Date: Thu, 10 Feb 1994 18:46:36 -0500
From: Coalition for Networked Information <brsuser@cni.org>
Message-Id: <9402102346.AA18174@a.cni.org>
To: rdshydur@MIT.EDU
Subject: Docs from the Coalition FRNT Database

	Document 1
CD   
story114.CA
NM   
Laura Guillory
JB   
Manager Network User Services
DP   
Information Resources and Technology
OR   
California State University, Chancellor's Office
AD   
P.O. Box 3842
CI   
Seal Beach
ST   
CA
ZP   
90740-7842
CT   
USA
PH   
(310) 985-9641
FX   
(310) 985-9400
EM   
laura@calstate.edu
NO   
Street address is:

Laura Guillory, Manager Network User Services
Information Resources and Technology
California State University, Chancellor's Office
4665 Lampson Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
CN   
Larry Press, Professor
Computer Information Systems
CSU Dominguez Hills
1000 East Victoria St.
Carson, CA 90747
   (310) 516-3570
   lpress@csu.edu
UC   
Other
CR   
More equitable access to technology or electronic information
Technology transfer
Local commitment to network-based activities
Text
1    
Larry Press, Professor of Computer Information Systems at California
State University, Dominguez Hills, experienced first hand the
political might wielded by internetworking during the August 19,1991
Soviet coup attempt. One week prior to the coup, Press co-chaired a
conference on human-computer interaction in Moscow. While there, he
spent several days visiting the Demos cooperative which operates
Reliable Communications (RELCOM), the Russian computer network
Although only a year old in August 1991, over 400 universities, research
institutes, stock and commodities exchanges, news services, high
schools, politicians and government agencies have joined RELCOM.
During the conference, Press developed close relationships with the
Russians managing RELCOM.
2    
At the start of the coup, Press was linked to the USEnet news feed via
CSUnet and read a message from his colleague that had been posted in
the talk politics.soviet forum of netnews. Vadim Antonov of Demos sent
a message that said "Oh, do not say. I've seen the tanks with my own
eyes.I hope we'll be able to communicate during the next few days.
Communists cannot rape the Mother Russia once again!" Although the
coup leaders had taken over television, radio, newspapers, and all
other mass media; they had neglected RELCOM, either as an oversight
or because they did not grasp its international reach. This oversight set
the tone for RELCOM's activity during the rest of the coup.
3    
Antonov's message was quickly and continuously followed by news from
various banned Soviet news agencies and government officials. For
example, Boris Yeltsin's defiant decrees were carried to Demos
headquarters and posted to netnews as soon as they were written. The
Russian versions were quickly translated into English and re-posted by
several people on the Internet. CNN, AP and other news agencies were
alerted and began watching the postings.
4    
Larry responded to Vadim over CSUnet and received the following
reply to his first anxious e-mail message from Polina, a Demos staff
member: "Don't worry, we're OK, though frightened and angry. Moscow
is full of tanks and military machines - I hate them. They try to close
all mass media, they stopped CNN an hour ago, and Soviet TV
transmits opera and old movies. Now we transmit information enough
to put us in prison for the rest of our life. (Polina)" Throughout the coup,
Russians called in information to various RELCOM nodes which was
then posted to the USEnet news feed and RELCOM became the only
viable mass communications media operating in Russia. In addition to
receiving information from Russia, many people from around the world
sent messages to friends and family in Russia. The volume of mail
increased so much that Vadim requested that people stop flooding the
communications channel.
5    
In spite of this volume, Demos did not want to cut off incoming
information completely since it was a source of encouragement for the
Russians. Press began sending periodic summaries of US news coverage,
which Polina translated and posted internally. While this
information may have had some value, Press believes that its primary
effect was in providing moral support. Afterwards Polina wrote: "You
can't even imagine how grateful we are for your help and support in
this terrible time! The best thing is to know that we aren't alone.
6    
As the coup progressed, the Demos staff realized that they could be
shut down or imprisoned and began to disperse their computers and
communications equipment so that they could transmit from locations
other than their headquarters located within a mile from the KGB
headquarters. From Polina came the message "Don't worry; the only
danger for us is if they catch and arrest us, as we are sitting at home and
distributing the information we have."
7    
The operation of RELCOM throughout the coup required great courage
since the outcome was uncertain, and the efforts of the Demos staff were
acknowledged in the following message posted to talk politics.soviet:
"When the dark night fell upon Moscow, RELCOM was one source of
light for us.' Thanks to these brave people we could get information and
hope." The experience of Larry Press provides a shining example of the
fact that free communication is incompatible with repressive
dictatorship. RELCOM would have been prohibited in the past.
Gorbachev's glasnost made RELCOM possible, and it quickly became a
significant segment of the Soviet communication infrastructure.
RELCOM repaid Gorbachev during the coup by perhaps helping to save
his life. Although the coup has ended, the political clout of global
computer networks will undoubtedly continue to manifest itself in the
future.
SD   
Slides/photographs (picture of Larry Press)