It has already been several days since the Russian version of Aravot was banned in Russia. Our compatriots in Russia informed us about this when they wrote us letters saying that they could not access our publications. As it became clear later, the Roskomnadzor banned the site due to the fact that Aravot did not carry out its demands. This body is in charge of the media in Russia, including electronic newspapers, methods of mass communication, informational technology, and telecommunication, and making sure that the media is in compliance with the law.
We were informed that several other Armenian newspapers are periodically banned in Russia at the request of the Roskomnadzor, or they receive threats of being banned.
Media.am editor Gegham Vardanyan told Aravot in an interview that Aravot being banned in Russia is not the first incident in which Russian citizens are deprived of the ability to read news from Armenian newspapers, and that there were similar legal problems with the Roskomnadzor in the past. “Our friends and colleagues periodically inform us that media.am is inaccessible in Russia. Media.am is not formally banned in Russia, since we have not received any formal warnings from the Roskomnadzor. Our colleagues explained that the Roskomnadzor periodically bans a number of IP addresses, which sometimes includes our own. So, we sometimes are inaccessible in Russia, and we do not yet have a legal solution.”
The Russian language website armrus.info created by the Union of Informed Citizens organization also has had issues with the Roskomnadzor and has received threats that it will be banned in Russia.
The head of the Union of Informed Citizens organization, Daniel Ioannisyan, told Aravot in an interview, “This is a good example of the fact that thieves in law are being defended by the Russian authorities, and that they are trying to pressure Armenian newspapers through Russian state bodies. This is a very obvious example.”
According to Daniel Ioannisyan, a conclusion needs to be reached in regards to all of this, and on the other hand, Yerevan needs to officially make a statement about this.
Lusine Budaghyan
