Kremlin Jails the Father of Russia's Internet

The Kremlin has sentenced Alexey Soldatov, a pioneer of the Russian Internet, to two years in a labor colony on charges of "abuse of power." Soldatov, known for his role in connecting the Soviet Union to the global Internet in 1990, is terminally ill. Despite widespread disbelief in the charges, he was imprisoned, which his family views as a death sentence. Soldatov's contributions to the Russian Internet's development and governance were significant, but his refusal to support government initiatives led to his downfall. His accuser, Andrei Lipov, now heads the Russian Internet censorship agency. Soldatov's case exemplifies the regime's vindictiveness towards those who contributed to modernizing Russia. His son, Andrei Soldatov, an investigative journalist, highlights the plight of his father and the descent into dictatorship in Russia. The imprisonment of Alexey Soldatov underscores the challenges faced by individuals with independent thinking in an increasingly authoritarian Russia.