woman using computer information war
© Sputnik/ Alexandr Kryazhev
Moscow should make up a barrier against the ongoing information war and introduce retaliatory measures to counter it, particularly ahead of 2018 presidential elections, Russia's chief investigator Alexander Bastrykin said in his article published Monday.

The Russian official also urged to define the limits of censoring the Internet in Russia to shield against the information attacks.

"It is time to put an effective shield against this information war. We need a strict, adequate and matching response. This is particularly relevant in the context of the upcoming elections and the possible risks of activation of forces destabilizing the political situation," Bastrykin wrote in the article for Russia's Kommersant-Vlast magazine.

West's Hybrid War Against Russia Turns Into Open Confrontation

Russia and a number of other states have been living in the state of the so-called hybrid war started by the United States and its allies for the past 10 years, which has recently turned into an open confrontation, Alexander Bastrykin said.
"In the past decade, Russia and a number of other countries have lived in so-called hybrid war unleashed by the United States and its allies. And in recent years, it has moved into a qualitatively new phase of open confrontation."
Russia Can Use China's Experience in Internet Censorship

Russia should adopt to a reasonable extent Beijing's experience in censoring the Internet, Bastrykin added.

"Due to unprecedented information pressure [foreign states] went as far as restricting foreign media in order to protect the national information space. For example, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology introduced a ban on electronic media, fully or partially owned by foreign residents, from March 10... It seems that this experience could well be adopted by Russia to a reasonable extent."