(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eradzh Nidoev – February 19, 2013) More than a year after the start of marches against allegedly rigged Duma elections, the burning caldron that was the Russian protest movement cooled to a gentle bubbling, while its participants went back to their usual temperate lives. Such a turn of events poses a problem for the Dozhd […]
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Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2013 From: Sue Dorfman <Sedorf@comcast.net> Subject: PUTIN’S KISS on 2/20 in DC Matt Rojansky suggested I contact you to help spread the word on the upcoming screening of the film, PUTIN’S KISS. The film shows on Wednesday, February 20 at 7 pm at the West End Cinema, located at 2301 M St NW Washington, DC 20037. […]
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(RIA Novosti – February 15, 2013) Russian Minister of Communications and Mass Communication Nikolay Nikiforov has said that remarks recently voiced by his deputy Aleksey Volin regarding the role of journalism in the Russian society do not constitute the ministry’s official position. Nikiforov said this at the Economic Forum in Krasnoyarsk on 15 February, as reported by Russian news agency […]
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MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax) – The right to freedom of speech is inviolable, and no one holds a monopoly on the right to speak on behalf of Russia’s society, President Vladimir Putin said. “Citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of speech is inviolable and unshakeable. However, no one has a right to sow hatred and rock society and the country, thus […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 14, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/02/window-on-eurasia-young-russian.html) Many observers were outraged by a Russian official’s suggestion that journalism students should be taught to be prepared to write what their future bosses want them to, a survey of younger Russian journalists finds that many of them are struggling with this as they balance journalist ethics […]
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JERUSALEM, February 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russian deputy communications minister Alexei Volin explained on Monday that the controversy stirred by his words that journalists were “not tasked with making the world better,” demonstrates the huge gap between how the experts perceive the media and how it works in practice. Commenting on the speech, the Russian Union of journalists said on […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eradzh Nidoev – February 11, 2013) Unless you have traveled forward in time from the beginning of the 20th century, writing rhymes might not seem like the hippest thing to do. Such an old-fashioned skill probably won’t even get you a date. But this preconception is changing thanks to a group of young poets who […]
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Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2013 From: Mary McGuire <mcguire@freedomhouse.org> Subject: New Report: U.S. Needs Post-Reset Policy on Russia Freedom House FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Mary McGuire at +1-202-747-7035 or mobile, +1-202-683-0909 New Report: U.S. Needs Post-Reset Policy on Russia Washington February 6, 2013 As President Obama enters his second term, he and his administration should formulate an approach […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – February 5, 2013) The government’s plans to protect children from harmful online content are causing increasing alarm among anti-censorship activists, who see one region’s plans to introduce a smut-free version of the Internet as the latest move to banish distasteful speech. Details of the Kostroma region’s plan, which appeared in the media […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 4, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/02/window-on-eurasia-russian-government.html) The growth in Internet use in the Russian Federation over the last year has meant that “for the first time, the Internet began to be considered by the Russian government as the main source of threat to its well-being and stability,” according to the annual report of […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, Combined report – February 4, 2013) Russian media fell near the bottom of the list on the 2013 Press Freedom Index. The authors of the rating, Reporters without Borders, cite President Putin’s return to power as the main catalyst in the increase of repression aimed against the opposition. Russian media personages, […]
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[“Riot Police Stand By and Watch Attack on LGBT Activists” – Vedomosti – January 31, 2013] Vedomosti reports on a demonstration in front of the Duma featuring homosexual behavior in the form of same-sex kissing, broken up by “Orthodox fundamentalists,” with police reportedly then arresting only the homosexual demonstrators: … Russian authorities seem to have given up their monopoly on […]
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MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti) – Russian media experts said on Wednesday the country deserves its 148th position out of 179 on the 2013 Press Freedom Index, six points down from last year. Reporters without Borders, which published the index on Tuesday, said Russia has lost points again because “since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency, repression has been stepped […]
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(Russian ex-finance minister tipped to be premier before long – BBC Monitoring/Ekho Moskvy Radio – January 30, 2013) BBC Monitoring reports on Ekho Moskvy and Argumenty Nedeli covered of alleged systematic down-grading of how state-controlled Russian television presents Dmitry Medvedev to the viewing public: Russia’s national TV channels have been told to reduce their coverage of Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev, […]
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(RIA Novosti – January 29, 2013) Veteran journalist Vladimir Pozner is one of the three best known and most trusted TV journalists in Russia, a poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) has shown, as reported by RIA Novosti news agency on 29 January, citing the organization’s website (http://fom.ru/SMI-i-internet/10793). The poll was conducted on 27 January among 1,500 respondents […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 30, 2013) Press freedom in Russia continued to decline last year, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday. The country dropped six points in the organization’s World Press Freedom Index, finishing in 148th place among 179. Russia’s rating is slightly better than Singapore’s and slightly worse than that of the Philippines, according to the report, published […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 28 (Interfax) – The State Duma is ready to accept apologies from television journalist Vladimir Pozner, saying the draft “Pozner law” will be “put on hold.” Pozner apologized for his earlier criticism of the State Duma on his program on Sunday evening. After that criticism, parliamentarians drew up a bill prohibiting journalists who have another country’s citizenship in […]
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MOSCOW, January 24 (Dan Peleschuk, RIA Novosti) Pavel Samburov exudes confidence when he recalls the night in October, on International Coming Out Day, when a group of masked hoodlums stormed and ransacked a Moscow gay club. “They worked as a team,” Samburov says nonchalantly, taking a drag from a cigarette, then snuffing it out. “It was an organized attack.” […]
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Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2013 From: James Beadle <jamesdbeadle@yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Re: 2013-#13-Johnson’s Russia List (re Robert Bridge on the Moscow Times) Robert Bridge may have a case complaining about the strength of Michael Bohm’s Anti-Americanism op-ed in the Moscow Times(#42 in JRL 2013-#13), but his blinded rapprochement of the entire Moscow Times publication is an affront to a high quality […]
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(Kennan Institute – www.wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Mary Elizabeth Malinkin and Nataliya Rostova – November 29, 2012) An interview with Nataliya Rostova, Starovoitova Fellow, upon the completion of her grant “The Russian Mass Media of the Post-Perestroika Era.” Malinkin: What were some of your impressions from the American media? Rostova: I was surprised to watch some of the American methods of using […]
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Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 From: Robert Bridge <robertvbridge@yahoo.com> Subject: Letter to the editor re “Expect More Anti-Americanism in 2013” (JRL 2013-#12) Dear JRL, I can’t help but the see the incredible hypocrisy in the article entitled, “Expect More Anti-Americanism in 2013” (The Moscow Times, January 18), when this publication – Moscow’s only English-language daily – has practically declared itself […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – January 21, 2013) State-controlled NTV television on Sunday aired its latest documentary-style film targeting prominent opposition figures, this time for allegedly being part of an organized information campaign to discredit the Russian Orthodox Church. The film, “I Don’t Believe It,” accuses popular blogger Rustam Adagamov a member of the opposition Coordination […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – January 18, 2013) The culture and education ministers on Thursday presented a list of 100 Soviet and Russian films that schools will be advised to show students to strengthen their cultural values and to build bonds with their parents and teachers from older generations. “This is not a list of the best […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) – The Russian Investigative Committee has pledged to continue the inquiry into the 1995 killing of popular journalist and TV anchor Vladislav Listyev. “It is still early to draw the line in this case. It will not be closed. The inquiry has been put on hold and the services responsible for it have been instructed to […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – January 14, 2013) No New Year’s celebration in Russia is complete without its most important guest: the television set. Although this year’s holiday shows and music concerts left much to be desired in terms of quality, Russians still got plenty of entertainment courtesy of the nation’s most flamboyant singers, dancers and politicians. […]
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(Interfax – January 11, 2013) Moscow – Journalism is an important and necessary profession that enjoys public confidence but it is not very profitable, said Russians polled by the Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) ahead of the Russian Press Day marked on January 13. “Russians have less confidence in journalists than in scientists or teachers,” says a VTsIOM press […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) – Detectives investigating the murder of Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya are very close to the identification of persons who ordered the high-profile crime. The possible involvement of Boris Berezovsky and Akhmed Zakayev has not been proven so far, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Interfax in an exclusive interview. “I can say that the […]
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MOSCOW, January 14 (Marc Bennetts, RIA Novosti) Opponents of a Kremlin-approved ban on US nationals adopting Russian children expressed anger on Monday at a state TV program that suggested they were betraying their homeland. “State television is brainwashing people,” said Maria Orlovskaya, who helped promote and organize Sunday’s peaceful protest march in central Moscow against the ban. “The authorities […]
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MOSCOW, January 10 (RIA Novosti) A Russian news website has provoked a furor after publishing what it claimed was an appeal from a Russian teenage orphan whose adoption by a US family was prevented by a new law banning adoptions by Americans. The 1obl.ru news portal in the Chelyabinsk region published a story claiming a boy in a local […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 8, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/01/window-on-eurasia-protests-political.html) The rise of a new generation of independent journalists in Russia who use technology to report directly to their audience and who are not shy about declaring their interest in promoting civil society is an entirely natural response to the increasing government restrictions on the official media […]
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(Radio Liberty Forced to Make Hard Choices in Russia – Wall Street Journal – Letter to the Editor – Steven Korn – January 7, 2012 – click here for full letter) In a Wall Street Journal letter to the editor, Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty president Steven Korn discusses changes in how RFE/RL tries to reach listeners in Russia, including […]
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[USA to reckon with ‘Putin factor’ after magazine power rating – pundits – BBC Monitoring/Ekho Moskvy Radio – January 4, 2013 – no open link exists to this product] Ekho Moskvy Radio addresses what it terms Foreign Policy magazine’s move to call Russian President Vladimir Putin the world’s the most powerful person, including the fact that the magazine actually listed […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm – Michael Bohm is opinion page editor of The Moscow Times – December 21, 2012) State Duma Deputy Oleg Mikheyev from the Just Russia party came up with an original idea to lift the spirits of people depressed by all of the bad news they face every day from the country’s leading media […]
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From: “Committee to Protect Journalists – ECA” <eurasia@cpj.org> Subject: CPJ: Russia still far from solving Politkovskaya murder Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2012 Committee to Protect Journalists www.cpj.org News Alert Russia still far from solving Politkovskaya murder New York, December 17, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for a retrial of a key defendant in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 16 (Interfax) – In 20 years 341 journalists have been killed in Russia, the Russian Journalists’ Union announced on Saturday. The list includes reporters killed in conflicts and counterterrorist operations, in peaceful times, reported missing and dead under uninvestigated circumstances. On December 15 the union marks the Day of Remembrance of Killed Journalists and on that day the […]
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MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti) – A Moscow court sentenced a former police officer to 11 years in prison on Friday for his role in the 2006 killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was convicted in a separate trial from the others accused of involvement in the killing, the mastermind of which remains at liberty. Politkovskaya, a reporter […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – Dec. 13, 2012) A Moscow judge upheld a controversial plea bargain that could complicate efforts to determine who ordered the killing of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006. Judge Alexander Zamashnyuk ruled that Politkovskaya’s two children had no right to challenge the deal, which includes a reduced sentence for the suspect, […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – Dec. 10, 2012) Television channels were passing the blame Monday after unofficial footage from an interview with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was leaked Friday. Footage that appeared on YouTube showed the prime minister just after the end of an hour-and-a-half interview, chatting freely with the journalists from the five channels that […]
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[Ellen Barry – New York Times – Dec. 2, 2012 – http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/in-panicky-russia-its-official-end-of-world-is-not-near-664630/] Ellen Barry of the New York Times covers Russia’s response to reports about the would-be Mayan Apocalypse: There are scattered reports of unusual behavior from across Russia’s nine time zones. * * * For those not schooled in New Age prophecy, there are rumors the world will end […]
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MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti) – A group of Russian politicians have urged national TV networks to show restraint in broadcasting material suggesting the end of the world is nigh, a deputy from Russia’s LDPR party said on Monday. According to an ancient Mayan calendar, December 21, 2012 marks the end of a 5125-year long cycle. Lurid articles have already […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – Nov. 30, 2012) A city court has declared Pussy Riot’s “punk prayer” video extremist, meaning that media outlets can face closure for publishing the all-female band’s famous performance in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. Thursday’s far-reaching decision also means that hosting platforms like YouTube must remove the video for Russian users […]
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Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 Subject: Response to your question (re Masha Gessen) From: Sarah Lindemann-Komarova <echosiberia@gmail.com> A response to David’s request concerning the accuracy of Masha Gessen piece “In the Penal Colony. This Being Russia, A Massive Prison Protest Isn’t Being Reported”. By Sarah Lindemann-Komarova The temperatures here in Novosibirsk are currently ranging between -20 and -30. That allows […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, 26 November) TV host Vladimir Pozner is calling for a real privatization of all federal TV channels, with one of them being turned into public TV. “Who is to blame for the fact that Russia has this sort of TV – I mean the federal channels, Channel One, Rossiya 1 and NTV? Who do these channels belong […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – November 27, 2012) Kommersant has fired opposition-minded journalist Oleg Kashin for writing too much for other media and too little for his employer, the leading daily’s editor said Monday. “An agreement has been reached with Kashin [to terminate his employment] because he practically has not worked for Kommersant for one year,” […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – November 26, 2012 – Anna Arutunyan is the politics editor of The Moscow News) I’m going to tell you a story about three pretty girls who defied the patriarchy no, wait, scratch that. This is a story of deceit, betrayal and revolution. No, scratch that, too. Here’s a tale of greed, […]
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NEW YORK, November 27 (RIA Novosti) – Members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were nominated by influential magazine Time for the 2012 Person of the Year. The punk band is among 40 candidates, who influenced news this year for better or worse. The list also includes US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Syrian leader […]
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(Interfax – November 23, 2012) Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said there is no censorship in Russia. “There are no restrictions. There is no censorship in any form. And you won’t believe it, this outraged many people,” Medinsky told a briefing held in the Russian Foreign Ministry, a video of which has been posted on YouTube. “Three of every four […]
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(Irina Borogan – www.opendemocracy.net – November 20, 2012) Irina Borogan is a Russian investigative journalist who covers the operations of Russian security services. She is co-founder of the web site Agentura.Ru, which chronicles the services’ activities. Last year, Borogan and Andrei Soldatov co-authored The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia’s Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB (PublicAffairs). […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax) – Journalists sacked from Radio Liberty have launched a news website of their own, Radio Liberty in Exile, at www.svobodanew.com. The website has the news, politics, history and regions sections carrying exclusive materials as well as reprinted news and articles from other media outlets. The video, blogs and opinion sections feature journalists and public figures sharing […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Alina Lobzina – November 19, 2012) Well-known personalities who are descendants of Stalin-era forced collectivization victims are to tell their family stories in a film screening at Moscow’s center for documentary films DOC on Wednesday. The center is holding a screening of a new film, “Bread for Stalin. Stories of the dispossessed,” which was created […]
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