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MOSCOW Russian director Nikolai Dostal has accused the state-run TV channel Rossiya of censoring out profanities and sex scenes from his TV miniseries Shtrafbat (The Penal Battalion),which recently was re-aired by the station.

In a letter sent to Oleg Dobrodeyev, head of the state television group VGTRK, which runs Rossiya, Dostal complained of arbitrary and illegal censorship of the miniseries, which is focused on a penal battalion during the Second World War.

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According to Dostal, all expletives were excised from the miniseries, including a song sung by criminals. It is common knowledge that at the war, profanities were used a lot, and in the [miniseries], words of that kind are to be heard rarely, plus not the strongest ones, and they are said by criminals, he said, defending his use of strong language in the series.

The director added that a sex scene in one of the episodes was shortened, and another scene, in which a man from the penal battalion rapes a Russian girl, was cut so dramatically that the rape seems to have not happened. Dostal complained that the cut had an impact on the storys further events, making them look less motivated.

I understand that you [Oleg Dobrodeyev] didnt do it personally and probably you didnt give direct orders to do it, Dostal observed, adding that he still feels ashamed for this kind of crude, petty and hypocritical censorship on the part of the station.

The re-airing of the series occurred at a time when some deputies of the State Duma, the lower chamber of Russian parliament, were calling for a ban on profanity in Russian films and TV programs. Legislation was, in fact, passed earlier this year banning profane language in the media.

The Penal Battalionwaswas originally commissioned by Rossiya and premiered in 2004. It was later re-aired several times in its original, uncut version.

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Russian Director Nikolai Dostal Accuses Local TV Channel of Censorship

Aruling bya court inthe central Russian town ofUlyanovsk ordering astate-run Internet provider toblock access to15 websites, including those oftwo prominent national newspapers, has sparked fears ofa broader campaign ofInternet censorship inthe country.

Two ofthe blocked websites, Gazeta.ru andKomsomolskaya Pravda, are among thetop 10 news websites inRussia. Thetwo media outlets said they had not been notified ofthe court hearings or theverdict they learned about it fromtheir readers andtherefore were unable todefend themselves.

Local prosecutors said ina statement Wednesday that theruling was based onthe presence onthe websites ofarticles explaining theintricacies ofgiving abribe inRussia andhow toescape prosecution afterward.

Prosecutors emphasized that thecourt ruling had not ordered whole websites tobe blocked but only specific pages containing theillicit information. Internet provider Rostelecom made thedecision toblock thesites themselves, going beyond thecourt's instructions, they said.

Rostelecom, which is one offour Internet providers inUlyanovsk, told Vedomosti that it blocked theentire websites because it did not have thetechnical capability toblock specific pages andthat thecourt ruling did not specify particular pages totarget anyway.

Federal Mass Media Inspection Service spokesman Vladimir Pikov told thenewspaper that his agency was surprised that thewebsites were blocked, since according toa recently enacted Internet censorship law, media outlets cannot be blocked.

InJuly oflast year, President Vladimir Putin signed thecensorship bill, which allows thefederal government toset up aregistry ofblacklisted websites containing child pornography, content promoting drug use andextremism, andother resources ruled illegal inRussia.

While bribery is acriminal offense inRussia, it is not specifically mentioned inthe bill.

"We expected this tohappen," said Galina Arapova, director ofthe enter forProtection ofMedia Rights. "The legislation is so vague andlacks any technical regulation."

Intheir statement, prosecutors did not identify theweb pages that they wanted blocked. Komsomolskaya Pravda said it found asarcastic article titled "On How toGive andReceive Bribes inthe Right Way" published more than adecade ago, while Gazeta.ru was unable tofind thelikely culprit.

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Blockage of Major News Websites Raises Censorship Fears

Jimmy Kimmel - This Week In Unnecessary Censorship
6/20/13 Thursday #39;s weekly Tribute the FCC where things get bleeped or blurred whether they need it or not.

By: David Hudson

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Jimmy Kimmel - This Week In Unnecessary Censorship - Video

Censorship and controlling ideas in the classroom: Dr. Yvonne Chiu at TEDxHongKongED
Can too much information too soon actually be harmful to students? Is there some value to censoring ideas in the classroom? If so, what does censorship mean ...

By: TEDxTalks

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Censorship and controlling ideas in the classroom: Dr. Yvonne Chiu at TEDxHongKongED - Video

Smackdown #39;s Unnecessary Censorship
On tonight #39;s edition of unnecessary censorship. Randy Orton.

By: DJREELdotcom

Link:
Smackdown's Unnecessary Censorship - Video