Suits to block or delete pirated content from more than 17,000 websites have been filed with the Moscow City Court over the past three years, since the law on intellectual property rights was passed in the country, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, IT and Mass Media Alexander Zharov told President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Zharov stressed that most copyright infringement complaints were about pirated films. "More than 6,000 suits in the past three years have been submitted mainly by our companies, and a small percentage came from western companies that for some reason file claims with the Moscow City Court," he added. The Moscow City Court hands down decisions on whether to block or delete prohibited information in the Internet.

He said that several years ago, the Russian internet "was a safe haven for online pirates". "Any premiere immediately turned up on hundreds and thousands of resources, and people watched it for free, though in bad quality," he pointed out. "Now the situation has radically changed: 6,000 such resources have been blocked and 11,000 others have deleted such information," he added.

The media watchdog chief said movie theater attendance has surged with 55 million people going out to watch film premieres over the past year, which is 40% more year-on-year. "We will continue cleaning up the Internet," he pledged.