Source: HRO.org (info), 02/05/12 

· Freedom of expression 

In 2011, for the first time in eight years, freedom of expression in Russia did not get worse. According to the Freedom House annual report issued on 1 May 2012, Russia ranks 172nd, jointly with Azerbaijan and Zimbabwe, an improvement of one point compared with the previous year. 

The organisation's experts have included Russia among unfree countries. In their estimation the improvement in the situation in Russia is related to the increase in the number of satellite TV and Internet users, including social networks, the Grani.ru reported, citing RIA Novosti. 

The United States, a country the organisation has invariably ranked as free, went down in 2011 from 17th to 22nd place, which it shared with Estonia and Jamaica. Freedom House experts link the deterioration in the US to the complex economic situation in the country that has, among other things, affected the state of independent media. [Read more]