Stalinism alive and well
Belarus, the nation which is so much like Stalinist Russia that the only outcry is when someone breaks into Parliament and steals the next election results, has decided to forbid people from seeing foreign sites.
A law passed in the Republic of Belarus imposes restrictions on visiting and using foreign websites by Belarusian citizens and residents. Under this new Law, the violation of these rules is recognized as a misdemeanor and is punished by fines of varied amounts, up to the equivalent of $125.
It applies to all companies and individuals who are registered as entrepreneurs in Belarus. You are still allowed to use email, but business requests from Belarus cannot be served over the Internet if the service provider is using online services located outside of the country.
The tax authorities, together with the police and secret police, are authorized to initiate, investigate, and prosecute such violations. Of course the government might shut you down if you break the laws too. The Belarus government is terrified that its 9.49 million citizens will discover that other countries are doing quite well without autocratic rulers like Alexander Lukashenko.
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Nick Farell
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