Ivan Golunov, Alexander Gorbachev, and Daniil Turovsky

“ Infractions can result in fines for publications, and the agency has the right to file a lawsuit revoking the publishing license of any media outlet that receives more than one warning within a year. Roskomnadzor’s job, however, is to punish violators, not to carry out the monitoring work itself. Another outfit is responsible for finding extremism, pornography, obscenities, and other banned content in Russia’s online and printed media: the Main Radio Frequency Center (GRChTs) , a state unitary enterprise subordinate to Roskomnadzor. ”

“ Meduza’s source says GRChTs employs roughly 400 people working as media monitors across the country (Roskomnadzor’s deputy head said the agency added 211 new staff to work on its automated Simona system) . Job search websites turn up vacancies at GRChTs indicating that monitoring specialists’ annual salaries in Moscow start at 684,000 rubles ($11,545) . The pay is less in Russia’s regions, according to Meduza’s source, who says full-time staff earn as little as 240,000 rubles ($4,050) a year. ”

“ In early 2017, there were more than 80,000 Web addresses on this registry — most of which were not media outlets. Most of the offenders on this list are common websites and blogs where monitors discovered content related to extremism, pornography, suicide promotion, and other banned subjects. The Attorney General’s Office also has the power to add websites to this registry, as do the Federal Consumer Rights Service and other state agencies, as well as Russia’s courts, which can ban any website based on a lawsuit filed by an ordinary citizen. ”

“ GRChTs is also the enterprise that’s connected to the felony case launched against several high-ranking Roskomnadzor officials in the fall of 2017. Press Secretary Vadim Ampelonsky, legal department director Boris Edidin, and Alexander Veselchakov (who acts as an advisor to the head of GRChTs and is believed to serve as Roskomnadzor head Alexander Zharov’s chief of staff) are accused of hiring fictitious staff and pocketing their salaries.
On October 25, 2017, a court fined Kashulinsky 5,000 rubles ($85) in the rap battle case. ”