Russia is preparing itself to be disconnected from the World Wide Web. The Lower House of Parliament Russian lawmakers have endorsed a draft legislation that could cut off Russia from the global internet.
The bill, co-authored by Andrei Lugovoi passed its first reading in the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament) on February 12 by 334 votes to 47.
The bill envisions the ‘Runet’ – the Russian segment of the internet – being able to operate independently from the rest of the world in case of global malfunctions or deliberate internet disconnection. The measures to ensure internet stability include the creation of a national DNS system that stores all of the domain names and corresponding IP numbers.
It proposes creating a center to “ensure and control the routing of internet traffic” and requires that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) install “technical measures to withstand threats”.
It also mandates regular “drills” to test whether Russia’s internet can function in an isolated mode.
The new legislation was reportedly drafted in response to the new US cyber strategy that accuses Russia, along with China, Iran, and North Korea, of using cyber tools to “undermine” its economy and democracy. It also threatens dire consequences for anyone conducting cyber activity against the US.
According to Al Jazeera, a heated debate preceded the vote with many legislators from minority parties criticizing it as too costly and argued that it was not written by experts.
One of the authors dismissed all criticism, citing the scale of the potential threat from Washington. “This isn’t kindergarten!” shouted Lugovoi. “All of the websites in Syria” have been turned off by the US before, he claimed.
Critics say the bill shows the authorities’ continued efforts to limit internet freedoms despite the huge public and private cost.
Russian internet providers have reportedly been tasked by April 1 to come up with a way that the country could reliably shield itself from cyberattacks.
The concept appears similar to China’s Great Firewall, which regulates internet operations in view of reinforcing national sovereignty.
