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OTHER
MEDIA NEWS
I. Yaroslavl
TV drops programme critical of local authorities.
Yaroslavl television viewers were unable to watch
the “Situation” programme on the Yaroslaviya
[Yaroslavl Region] state-owned television and radio
company [State Radio and TV Company, GTRK] channel on
11th March. The last “Situation”
programme but one was also taken off the air. The
explanations provided by the television company manager,
Sergey Yakunin, that there were allegedly no “
situations” in the programmes are
unconvincing. The main reason for the ban is the
topic of the broadcasts.
The
programme that was taken off the air was devoted to the
scandalous decision made by the Yaroslavl regional court,
which had deemed the publication of the law “On the
sales tax” in the document supplement to the
‘Gubernskiye Vesti’ newspaper unofficial.
Following
the logic of the court’s ruling, all the normative
acts of the region that have been published in this
newspaper during the past three years can also be deemed
unofficial and, consequently, illegal. On the same
grounds one could also lodge a complaint against the
election of the governor, who was elected according to a
law published in this same document. But the
Yaroslavl television viewers were unable to learn about
all of this. Yet it was possible for readers of
‘Nezavisimaya Gazeta’ to learn about it; we
published the article “Tax Confrontation” on
exactly the same day that the broadcast was taken off the
air (25th February).
A
GTRK Yaroslaviya employee Yevgeniy Solovyev, who is also
a ‘ Nezavisimaya Gazeta’ own correspondent in
Yaroslavl Region, was the author of the article.
(The practice of combining similar jobs is a very usual
thing for contemporary Russian journalism). During
a private conversation, GTRK Director Sergey Yakunin told
Yevgeniy Solovyev that the company had had problems
following his critical articles about the activities of
the Yaroslavl governor published on the pages of
‘Nezavisimaya Gazeta,’ which could end with
[Yaroslavl governor] Anatoliy Lisitsin’s refusal to
allot it money from the budget.
The
Yaroslavl highest leadership was particularly offended by
articles about the region’s huge debts—they
exceed the region’s annual budget. Following
these articles, Yevgeniy Solovyev is no longer being
provided with information and invited to news
conferences.
As a
matter of fact, the journalist has been given an
ultimatum: either he gives up critical articles in
the central and local press or the television company
will part company with him.
The
young and ambitious journalist has chosen the latter
thing. There is talk that having learned about
this, certain inhabitants of the Yaroslavl White House
were rubbing their hands: they have finally managed
to “get rid” of the disobedient
journalist. Of course, this decision has not added
to the prestige of the local authorities. The
amount of the regional debts has not decreased either.
‘Nezavisimaya
Gazeta’ web site, Moscow, March 16, 1999
II. Duma
moves to strip newspaper of accreditation.
The State Duma is once again at odds with
journalists. This time it is the newspaper
‘Komsomolskaya Pravda’ which has fallen into
disfavour.
[Correspondent]
On instructions from deputies, the State Duma’s
Committee on Information Policy [and Communications] is
drafting a resolution withdrawing accreditation from the
newspaper ‘Komsomolskaya Pravda.’ Several
articles about the work of the deputies written by
‘Komsomolskaya Pravda’ correspondent Olga
Gerasimenko are the reason for this. She drew
attention to several strange aspects of the Duma
deputies’ activities. For example, Andrey
Polyakov, a member of the People’s Power group, who
disappeared without trace back in 1996, still counts as
an active deputy. [Andrey Polyakov is a member of
Our Home is Russia, while Yuriy Polyakov is the
People’s Power deputy who disappeared] He has 19
assistants, a seat in the debating chamber and a
salary. The paper believes Polyakov’s
colleagues may even have used his voting card. It
acknowledged that there was no evidence and this was just
conjecture . . . .
The
deputies were not slow to react. All journalists
working for this publication must be excluded from the
Duma, they said.
But the deputies, above all the representatives of
the left, see the articles in a completely different
light.
[Leader of People’s Power deputies
group, Nikolay Ryzhkov]
The paper is treating the State Duma in a cynical
and false way. I realize that this has nothing to
do with Ryzhkov. The aim is, once again, to rubbish
the State Duma, to make out that corpses are casting
votes . . . .
[Correspondent]
The Duma decided to opt for the severest
disciplinary measure, to deprive the journalists of their
right to work in parliament. I remind you that the
deputies applied similar sanctions against our channel,
also because the deputies did not like the tone used by a
correspondent. The legislators are not bothered by
the fact that, under the law, only a court can deprive a
journalist of accreditation. The Duma deputies are
not considering the possibility of upholding their
position in court . . . .
Unlike
the deputies, the ‘Komsomolskaya Pravda’
journalists are prepared to fight their case in
court. This is Tatyana Shilina and Igor Sazonov
reporting for ORT.
Russian Public TV,
Moscow, March 9, 1999
III. Moscow
authorities and Media-Most owner in row.
[On 5th March] Moscow vice-mayor Valeriy Shantsev
sharply criticized head of the Media-Most holding company
Vladimir Gusinskiy. Although there have been recent
publications about a possible new friendship between the
Moscow authorities and the Media-Most empire, this
conflict did not start yesterday. Our correspondent
Aleksey Chupov reports.
[Correspondent]
Shantsev’s sharp statements were
prompted by uncomplimentary articles in the
‘Segodnya’ newspaper, which is part of
Gusinskiy’s Media-Most holding company.
Shantsev
thinks that the articles began to appear after he had
turned down the offer to use Media-Most’s
advertising and image-making services in the forthcoming
election campaign for the mayor’s post.
[Shantsev]
I explained to him that there is no
campaign and that I do not need any similar
services. On the other hand, this holding company
is always engaged in telling tall stories about the
Moscow city government’s activities. The
information is very vague and obscure. I do not
want my election campaign to be conducted by these
people. Then he came to me and began blackmailing
me, saying that if I do not take a decision on a number
of issues, they will make my life hell.
[Correspondent]
Shantsev says that the next day the
[‘Segodnya’] newspaper started to pay too much
attention to him, publishing critical articles . . . .
[Shantsev]
There are a number of people like [media
tycoon Boris] Berezovskiy and Gusinskiy who are trying to
use the media to put pressure on the authorities.
Centre TV, Moscow,
March 5, 1999
IV. Russia
likely to lose unused satellite slots.
Yesterday the new Russian “Globus-1”
military communications satellite began to operate in
geostationary orbit. It will provide communications
for the Russian Federation General Staff and Armed
Forces. But the launch of this satellite was also
the result of the need to “signpost” as
Russia’s the “slots” for satellites in
geostationary orbit assigned to it under international
agreement . . . .
The
point is that in 1991 all 720 so-called geostationary
orbit “slots” above the equator were
distributed by the International Frequency Registration
Board (IFRB) among the states and organizations that had
applied for them. Russia was assigned 57
slots—as many as it wanted to create a global
missile attack warning and military communications and
retransmission system.
But
time has made changes to these plans. The lack of
money for the production and launch of new satellites has
led to the point where of its 57 slots Moscow has been
able to “fill” only 27. There would seem
to be nothing terrible about that—with time Russia
would be able to fill them too and to keep them “in
reserve” in the meantime.
But
to Russia’s misfortune the IFRB has decided to put
the use of orbital positions in order. The
committee has already accumulated over 20 applications
for “slots” which the IFRB cannot satisfy
because all the places are already taken. At the
same time the IFRB is afraid that countries which are not
filling their slots will lease them. For instance,
this was done by the government of the tiny Polynesian
island kingdom of Tonga—in 1992 it received free
upon application five slots above the Pacific Ocean and a
year later leased them to the American Rimsat company for
several million dollars a year.
On 17
November 2000 the committee will begin to review the use
of their allocated slots by states and
organizations. The deadline for a user to take up a
slot will be reduced from 10 years to five. Upon
making an application a country or company will be
obliged to submit specific plans for using the slot,
including a description of the project and its financial
feasibility study. The IFRB will take a compulsory
fee for registering the project, the size of which is yet
to be determined. But the most unpleasant thing for
Russia is that the slots it is not using will simply be
taken from it (that, incidentally, applies to all
countries which have not put satellites into all the
slots assigned to them).
‘Kommersant,’
Moscow, March 3, 1999
V. Chechnya
resumes relays of Russian TV channels.
Chechnya resumed on [2nd March] the broadcasting of
the programmes by two Russian television channels, which
was stopped on 19th February, after religious leaders
accused them of corrupting Islamic morals.
Broadcasting
was resumed for the ORT public television and the NTV
independent television channels. Until now, the TV
viewers in the Chechen capital could only see Russian
news programmes.
An
Itar-Tass correspondent was unable to find out who had
greenlighted the resumption of ORT broadcasts in
Chechnya. The situation with broadcasting
programmes by the second Russian channel RTR [Russia TV]
in the republic remains unclear. Chechnya’s
Minister of Culture Akhmed Zakayev was unavailable for
comment.
ITAR-TASS news agency
(World Service), Moscow, March 2, 1999
VI. Security
council’s office to check newspaper articles on
corruption.
The head of the Russian presidential administration,
Nikolai Bordyuzha, has instructed the Security
Council’s office and the presidential
administration’s personnel department to check the
facts concerning top officials that have been presented
in recent newspaper articles, the presidential press
service told Interfax Monday.
Interfax
has learned that Bordyuzha’s directive is concerned
with, among other matters, facts presented in the
Nezavisimaya Gazeta on February 25. The author of
the article in question had alleged that the
law-enforcement bodies possess information suggesting
that some of the Russian government’s highest
officials are involved in corrupt dealings.
Interfax news agency,
Moscow, March 1, 1999
VII. Moscow
mayor says state TV ignores his group.
Another political scandal. Moscow’s
mayor Yuriy Luzhkov states that the state mass media,
specifically Russian Public TV [ORT] and Russia TV [RTV]
have received instructions to the effect that, I quote,
it is better not to mention, let alone report on or
explain the aims of Fatherland [Luzhkov’s movement]
and also not to allow representatives of the movement to
speak [on air], end of quote.
As a
result, Yuriy Luzhkov sees the establishment of his own
mass media as a main task. According to the leader
of Fatherland, his movement will take part in elections
at any level.
Ekho Moskvy radio,
Moscow, February 26, 1999
VIII. Plans
to monitor media reports on political extremism.
Justice Minister Pavel Krasheninnikov has shown
interest in St Petersburg’s experience of monitoring
the city’s mass media for the purpose of gathering
information on political parties and movements, not
registered in the region.
In
Krasheninnikov’s opinion, Russia has very little
experience in combating extremism, and the
law-enforcement bodies often lack comprehensive
information on extremist organizations. Meanwhile,
structures of this type operate openly even in regions
which are relatively safe in this regard, including St
Petersburg. In particular, a branch of [Aleksandr]
Barkashov’s [nationalist] Russian National Unity
organization functions here, despite the fact that it has
been denied registration in St Petersburg and in
Leningrad Region on four occasions.
‘Izvestiya,’
Moscow, February 26, 1999
IX. Foreign
stations pass initial licensing stage.
All overseas radio companies on the Russian air came
smoothly through an initial licensing stage, with no-one
barred off, reports the Federal Service for Television
and Radio Broadcasting (FSTR). Licensing was
refused on 1,481 occasions last year, unlike now.
All overseas broadcasting companies represented in Russia
were to apply to the federal service for licence before
20th February not to lose access to the air in the host
country.
They
are all willing to comply with the acting Russian
legislation on broadcasting licence, Mikhail
Seslavinskiy, FSTR president, remarked in an exclusive
Novosti interview. All companies visited by service
inspectors had duly applied for initial licensing papers.
RIA news agency,
Moscow, February 25, 1999
X. 11
Russian journalists die in 1998.
Eleven journalists were killed in Russia last year,
compared to 15 in 1997, Oleg Panfilov of the Fund for
Protecting Openness said at a press conference on
Friday. Over 60 attacks were staged against
journalists throughout the CIS in 1998. Journalists
were charged with criminal offences four times, Panfilov
said. No journalists were killed in January.
However, attacks were carried out against 4 journalists
and 3 editorial offices. Seven journalists were
dismissed unfairly. Some 43 journalists were
involved in trial investigations. Seven journalists are
currently under arrest.
Interfax news agency,
Moscow, February 19, 1999
XI. Siberian
region bans media from discussing religion.
The government of the Republic of Buryatia, Eastern
Siberia, has issued a decision, saying that the
functioning of religious associations must not be
discussed by the state-owned media.
The
government has established norms of interaction between
the state-owned media and religious associations,
ITAR-TASS learnt from the press service of the Buryat
government on [18th February]. The state
media should be guided by the federal legislation when
dealing with religious topics.
Apart
from the above, the document specifies rules of
interaction between confessions and the media. For
instance, it is established that the state-owned channels
and publications cover religious events on an
informational basis.
As
for the programmes and publications of a preaching
nature, they can only be made on a contractual basis and
under condition that they are not aimed at destabilizing
accord and civilian peace among various religions.
According
to official information, the government’s decision
was taken in response to requests by confessions to
establish rules for their access to newspapers and TV and
radio companies where the state acts as a co-founder.
ITAR-TASS news agency
(World Service), Moscow, February 18, 1999
XII. More
sackings forecast at Russia TV.
Mikhail Ponomarev, presenter of the main
“Vesti” broadcast on Russia TV, has been taken
off the air. The dismissal order signed by Mikhail
Lesin, first deputy chairman of the All-Russia State
Television and Radio Broadcasting Company [VGTRK], uses
some bland but definite phrases about Ponomarev’s
constant insubordination. But in a private
conversation with his dismissed subordinate, the big
chief’s comments were brutally plain:
“From now on we are going to live according to army
laws, where orders are not discussed but obeyed.”
According
to Ponomarev, the final action which caused the
leadership’ s patience to snap was a letter that the
presenter sent to the VGTRK boss, Mikhail Shvydkoy.
The nub of the conflict is that Shvydkoy himself phoned
Ponomarev before the “Vesti” broadcast and
asked him not to broadcast information on Labour Minister
[Sergey] Kalashnikov’ s involvement in the case of
[former Justice Minister Valentin] Kovalev’s law
enforcement fund. Ponomarev carried out the order
but the next day sent a telegram to his chief asking for
an explanation . . . .
Nikolay
Svanidze [“Zerkalo” programme presenter] could
be the next likely candidate for dismissal. It is
obvious that against the background of the clamour over
the struggle with [media tycoon Boris] Berezovskiy at ORT
[Russian Public TV] the government has decided to instil
rigid discipline in the television company that is in its
pocket . . . .
The
situation with the TV media is aggravated by [Prime
Minister Yevgeniy] Primakov’s ever-increasing
dependence on the Communist Duma majority. The
prime minister has made one concession after another to
the left and now it is the turn of television. The
Zyuganovites [Communists, named after the leader of the
Communist party, Gennadiy Zyuganov] have long been
itching to settle scores with Svanidze’s consistent
anti-communism and now the time has come for him to be
sacrificed. Nikolay Karlovich [Svanidze] has so far
managed to adjust to this fickle world as best he could
while defending the interests of the democratic
state. But there is no more room for manoeuvre,
especially since the world is now run by Stalin’s
heirs. During RTR’s [Russian Television and
Radio, part of all-Russia State TV and Radio Company,
VGTRK] existence, [Oleg] Poptsov [former VGTRK boss],
[Oleg] Sagalayev [former VGTRK boss], [Svetlana] Sorokina
[former RTR presenter], [Andrey] Karaulov [former RTR
presenter] and [Mikhail] Ponomarev have fallen victim to
censorship . . . . [ellipsis as published] Now the
government is trying to lay its hands on the
“Zerkalo” [“ Mirror” ] programme.
[Ekho
Moskvy radio on 16th February reported: “Yuriy
Zubakov, head of the government’s staff, has denied
allegations made by certain media to the effect that top
government officials have decided to ban Nikolay
Svanidze, author and presenter of the ‘Zerkalo’
and ‘Details’ programmes of the Russia TV
channel, from broadcasting. Svanidze is not the
head or an official representative of the VGTRK.
Therefore the government cannot and should not take
decisions on any issues related to Svanidze, Zubakov
said. Svanidze told Interfax [on 16th February]
that he had learnt from his own private sources that the
government presidium had discussed him personally last
week.]
Ekho Moskvy radio,
Moscow, February 16, 1999
XIII. Former
presenter on “censorship” at Russia TV.
Mikhail Ponomarev, who was removed from presenting
the Russia TV channel “Vesti” programme on 12th
February, has said in a radio interview that his removal
came as a result of regular clashes with the management
of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting
Company (VGTRK).
Interviewed
live on Ekho Moskvy radio by Vladimir Varfolomeyev and
Matvey Ganopolskiy on 14th February, Ponomarev accused
the management and VGTRK chairman Mikhail Shvydkoy of
exercising “political censorship.”
Ponomarev
also dwelt on the management’s unwillingness to
implement the planned merger with RIA Novosti. He
said he had sent a letter to President Yeltsin, asking
him to intervene in the conflict at VGTRK.
Ponomarev
said: “On [12th February] evening, after our
programme went out, first deputy chairman of the company
[Mikhail] Lesin suddenly showed me an order, which listed
the people who would present the ‘Vesti’
programme from [15th February] onwards. The list
simply did not contain the name Ponomarev.”
Asked
how Lesin explained the proposed change, Ponomarev
said: “He said the company simply could not
tolerate people with my kind of character in its
ranks.”
Ponomarev
went on to say: “As soon as there are some
political developments which somewhat increase the role
of the Communists, we receive direct instructions:
Well, lads, you’ll have to be cautious with
[Communist Party of the Russian Federation leader
Gennadiy] Zyuganov today. You can tear him to
pieces tomorrow, but please not today,” Ponomarev
said.
Ponomarev
said he had sent an official personal letter to the
president: “It is a private letter, but I can
briefly outline its contents. It says that I
believe that the current VGTRK management has completely
ruined the channel. Second, it said that I believe
that there is a clear move towards political censorship .
. . . Third, I ask for protection for those
‘Vesti’ staff who share my views and who can
therefore become victims of persecution.”
When
asked whether he was still officially a member of the
VGTRK staff, Ponomarev replied: “Mikhail Lesin
told me this: We’ll talk about your future
later, but if, before any such discussion, you use your
constitutional right to move to another job, you can be
sure that no-one will stand in your way.
“I
have been officially informed by Lesin that their plan is
to move ‘Vesti’ to 2100 [Moscow time]. I
think this will mean the death of the programme, because
in the beginning was the word, and the word was
‘Vesti’ at 2000. Later, Russia TV channel
was built around it.”
Asked
if he was worried that the move would put
“Vesti” in direct competition with Russian
Public TV’s “Vremya,” which also goes out
at 2100 hours, Ponomarev replied: “It is not a
matter of competition. ‘Vesti’ will
simply disappear from its rightful place.”
“Our
main manager at the moment is Lt-Col [Lev] Koshlyakov of
the KGB . . . . He is the manager of
‘Vesti.’ I am not happy about this, and many
others aren’t happy either. This is what they
are trying to protect themselves against. At
present, in the absence of a trade union organization,
any protest action, such as a strike, results in a
summary dismissal, because this simply contravenes labour
legislation. If, on the other hand, there is trade
union support, this changes everything. There can
no reckless voluntarism of this kind.”
Ekho Moskvy radio,
Moscow, February 14, 1999
XIV.
President accuses Russian TV channels of bias.
“Politicians from our two countries should meet
more often so that they can learn the true position from
each other,” Uzbek President Islam Karimov stressed
[on 11th February] during his meeting with a delegation
from the Federation Council headed by [Chairman of the
Federation Council] Yegor Stroyev.
Islam
Karimov sharply criticized Russia’s TV channels
which, he feels, are distorting realities.
“The means through which we communicate with each
other do not always convey the situation correctly,”
he remarked.
According
to the Uzbek president, “the impression is being
created that there are only a few places in Russia where
anything really important takes place.” He
said the regions which attracted constant attention
included Moscow, St Petersburg, Maritime Territory and
the Kuzbass. “But what, for example, is
happening in Kaluga, in Ivanovo, to whom we have been
selling cotton for many years?” he asked.
Television in Moscow, Islam Karimov noted, “usually
concentrates on what is happening inside the Garden Ring
[Road in Moscow] or on the debates at the State
Duma.”
ITAR-TASS news agency
(World Service), Moscow, February 11, 1999
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