Russian ‘business patriotism’ group wants government registration for all Internet users

The “Avanti” Entrepreneurs Association for the Development of Business Patriotism is asking Russia’s Parliament to introduce mandatory government registration for Internet access.

According to the news agency TASS, the head of the organization, Rakhman Yansukov, proposes that anyone who wants to go online in Russia should verify their identity electronically with the authorities. According to this initiative, minors would be required to register using their parents’ or legal guardians’ identity documents. 

Andrey Svintsov, an LDPR party member and the deputy head of the State Duma’s informational policy committee, told TASS that he’s ready to initiate a discussion of the legislative suggestion in parliament, saying that “we need to know what Russians themselves think about this.”

“Avanti” was founded in 2014 by Umar Dzhabrailov (a former senator from Chechnya), who’s perhaps best known for firing gunshots at the ceiling of his Four Seasons hotel room in Moscow in August 2017 while on drugs. (He was later convicted of disorderly conduct and fined 500,000 rubles — about $7,825).

In 2017, Avanti proposed the establishment of “Patriotism Day” in Russia, to be held on August 6, the anniversary of Moscow’s decision to impose a ban on Western food imports. Russia’s Culture Ministry initially supported the idea, but officials later told journalists that the proposal was “unnecessary.”