Russia blames Google for stirring Egypt unrest-WSJ

MOSCOW Feb 22 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s deputy blamed Google Inc in an interview published on Tuesday for stirring up trouble in the revolution that ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

“Look what they have done in Egypt, those highly-placed managers of Google, what manipulations of the energy of the people took place there,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin told the Wall Street Journal.

Such strong comment from one of Putin’s most trusted deputies is a clear signal of growing concern among Russian hardliners about the role of the Internet in the unrest which has swept across the Arab world.

Sechin gave no further details on his concerns. Google executive, Wael Ghonim, became an unlikely hero of the uprising in Egypt which led to Mubarak’s deposition.