[SergeAx]

There is a simpler explanation.

1) European Court of Human Rights will publish a set of decisions about Russia blocking access to different websites. [0] All those decisions are expected to be in favour of plaintiffs.

2) Court would soon communicate first case about blocking of Telegram by collateral party.

3) Communication of primary case by Telegram LLC [1] is a matter of weeks, it was delayed due to company restructurizing.

Russia gonna face direct lifting order from ECHR and that would be a Zugzwang: position, from which any move is losing.

Besides, blocking of Telegram for at leas last year and a half was inefficient, if not nonexistent. It is a common subject of satire towards state actors responsible for blocking.

So, I take it as a face-saving move, according to Hanlon's razor.

[0] https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf?library=ECHR&i...

[1] https://agora.legal/fs/a_delo2doc/97_file_Report_2018.pdf

[factorialboy]

Do you really think Russia is influenced by the European Court of Human Rights?

[abrowne]

Probably?

The jurisdiction of the court extends to nearly all European states, with the exception of Belarus, the Vatican City, and the predominantly Central Asian Kazakhstan.

But,

In 2015, Russia adopted a law allowing it to overrule judgements from the ECtHR, codifying an earlier Russian Constitutional Court decision which ruled that Russia could refuse to recognize an ECtHR decision if it conflicted with the Russian Constitution.

Compare,

Other countries have also moved to restrict the binding nature of the ECtHR judgments, subject to the countries' own constitutional principles. In 2004, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that judgments handed down by the ECtHR are not always binding on German courts.

(All https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Court_of_Human_Rights

[hvis]

> Russia could refuse to recognize an ECtHR decision if it conflicted with the Russian Constitution

And the vote on the new Constitution amendments is scheduled to proceed in a few days.

[PeterisP]

Yes, Russia is (still?) a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, in which it agrees to be bound by decisions of ECHR. There have been quite a few ECHR cases where monetary compensation was awarded from Russia to someone, and up until now Russia has been complying with these decisions and paying these compensation amounts.

[int_19h]

Russia in the process of amending the constitution right now to, among other things, specifically declare priority of Russian law over any decision of international courts.

[SergeAx]

This is not correct. The amendment text is about priority of Constitution, not all laws. So that mostly means no same sex marriage for Russian citizens.

[SergeAx]

Currently Russia complies with most (all?) ECHR decisions and orders. I think it can be interpreted as being influenced.