Freedom of Speech in Russia and USA

Free speech is one of the vital and indispensable basics of a democracy. Freedom of press is an element of free expression. Without a free press it is impossible to inform, investigate and opine the public on matters taking place around us.

The First Amendment of the US Constitution includes provisions for both freedom of speech and freedom of press. Article 29 of the Russian Constitution proclaims them too. But there is the difference in how those freedoms are defined. The American Constitution reads: "Congress shall make no law of...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." The Russian Constitution sets: "Everybody has the guaranteed freedom of thought and expression...the freedom of press. Censorship is banned". The American Congress cannot restrain the media. Those freedoms are considered to be inalienable rights. In Russia somebody, maybe the government, guarantees, regulates these freedoms.

Should any government regulate the work of the mass media? Freedom of expression may be understood in different ways. If everybody can say what he or she thinks, we would get violence and pornography on TV, political slander, and interviews with criminals in newspapers. That is the price for freedom if we don't know how to use it. This problem is faced both in Russia and in America.

However, freedom of expression cannot be absolute because of the necessity to take other social interests into account. They are, for example, the protection of the state's basic institutions and the existence of the state itself, to defend them from enemies.

American law includes the Freedom of Information Act, which provides that any person has a right of access to Federal agency records, except for records that are secret. In Russia this right is proclaimed but quite unclearly. In practice it's not in effect. The Administrative Code provides responsibility for officials refusing to grant citizens information related to them.

So freedom of expression is a very difficult problem in Russia and America. Absolute freedom is not needed, but censorship is also excessive. It's important to find a compromise between these two extremities, and both countries haven't succeeded so far.