THE MEDIA AND THE INTERNET Here there are 3 distinct periods: before 1918, 1918-1991, and 1991-present. Before 1918 there were only newspapers, and plenty of them. The Tsar’s censors kept an eye on socialist journalism but there were no real restrictions, since so few people were literate. 1918-1991 was strictly-controlled news and propaganda within the confines of the USSR and its vassal states. (*KEY*) Propaganda was a serious weapon which was NOT used in foreign countries but rather against THE SOVIET PEOPLE in an attempt to justify its policies. This embraced films, radio, and television as well as the arts. Less constrained/restricted media began in, and slowly progressed from, the 1950’s with the journal SAMIZDAT and with radio access to the foreign-based BBC and Radio free Europe. 1991-present has seen independent media explode in all forms but the State had taken back complete control of radio and television by 2006. As in the USSR, today almost all newspapers are printed but once every 1-2 weeks. Russia is among the top 10 most dangerous places in the world for journalists. About 30% together have some form of internet access, broken down by: all of the rich and middle class=7% and some of the poor,=23 %; access to information for the latter group is much more limited. As in China, The Russian Government views SKYPE, Facebook, You-tube, etc., as threats to national security and thus may limit their use or eliminate them entirely. The Government also views untappable computer telephone use as another potential threat to land-line use, as more and more people have already abandoned their wired systems for mobile phones---the entire wired telephone monopoly/wire- tapping system is under threat. Also, as in China, no individual or organization has any right to computer/software ownership protection, so the government can remove any computer system from anyone, any entity, anywhere, at any time if it desires. Because of these and other concerns like hacking, many western elements of the web don’t function well in Russia. (*KEY*) In 1861, Russia set up the world’s first internationally- focused organization dedicated to spying and espionage. Today, Russia maintains this leadership, being the first Government to establish and fully subsidize aggressive, purposeful hacking programs against all world governments. So for Russia, the internet is a mixed blessing from a western perspective….