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Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
June 18, 2002
Independent media fighting for survival in Russia
MOSCOW-- Russia's last independent national newspaper is fighting for its life. The editors of Novaya Gazetta are making a last ditch appeal to the courts to have a crippling libel award overturned, or considerably reduced.
In the two years since Vladimir Putin became president, most media outlets critical of his administration have been silenced or capped. Putin denies he's orchestrating a behind-the-scenes campaign to snuff out freedom of the press. He blames the media's problems on mismanagement by their owners.
It's been more than a week since the twice-weekly journal published its last edition. The newspaper has made its reputation doing well researched reporting on the war in Chechnya and corruption, topics media watchdog Alexander Siminov says Putin and his Kremlin handlers don't like to hear about.
"Novaya Gazetta is the only newspaper that now dares to publish some provoking interest materials concerning the Chechen war," he said.
The chain-smoking Siminov is media monitor for former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's Glasnost Foundation. He says Putin doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to press freedom in Russia. "Mr. Putin doesn't know what it is," says Siminov. 'He doesn't believe that freedom of speech is freedom of criticism, freedom of fact finding and freedom to develop one's own views and express them in the press, or on television."
There is no proof that Putin is behind the possible demise of Novaya Gazetta. The crisis arose when a Moscow city court slapped the paper with a $750,000 libel award on behalf of a Russian banker. The highest previous libel judgment by a Russian court was $5,000.
Novaya Gazetta is owned by its journalists. If the libel award isn't greatly reduced it will put the paper out of business. Anna Polit-Kovskaya is a journalist famous for her award winning coverage of Chechnya. Polit-Kovskaya is planning her next trip to Chechnya even though her paper may be out of business by the time she gets back.
"We all think Putin is behind this," she says. Pointing to the fact Putin's administration is filled with former KGB officers like himself. She says they're obsessed with control and view any journalist that writes a story reflecting badly on the administration as a member of the opposition.
Novaya Gazetta's lawyers have appealed the libel award. Even so, bailiffs are vowing to go to the newspaper's office and start seizing assets, such as reporters' computers.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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