Russia and Freedom of Expression

Adam Lloyd
Essay
In the discussion of human rights one can debate the importance of a particular
right or the meaning of a particular right. However the most important freedom in a truly
democratic system of government is the freedom of expression.

According to businessdictionary.com, Freedom of Expression can be defined as

Right to express one's ideas and opinions freely through speech, writing, and other
forms of communication but without deliberately causing harm to others' character
and/or reputation by false or misleading statements. This is an extremely important part
in a democratic government in a few ways. In order to be a true democratic state, it is
imperative for the government to establish values and rights that are the rock of every
democratic system. When the foundations of the democratic government do not meet
those of the real democratic governments then they are not a true democracy. The
freedom to express personal political criticism is key in every democracy, and an
important part in developing a democracy. In fact it is a protected right in the European
Convention. In the discussion of whether Russian citizens are free to exercise this right
there is a lot to debate. It has been 15 years since Russia ratified the convention and
has started making the changes to adjust. The Russian people feel threatened that
because of the governments threat of political speech, they feel that the government is
trying to control the freedom of expression when it involves the government. Which in a
sense they are. So this leads to the belief that russian citizens do not really have the
full freedoms covered by the freedom of expression right. This is not good. The whole

point of a democracy is so the people can enjoy the freedoms and rights in order to
have the best quality of life. When the people don't feel like they can't exercise their
rights they either leave the country or they rebel. There are a few known cases that
exemplify the fact that Russians are not free to exercise their freedom of expression
right. One of the most famous ones is the Kuznetsov vs. Russia case. In this case the
Russian Government prosecuted a man ( MR. Kuznetsov) of violating the picket permit
law. The Russian law states in order for one to have a gathering or picket
demonstration, one must go through the local government and within 5 days of the
event must apply for the permit and state the reason for the picketing. When Kuznetsov
applied for the permit he gave his honest answer that he was picketing against one of
the opinions of the russian Government. So the government didnt approve of the
request. Mr. Kuznetsov proceeded to have his picket riot anyway. He was then
prosecuted in the Russian Court and prosecuted. According to the Russian
Confederation this was Kuznetsovs right to express his opinion in public. No where in
the Confederation does it say that one has to follow the local governments rules about
requesting permits and permission following a peaceful protest or picket. This is one
example out of hundreds similar to it that shows the governments attempt to suppress
the publics freedoms of expression especially when it has to do with the government.

In conclusion i do not believe that the Russian citizens are free to exercise their
freedom of expression rights. After examining multiple examples such as the federal
case listed above, only proves more to me that the citizens of Russia do not have the
freedom to exercise their freedom of expression right.