Films about Putin posted on social media not violations – Pamfilova

File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

MOSCOW. March 12 (Interfax) – The posting of Andrei Kondrashov’s film “Putin” and similar videos on social media is not a violation, because election laws do not regulate the Internet, Central Elections Commission (CEC) Chair Ella Pamfilova said in response to a question from Interfax.

“This is not a violation, because we don’t regulate the the Internet,” Pamfilova said.

“If you’re monitoring the Internet, you should be monitoring everything. What about [director Vitaly] Mansky’s film? There are Kondrashov, Solovyov, Mansky, and Khodorkovsky. Whoever. The law does not regulate this,” Pamfilova said.

“It’s odd when someone selectively plucks one thing from the Internet but closes their eyes to another,” Pamfilova said.

“You have to be consistent,” she added.

It will be possible to consider Internet regulation from the angle of election laws after the vote, Pamfilova said.

“We will think about the future after the election. But for now, whether you like the law or not, whether it is good or bad, we are acting in strict accordance with it,” Pamfilova said.

Television anchor Dmitry Kiselyov posted “Putin,” a new film by his colleague Kondrashov, on his VKontakte and Odnoklassniki accounts on Sunday. The film included an interview with the president, archive videos, family photos, and personal stories involving former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and former German Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Comment