TEMPO.CO, St. Petersburg - Russian President Vladimir Putin stated to the media in St. Petersburg on Thursday, April 24, 2014, that he wants Russia to develop an alternative internet because the Central Intelligence Agency developed and controlled the global system currently in use.

His comments come soon after the Russian parliament passed a law requiring Russian internet companies and foreign social media sites to maintain servers inside Russia and keep users' personal data for at least six months.

He said that Russian companies should keep information inside Russia to protect it against attacks by foreign enemies. As an example, Putin pointed out Yandex, Russia's most popular search engine that has experienced a five percent drop in its shares for keeping servers in the Netherlands.

Putin also said that the CIA is still developing its monitoring technology, and United States technological dominance meant Russians would have to "fight for its interests online."

In a televised question-and-answer session last week, US fugitive and online freedom advocate Edward Snowden, asked Putin whether his government spyed on its citizens online. In response, Putin hoped that the country would not need to do so and explained that it may not happen because "[Russia] don’t have as much money as they do in the US."

RINDU P HESTYA | BBC NEWS | GUARDIAN