Authors

Discussion

In Russia, digital authoritarianism developed during the decade 2012-2022. It is characterised by the rise of coercive laws and regulations, by infrastructural controls and constraints on the internet and by algorithmic surveillance and censorship of digital contents. After the massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, digital authoritarianism is expanded beyond Russia’s borders through the digital colonisation of occupied territories in Ukraine. This presentation will analyse this new dynamic, examining the extension of legal regulations, administrative controls, connection of infrastructures and use of Russian algorithms in the occupied territories. In Ukraine, Russian digital dictatorship combines authoritarianism with a new imperialism, based on the extension of its digital borders. The presentation will discuss the empirical and theoretical issues surrounding this new digital imperialism in wartime.