#5 - RW 263
The Electronic Telegraph (UK)
June 27, 2003
Triumphant Putin has problems at home
By Julius Strauss in Moscow

As Vladimir Putin was feted and fawned over in London yesterday, in Moscow Tatyana Blinova was looking for a new job.

Earlier this week her employer, TVS, became the last independent national television station in Russia to have its plug pulled.

Yesterday its broadcasting equipment in the Ostankino tower in northern Moscow was gathering dust. A court order had been taped to the main entrance announcing its closure. "Unfortunately we didn't fit into the concept of a revived Gosteleradio [The Soviet media monopoly]," Mrs Blinova said.

Officially, TVS, the last refuge for journalists critical of the Kremlin who once worked for the powerful NTV, was forced to shut for financial reasons. But critics of Mr Putin's media policy pointed out that its closure coincided with a fresh Kremlin assault against Russia's remaining independent media.

On Wednesday the upper house of the Duma passed a Bill that banned media from carrying "electoral propaganda". The vague wording of the Bill has media watchdogs worried. They fear it may be used to close any media outlet critical of the Kremlin.

Alexei Simonov, president of the Glasnost Defence Foundation, said: "The question is how it will be put into practice. How you define propaganda will be up to the electoral committees and it is well known that they have their own political preferences."

The industry watchdog Reporters Without Borders went further. It said the Bill could "drastically curtail press coverage during election campaigns".

Stamping on the media is not the only accusation that is being leveled against the Kremlin in the run-up to parliamentary elections in December. Critics say there has been no serious attempt to root out the corruption that stains the entire Russian system.

This week the issue hit the headlines after the exposure of a corruption ring that went to the heart of the Russian security services.

Police seized seven high-ranking security officers, accusing them of various offences including racketeering, fraud and blackmail.

According to prosecutors, they planted drugs or guns on rich businessmen and then blackmailed them. They also allegedly extorted huge payments from casinos and up-market restaurants.

Among those arrested was Lt Gen Vladimir Ganayev, chief of security at Russia's Emergencies Ministry. Police found uncut diamonds and tens of thousands of dollars in cash at his house. When his accomplice's dachas were raided they found more than £2 million, hand-grenades, guns, cocaine, diamond rings, listening devices and a £20,000 watch.

The Kremlin maintains that the raid is proof that the government is serious about putting its house in order. But most Russians see it as the exception that proves the rule. They suspect that the culprits have been exposed because they fell foul of their bosses in the Kremlin and became overly ambitious.

For normal Russians, corruption hangs over their lives. Getting a child into the right school might cost £700 or more, buying him out of military service up to £2,000. A trip to the doctor, a new permit or building approval all have to be smoothed over with a "gift".

Even Mr Putin's supporters acknowledge that in his first three and a half years he has done little to impose root-and-branch reform.

Lilia Shevtsova, a researcher at the Carnegie Centre in Moscow, said: "Most Russians don't want St Petersburg summits, Potemkin villages and Buckingham Palace. They want better living standards, investment and free travel to the West."

Asked whether Mr Putin deserved his rousing reception in London this week, Mrs Blinova replied: "All the West cares about is that Russia is stable. As long as we don't become another Iraq or Afghanistan they don't care what happens here."

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