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Back to the USSR: #Russia passes law to jail people for 'disrespecting' the government | World news | The Guardian theguardian.com/world/2019/mar…
Reminiscent of Soviet targeting of political dissidents, Russia's new law criminalizes online posts demonstrating “blatant disrespect for society, the country, Russia’s official state symbols, the constitution, or the authorities” (ex "Putin's a bastard") theguardian.com/world/2019/mar….
Russia's new "disrespect" law is peak Putin. Demanding Kremlin propaganda be protected as an exercise of free speech rights while jailing people in Russia for exercising the same. And if you dare point it out, "Russophobia! McCarthyism! Russia hysteria!" stopfake.org/en/russophobia…
'Legislative purpose' in Russia: "Putin is thought to be extremely sensitive to perceived insults" AND poor ratings. So a Senator in Putin's ruling party writes a law against criticizing Putin… after Putin’s ratings hit a 13-year low of 33%—a decline of 37 points from just 2015. 
Censorship & Irony in the Motherland of Misinformation: #Putin to sign twin laws against "fake news" and information that "disrespects" #Russia's government, its symbols, and society, part of a broader Kremlin effort to control the Internet and critics rferl.org/a/russia-s-six…
