Russia mulls nationalizing Internet with its own Mickey Mouse

A senior Russian lawmaker proposed on April 28 to establish a domestic digital computer network, banning access for users in the Unites States and European Union, RIA Novosti reported.

Maxim Kavdjaradze, a member of Russia’s upper house of Parliament, said the system could be financed by regional governments in Russia and be named Cheburashka. One of the most famous Soviet cartoon characters, Cheburashka is widely seen as Russia’s answer to Mickey Mouse.

“We should think about how to create our own information system in Russia to pull out from under the wing of the U.S., otherwise information leaks will continue,” Kavdjaradze reportedly said during a discussion on a law on bloggers at a session of the Federation Council.

The senator said Russia could create such a system together with other Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states – Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – or with countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Turkish authorities on April 19 denied that they were considering abandoning the World Wide Web to establish their own “web alla turca” with a “ttt” protocol instead of the conventional “www” amid the government’s efforts to rein in global websites, including Twitter and YouTube.