Kremlin planning to control all video surveillance systems in Russia – ISW

26.11.2023 01:36

Ukrinform

The Kremlin is reportedly renewing attempts to control all video surveillance systems in Russia, likely as part of ongoing efforts to intensify its tools of digital authoritarianism to increase domestic repressions.

This is said in a report by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrinform reports

The Russian Ministry of Digital Development proposed an initiative to create a unified platform for storing and processing footage from all video surveillance systems in Russia, which would reportedly cost 12 billion rubles (about $134 million).

Russia’s Kommersant reported that there are about 1.2 million surveillance cameras in Russia, about half of which are currently accessible to the Russian government. The Russian Ministry of Digital Development reportedly plans to increase the number of surveillance cameras across Russia to five million by 2030 and integrate all of them with facial and image recognition software.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Russian government continues efforts to restrict citizens' access to the internet and to strengthen its control over the Russian information space ahead of the 2024 presidential election.