Moscow targets media pirates

Falstaff · Feb 9, 2004, 10:42 AM

It is no longer easy to buy pirate CDs and DVDs on the streets of Moscow. There has been a marked change since last summer when there were vendors on every street corner selling pirate copies of the latest music, movies and computer programmes. And it is not just the cold weather that has driven the salesmen underground. Moscow's mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, has ordered police to sweep the pirates off the streets. Moscow's efforts diverge sharply from the behaviours seen elsewhere in the country. Russia's reputation when it comes to respecting artists' rights is truly terrible. In the early 1990s, cinemas showed the latest movies, but not one rouble went to pay the Hollywood studios that made them. Often pirate movies were broadcast on state television. Even now, pirate disks are openly on sale in almost every corner of Russia.

Source: BBC News

Feb 9, 2004, 10:42 AM	#1
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	Moscow targets media pirates It is no longer easy to buy pirate CDs and DVDs on the streets of Moscow. There has been a marked change since last summer when there were vendors on every street corner selling pirate copies of the latest music, movies and computer programmes. And it is not just the cold weather that has driven the salesmen underground. Moscow's mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, has ordered police to sweep the pirates off the streets. Moscow's efforts diverge sharply from the behaviours seen elsewhere in the country. Russia's reputation when it comes to respecting artists' rights is truly terrible. In the early 1990s, cinemas showed the latest movies, but not one rouble went to pay the Hollywood studios that made them. Often pirate movies were broadcast on state television. Even now, pirate disks are openly on sale in almost every corner of Russia. Source: BBC News