Conquering Internet at the Time of Autocracy

Abstract

by Dmitri Boychenko

The Belarusian political context has been an object of criticism for a number of experts: the epoch of authoritarianism has started since the first 1994 presidential elects. It has lasted to this day. The history oft he development of media in this country started anew in 1991. The 1990s renaissance of TV was followed by the Internet expansion of the 2000s. Today paper media and TV are practically completely supervised by the state while most oft he opposition media have migrated to the Internet. Because of this, the contemporary situation of Belarusian ICT looks like the confrontation oft he classical media and electronic media, which is intensified by confrontation in the political context. In spite of this, it is possible that in the near future this situation may change radically because Belarusian authorities are planning to improve censorship and use Internet for propaganda purposes.