post-Soviet era, the international law provisions were put into place in the Russian legal system in several ways: through special provisions in the Russian Constitution; through the ratifi cation of the Convention; and through the interpretation of the ECHR (European court of Human Rights) decisions by the Supreme Court of Russia for further implement ation by local courts.