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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

+Digital Liberty

Russian President Vladimir Putin's key Internet adviser owns a torrent site [torrentfreak.com] serving pirated content and isn't afraid to admit it:

The man appointed last week as Vladimir Putin's key adviser on Internet related affairs recommended that copyright holders should stop being so demanding on piracy until the local economic situation improves. Surprisingly, it now transpires that Herman Klimenko has a secret life as the owner of a torrent site offering pirate content.

As chairman of The Institute for Development of the Internet, Herman Klimenko already had a prominent role in Internet related affairs. But when Russian president Vladimir Putin eyed the 49-year-old to become his personal adviser on the Internet, Klimenko really struck gold.

Last week Putin signed a decree that officially enlisted Klimenko and it didn't take long for him to address the issue of Internet piracy. However, instead of tough talk, Klimenko criticized web-blocking and suggested that copyright holders should wait for a better economic situation before "terrorizing" on the issue of piracy.

"Consumption of copyright content increases with economic growth, and when the situation is very serious, I think people do not have to unnecessarily terrorize these issues," Putin's adviser said [torrentfreak.com]. "Pushing hard now on this topic, I think, is not worth it. When the economy improves, you should return to this issue."

While Klimenko's comments at least in part sound reasonable, copyright holders would've been disappointed by his lack of support. What they will be even more disappointed over is the allegations now surfacing about Klimenko's links to online piracy. Sources close to Russia's Vedomosti have informed the publication that Klimenko is the owner of Torrnado.ru, a locally operated torrent site. As can be seen from the image below the site has a familiar feel and unless hell has frozen over the studios behind Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Terminator Genesis aren't in agreement with their content appearing for free.

The end of the article includes Klimenko's interesting reactions to this news as well as criticisms of Russian Internet policies.

Original Submission