Putin recalls Stalin's secret police chief when discussing Internet anonymity at business forum

At a business forum in Russia today, Vladimir Putin addressed Internet anonymity, saying online complaints and negative reviews about private enterprises should be “identifiable.” 

Putin was responding to a question from Alexander Kalinin, the president of a small-business association, who expressed concerns that complaints about businesses are often written under false names.

“If a person has a certain view, or has certain claims, let the person say them, but identify themselves, too… Otherwise these are neither claims nor complaints. These are [like] anonymous letters [submitted to security services in Soviet times]. And only one inspection officer ever managed to make this work: Lavrentiy P. Beria,” the president said.

Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (1899–1953) was the chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus under Stalin during World War II. He also served as deputy premier after the war, until 1953, when he was executed, following Stalin's death.