For me that is not surprising at all... Have you ever been to Russia LR? Outside of the few prosperous cities it is like a third world country. A common mistake is thinking that Russia is like a developed country, sure it has its developed enclaves, but step outside of them and it is like a totally different country. Don't get me wrong I wish the Russians well, I just hope they find the courage to bring their country under their control, not the control of a select few.. Unfortunately I see nothing in their history (and therefore their culture) that shows that kind of courage.

ALEX:

I have, but apparently lots haven't, and so they conclude that since there is more information available on the Internet than in Russian newspapers and TV (controlled by the Kremlin), we don't need to worry so much about the crackdown. That kind of ignorance is fatal. What's more, as you undoubtedly know, the Kremlin is even now engaged in massive crackdown on the Internet itself.

Thanks for the comment!

Dear la Russophobe!
Only 25 million of Russian people have regular access to the Internet not because evil-Putin prevents them from that but because poverty is still a big issue in Russia and evil-Putin has precisely been trying to solve that problem.
Dear Alex, please, show me a country that is not under the control of "a select few" but of the people! The US perhaps? Then how come more and more American people are against the presence of the American troops in Irak and they're still there?
Giving wise advise is very easy.

NUTA:

Thanks for the comment!

I disagree with you that Putin has been trying to solve Russia's problem of poverty, I believe he's causing it to get much worse. He's spending huge amounts on a new arms race with the West and crushing capitalism, keeping all the oil revenues for himself with very little investment in the country. It's strange that Russians think a person named by Boris Yeltsin, with no training in economics or business, could solve Russia's poverty problem. Putin is the past, not the future. He doesn't want Russians to become rich and well informed, because then they would be hard to rule. Instead, he wants them poor and sick, easy to control.

How many Internet users were in Russia in 2000? Why Putin makes it a priority that every school in Russia should have free Internet access? Why 18% of GDP investment in real sector is low?

ANDREI:

You're certainly right that the number of Internet users has increased. However, this is just like saying that Russia's economy has grown -- true, but the numbers are insignificant. Russians are still very poor, and most don't have internet.

Putin's words are empty. His actions speak much more loudly. He is destroying the internet with laws and the use of brigadniki tactics, and he's not making real informationa availabe in schools. Those who use the Internet are just rich people and foreigners, and if Putin has his way it will always be like that. You need more than Internet access to get information; you also need English, and most Russians don't have it.

If Russians had real information, Putin woudn't have 80% approval. That can only happen in a closed society.