Posted on 01/28/2005 6:45:05 AM PST by blackminorcapullets
I heard about it from Mishah first, and then it was on yesterday's NTV evening news: a Russian-language web portal called the Russian National Literary Network has issued a "Directive on Limiting the Themes of Literary Works."
The Directive mainly concerns two of the Network's writing sites, Proza.ru (prose) and Stihi.ru (poetry). At a glance, the sites resemble a cross between Zoetrope.com and LiveJournal.com, inviting aspiring authors to post their work for review by other members. As of 9 pm today, Proza.ru has 22,313 members, 188,457 stories and 277,077 reviews; Stihi.ru lists 67,115 members, 1,609,066 poems and 2,132,558 reviews.
Even though today Dmitriy Kravchuk, the Network's coordinator and the author of the Directive, has postponed the implementation of the Directive "due to the negative reaction of the literary community and the discovery of a number of shortcomings," its text still appears online.
Here's its translation:
The Directive on limiting the themes of literary works published on the Internet resources of the Russian National Literary Network
1. On the Internet resources of the RNLN it is forbidden to publish literary works and forum messages covering the following themes:
- The special operation of the Russian troops in the Chechen Republic during 1991-2004 [actually, the so-called "special operation" officially began on Dec. 11, 1994, not in 1991...]
- Terrorist acts against citizens of the Russian Federation
- Opposition of certain citizen groups to implementation of the Laws of the RF and the Decrees of the President of the RF (in particular, the Law on Monetization of the Benefits [which has caused the Babushka Revolution]
2. On the Internet resources of of the RNLN it is forbidden to publish literary works and forum messages, which include personal mentions (with the first or last name) of individuals belonging to one of the categories of the Class A public officials (in accordance with Appendix 1). At the same time, it is allowed to mention the individual's title, as long as this mention is connected with the execution of state functions and not with his personal qualities [sic].
3. On the Internet resources of of the RNLN it is forbidden to publish literary works and forum messages, which include mentions in a negative context of the Class B public officials (in accordance with Appendix 2). A negative context is the identification of the mentioned individual as a negative literary hero by literary experts affiliated with the RNLN.
4. On the Internet resources of of the RNLN it is forbidden to publish literary works and forum messages, which include mentions in a positive context of the Class C individuals (in accordance with Appendix 3). A positive context is the identification of the mentioned individual as a positive literary hero by literary experts affiliated with the RNLN.
Literary works with content prohibited by this Directive will have to be deleted by their authors before Feb. 1, 2005. If the works containing the prohibited content are discovered after Feb. 1, 2005, the site's moderators are obliged to block the pages and all works of these authors without the possibilty of renewing [membership] later.
Organizational Committee of the Russian National Literary Network
Appendix 1. Categories of the Class A public officials.
It is forbidden to publish literary works, which include personal mentions (first or last name) of individuals belonging to the following categories:
- President of the RF and members of his family - Head of the government and ministers of the RF - Members of the Federation Councils [sic] of the Federal Assembly of the RF - Deputies of the State Duma of the RF who are members of the United Russia faction [the pro-Putin majority in the Russian Parliament] - Governors of the federal centers of the RF - Mayors of the cities of the RF
Appendix 2. Categories of the Class B public officials.
It is forbidden to publish literary works and forum messages, which include mentions in a negative context of individuals belonging to the following categories:
- Heroes of Russia - Heroes of the Soviet Union, who received this title during the Great Patriotic War - Serving officers of the Russian Army, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Federal Security Service, Federal Guards Service, Intelligence Service in the rank higher than the Colonel and First-Rank Captain (inclusive) - Representatives of the RF state on duty - Members of the United Russia Party and the Walking Together public movement [a pro-Putin youth organization]
Appendix 2. Categories of the Class C individuals.
It is forbidden to publish literary works and forum messages, which include mentions in a positive context of individuals belonging to the following categories:
- Individuals wanted by the federal authorities on charges of plotting terrorist acts against RF citizens - Individuals killed as the result of special operations of the Russian troops in the Chechen Republic, those who resisted or were accused of plotting terrorist acts against citizens of the RF - Individuals charged with involvement in international terrorist organizations - State authorities and soldiers of the Fascist Germany of the Great Patriotic War period, as well as individuals who collaborated with the Fascist Germany
After wasting an hour translating this, I'm more or less speechless. The only thing I can say is that this once again confirms my view that Stalin was ourselves, in a way, and Putin is ourselves, too.
***
And here's a translation of a wonderful poem one of the members of Stihi.ru has recently posted on the site:
PRESIDENT by Thinkerbell
PutinPutinPutinPoo! PutinPutinPutinPoo! Poopoopoo! Poopoopoo! PutinPutinPutinPoo!
© Copyright: Thinkerbell, 2005 Code: 1501261784
Lets see, there were almost a half dozen people, ranging from Putin, to ultra nationalists, to Oligarches to communists. Fact is, the people had a choice and they choose. You hate their choice, that's all there is to say.
I don't have an opinion because outside of some demonstrations I never fired an M-14 and I never made claims to having fired one, let alone used it in combat. I'm not that old. But I'm sure you are and you used it in combat, right?
"Again, please cite your sources. When exactly did Pacepa run afoul with his Communist masters???"
So, if we believe Pacepa, as you suggest we should. You know, that this is a plot of the Soviet Union, and old commies haven't faded away. Then why would we support a guy who accepted his rank back from a guy he called a tool of the KGB and just how the hell did he earn 3 million dollars during a communist regime?
"The former head of the Romanian espionage, Ion Mihai Pacepa, was restored the rank of reservist general, according to officials of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE). The director of SIE, Gheorghe Fulga, granted Ion Mihai Pacepa the general rank in the last days of Ion Iliescu's term of office as president of Romania. After the High Court of Cassation and Justice's ruling remained final, the former head of state gave the green light for Pacepa to be restored all his rights and privileges. Culture Minister Mona Musca said on Wednesday that she agrees that the head of the communist-era espionage get back his paintings seized by the communist regime after he fled the country. In 1999, Ion Mihai Pacepa, who is currently living in the United States, was rehabilitated by the Supreme Court of Justice, which ruled that his entire wealth, estimated to 3 million dollars, be restored."
So, if we believe the warnings of Pacepa, then we should definitely suspect him since he's gone back to his old cronies in the rank of reserve general. Nice that he'll be able to spend some of the 3 million he earned in a communist country when the average salary was about 40 dollars a month.
The greatest battle implement ever devised.
NEVER EVER POST TO ME AGAIN BECAUSE YOU ARE A FOOL AND A TROLL!
MAIL CALL!! Ck. your freep mail.
Of course he is.... soros pays these trolls to come on FR and try to start the COLD War again. Russia has a warrant for soros' arrest for fraud... he needs the present govt. of Russia to collapse so he can get off scott free and get back into Russia and steal MORE money from the Russian people.
THE COLD WAR IS OVER!! HUZZAH!!
Russia is a sovereign country and I have high hopes that it will get better and better and more Christians and Jews will pave the way for its success.
"Lets see, there were almost a half dozen people, ranging from Putin, to ultra nationalists, to Oligarches to communists. Fact is, the people had a choice and they choose. You hate their choice, that's all there is to say."
Putin = KGB = Communist
Ultra nationalists = KGB = Communist
Communists = Communist
...as for the oligarches, please supply the names of the Oligarches you have in mind and I bet every one of them comes from the KGB and/or the Communist elite (which = Communist).
Yes, more censorship is likely on the way in the Russian Federation. The self-censorship by the site owners in question is in anticipation of government censorship, and that's probably why it has such an appearance of officiousness. Here's some information from another site.
http://www.brama.com/survey/messages/37988.html
Excerpt:
"The argument of the governor of Moscow has been supported by deputy head of federal agency for press and mass communications (Rospechat, former Ministry of Press) Andrei Romanchenko. During his Wednesday's speech at the conference entitled "Information security of Russia in global information age," he proposed to create a unified system of the so-called 'content filtering' in Russia."
[...]
"One of the creators of the project 'Stikhi.Ru' Dmitry Kravchuk comments: 'Lately, we"ve been hearing about the importance of regulating the Internet from states' authorities and politicians alike. We simply wanted to forestall the situation in order to avoid running into problems in future. Clearly, we will be unable to scan and filter the entire content momentarily. That is why the decision has been reached to take action first before the government does.and form a model within our site for now.'"
"Read the original in Russian: (Translated by: Anna Ossipova)"
"Pravda.Ru"
Oh good God, you're stretching this beyond rediculous. Then is FR's censorship of certain articles a sign of more censorship to come from the US government? Or do you apply double standards to your posts?
"I would not hesitate criticizing Putin if I felt like it."
But you wont, because Putin can do no wrong in your eyes. Putin makes common cause with Iran...you say nothing. Putin makes common cause with Syria...you say nothing. Putin makes common cause with Vietnam...you say nothing. Putin makes common cause with Hugo Chavez' Venezuela...you say nothing. Putin opposes the US in Iraq (and supplies Saddam's forces weapons to kill our soldiers)...you say nothing. If you love Russia so much, move there. Oh that's right, you already live there part time. Why not full time???
Thanks familyop,
As usual, your post is TIMELY, TRUTHFUL and IMPORTANT--TTS
I wouldn't count on jb6 grasping the facts and import of your post...he's still shadowboxing stuff that happened almost a hundred posts ago.
Nope, never been there. But almost all my information derives from Russians. But you, having been there, haven't been able to learn a thing. I can only imagine what your arguments would have looked like during the Cold War..."Evil Empire! You don't know what your talking about. Have you ever been there? Don't bother answering, I already know the answer." Blah, blah, blah.
"It's interesting that Mr. Kravchuk reacted with such official language against criticizing government officials, and that other Russian writers are telling us that the worst is about to happen."
You made your point and cited your sources. Now the Russophiles on this thread are faced with a dilemma. Should they expend energy desperately trying to find a stray article (needle in a haystack) to refute you, or resort to what they know best...ad hominym attack. This should be interesting.
I see--so much emotion involved. Russia needs a good economy, but most rich countries are so far from it. Many western Europeans, who are closer to Russia, are personally afraid to be there. At the same time, we disagree with the RF regarding arms trade with terrorist regimes like Iran and Syria, seeing freedoms taken away from its citizens, and the like.
While working for an employer a few years ago, I delivered products to a small business that employed a few Russian former combat soldiers. Seeing that I was also a former soldier (as we who were once combat line can often see), they were very much on edge during the first few deliveries. But they learned to trust and to relax, in time. They appeared to be clean-cut and generally clean, although their Greek boss did not.
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