Hudson Institute holds conference on “Russia’s Presidential Transition: Will We See a Medvedev Thaw?”

The conference revolved around the issue of whether we can expect to encounter an era of liberalization when Dmitry Medvedev becomes president next month. Daniel Kimmage, Senior Analyst for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, began the event by showing a mini propaganda film from the Russian government that was inundated with pro-Russian images calling for people to participate in government. He focused on certain false assumptions people have of authoritarian regimes, such as that they 1) insist on a single party line; 2) want total control of the media; and 3) fight freedom online by restricting access to websites. It was interesting to learn that such is not the case for Russia. By walking the audience through the “United Russia” website, Kimmage demonstrated how the Kremlin approach incorporates the use of an ideological umbrella, with seeming variety and real accountability and democracy missing, and virtual politics, through various methods of marketing that create an illusion of choice but a reality of control. The most appealing aspect of Kimmage’s argument, however, was that instead of restricting websites, the Kremlin floods the internet with them to provide a wealth of attractive “alternatives,” and let opposing voices sound but be drowned out by the deluge. By doing this, the Kremlin can avoid an outcry over censorship while still controlling the ideology market.

Andre Piontkovsy, Visiting Fellow of the Hudson Institute, tried to provide a more optimistic view or the situation, stating “Freedom is better than no freedom.” The fact that the Russian people are given the opportunity to sift through the state sponsored propaganda and find the actual alternatives, the fact that they actually exist, is better than nothing.

Talking Points: American Enterprise Institute event on bloggers in the Middle East

Speaking were:

Arash Sigarchi, an Iranian blogger who had been sentenced to 14 years in prison for espionage and insulting the country's leaders, speaking through an interpretter

Mohammed Ali, an Iraqi blogger (http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/)

Tony Badran, a Lebanese blogger (http://beirut2bayside.blogspot.com/)

Arash in his opening statement described how he was forced into blogging by the pervasive censorship of the media in Iran. Publishing anything critical of the government results in beatings, fines, and jail. When Arash began blogging, the government was largely unaware of the Internet, so he was free to publish whatever he wanted. In recent years, though, it has begun monitoring the Internet. Arash said that western funds to promote democracy in Iraq allows the government to brand bloggers and others as mouthpieces of the US, so a better form of aid would be to help people get Internet access. Responding to a question from Paul Wolfowitz about the reach of Voice of America and other media, Arash also said that access to western media is more limited than access to drugs. He also noted that Ahmadinejad is still quite popular, and the general people don't know about economic sanctions against Iran.

Ali, an Iraqi blogger, said that he had spoken with other bloggers, in both Iraq and Sudan, who had been inspired by him to begin blogging. Arab media outlets are heavily government funded, but blogging allows independent people to express themselves cheaply. Blogging can be difficult, though, because Internet access is scarce.

Tony Badran said that in Lebanon, where Internet access and access to western media are much more common, blogging presents other difficulties. Blogs are being used for propaganda and conspiracy theories by Syria, and it can be difficult to distinguish genuine citizen blogs from Syrian "info ops."