Internet in a surviving Soviet Union

In a scenario where the Soviet Union remains to the present day and in a reasonably stable position, what sort of attitude would it take to the internet? Would it be something restricted like the modern PRC, or banned outright? Would there be a black market for dissidents revolvig around it? Thoughts?
 
In a scenario where the Soviet Union remains to the present day and in a reasonably stable position, what sort of attitude would it take to the internet? Would it be something restricted like the modern PRC, or banned outright? Would there be a black market for dissidents revolvig around it? Thoughts?

I get the feeling that it would be similar to the PRC's modern censorship apparatus. But I do have one question--how 'free' is the internet in Russia these days, anyway? That might have some answers to the question itself, though I'm not sure how widespread internet censorship is in Putin's Russia.
 
google.su?

It depends on how the Soviet Union goes. If my mind it would be a diluted version of the Chinese reforms then I'm sure it would be liberal to a certain extent. Chatrooms and messengers would likely be banned along with various other sites but the majority would probably be accessible.
 
Depends on access to suitable computers. If the ordinary Soviet citizen either can't afford what computers are available, or they just aren't in the shops, and public computer access is restricted to university campuses then the Internet is not going to make a huge impact.
 
Depends on access to suitable computers. If the ordinary Soviet citizen either can't afford what computers are available, or they just aren't in the shops, and public computer access is restricted to university campuses then the Internet is not going to make a huge impact.

Well, the SU may choose to establish an IT base for itself to keep up with the west...
 
I don't believe that it would have been banned, as the .su code is still very popular, with new sites being actively created.
 

wormyguy

Banned
I don't believe the internet would be restricted so much by censorship per se as by making the necessary technology hard to access. PCs might be very expensive and have a long waiting period, for instance.
 
In Soviet Russia, Internet surfs you!

I think that it would exist, but it deepends on the POD. Gorbachaev would be very free with the Net.
 
I don't believe the internet would be restricted so much by censorship per se as by making the necessary technology hard to access. PCs might be very expensive and have a long waiting period, for instance.
Only the politically reliable would probably be allowed access to non-Soviet sites, and we'd probably get Sov-trolls and Sov-spammers every once in a while, posting long passages on the greatness of communism and the Glorious Soviet Revolution.
 
Cuba is a better predictor then China since China and Soviet did split and walked down different roads. IICR, Cuba have liberalized a bit and do allow some internet but both access and content is restricted.

And as ussual, how Soviet survive is important. Fax machines where important during the fall of the CCCP so whatever role faxes plays, it will have huge impact on the 'net.
 
I'd think computers would be widespread in a theoretical continuing SU.
Computers are one of the chief indicators of being of the developed world these days and the SU would place a lot of importance in its people being computer literate.
The quality of those computers now...that would be interesting. And poor.


I would go with a China analogy. Perhaps a bit stricter.
 

wormyguy

Banned
What where Soviet computers like in the 80s?
Soviet computer technology was consistently about 10 years behind American, mainly because nearly all of it was stolen by their spies.

America knew all about this, and therefore fed them equipment that was both obsolete and deliberately designed to malfunction (and how!).
 
What where Soviet computers like in the 80s?

In the late 80s and 90s they were awesome. Not in computing power, but in chutzpah and variety:

Planet Sinclair's list of Russian clones, with pictures

Special mention goes to the Nafanja:

Somewhat bigger pictures

which came with its own attache case and was aimed at "Diplomatic offices"... and had a joystick.

Which probably means a conversation like this probably took place somewhere in a Soviet embassy...

ILYA "Boris, get off the computer! We have a message to decode..."
BORIS "Not yet! I have all the objects and I'm nearly back to the Master Bedroom!"
ILYA "Boris, stop playing "Jet Set Willy" this instant or..."
BORIS "...or you'll put me on report? Fine, then you'll have to find out by yourself how to kill Smaug!"
ILYA "YOU KNOW?!!!... hmmm... I guess it can wait for a bit."
BORIS "Besides, Mischa erased the decoding software yesterday to save his Football Manager game"
MISCHA "YOU TATTLETALE SONOFA..."
 
Soviet computer technology was consistently about 10 years behind American, mainly because nearly all of it was stolen by their spies.

America knew all about this, and therefore fed them equipment that was both obsolete and deliberately designed to malfunction (and how!).

Kind of explains why they copied the Sinclair Spectrum so many times then. Mine is 26 years old now and spent 16 of those years working 20 hour weeks, survived a fall from a ninth story window -don't ask-. It works flawlessly every time I fire it up for nostalgia's sake.
 
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