After the fall of the Soviet Union, the democratization of the Russian Federation began with the concept of freedom of speech and privatization. The constitution of the Russian Federation gives the right to freedom of mass media. Though under Vladmir Putin’s rule from 2000-2008, Russia stabilized and developed to a great extent, the independent media found it increasingly difficult to criticize those in authority. They have been under a lot of pressure leading to self-censorship. This piece aims to look at how free is the Russian Press and who are the main players in the
Russian Media.
The Russian Media consists of both state owned and independent channels. Newspapers are the second most popular form of media after television. It is known to provide diverse opinions as
compared to television which is majorly state owned. The most read Englis dailies are The Moscow Times, St. Petersburg Times and Moscow News. Most of the top ten Russian newspapers are based in Moscow. There are three main Russian television channels First Channel, Rossiya and NTV. All three of them are majorly owned by the state. First Channel is 51% publicly owned, Rossiya is 100% and NTV is a channel owned by Gazprom media, a subsidiary of Gazprom which
is 50% state owned. These three channels are known to provide biased information. No kind of criticism against the government is shown on these channels. They are mostly focused on positive
news. None of the ant-putin protests which were held in Moscow were broadcast on these channels. Rossiya TV led its newscast last Saturday with Mr. Putin attending a martial arts competition, with the Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme as his guest. On the streets of Moscow that day, 54 people were beaten badly enough by the police that they sought medical care, Human Rights Watch said. Before the elections were to begin a St. Petersburg Bank with ties to Mr.Putin increased its ownership stake in Ren TV which used to occasionally show critical reports about government policies. But now under the influence of Putin the question of news
content being affected comes into the picture. Other channels are Russia K, Russia 2, Ren TV, RT and Russia Today all of which are mostly state owned.Radio is also owned by the state. The five main radio channels are Radio Russia which has a very wide reach, it is a national network run by state-owned Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), Ekho Moskhy is an editorially-independent station, majority owned by state-run Gazprom, Radio Mayak is state run national network, Russkoye radio is a major private network, Voice of Russia is a state run external service which broadcasts in English and other channels, Radio Yunost is a youth station popular among the Russian youth.Recently before the elections there were a lot of journalists covering the protests in Moscow. They were basically protesting against Putin and his government. There have been allegations of corruption against him and his officials. Journalists and photographers who tried to cover the protests were either beaten up or jailed. They were not allowed to take pictures or capture whatever was happening during the protests. This was done mostly by the police and nationalist groups. According to a report by Reporter without Borders ” Violence was used to arrest three journalists – Moscow News reporter Pavel Nikulin, Ridus correspondent Maria Klimova and RIA photographer Andrei Stenin – at around 7:40 p.m. on 5 March in Moscow’s Lubyanka Square during an opposition demonstration against electoral fraud”. A radio reporter Alexander Borzenko was pushed to the ground and beaten up by an unidentified group when he tried to film the protests. A newspaper photographer Gleb Shyelkunov and reporter Arkady Batchkenko and leading opposition blogger Alexey Navalny were arrested in Moscow’s Pushkin Square and released the next morning after charging a huge fine. Thus there have been many attempts to suppress independent media and other channels that are critical about the government. With the recent elections things have gone from bad to worse as protestors have been raising their voices against an authoritarian government demanding a change.
Russian Media.
The Russian Media consists of both state owned and independent channels. Newspapers are the second most popular form of media after television. It is known to provide diverse opinions as
compared to television which is majorly state owned. The most read Englis dailies are The Moscow Times, St. Petersburg Times and Moscow News. Most of the top ten Russian newspapers are based in Moscow. There are three main Russian television channels First Channel, Rossiya and NTV. All three of them are majorly owned by the state. First Channel is 51% publicly owned, Rossiya is 100% and NTV is a channel owned by Gazprom media, a subsidiary of Gazprom which
is 50% state owned. These three channels are known to provide biased information. No kind of criticism against the government is shown on these channels. They are mostly focused on positive
news. None of the ant-putin protests which were held in Moscow were broadcast on these channels. Rossiya TV led its newscast last Saturday with Mr. Putin attending a martial arts competition, with the Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme as his guest. On the streets of Moscow that day, 54 people were beaten badly enough by the police that they sought medical care, Human Rights Watch said. Before the elections were to begin a St. Petersburg Bank with ties to Mr.Putin increased its ownership stake in Ren TV which used to occasionally show critical reports about government policies. But now under the influence of Putin the question of news
content being affected comes into the picture. Other channels are Russia K, Russia 2, Ren TV, RT and Russia Today all of which are mostly state owned.Radio is also owned by the state. The five main radio channels are Radio Russia which has a very wide reach, it is a national network run by state-owned Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), Ekho Moskhy is an editorially-independent station, majority owned by state-run Gazprom, Radio Mayak is state run national network, Russkoye radio is a major private network, Voice of Russia is a state run external service which broadcasts in English and other channels, Radio Yunost is a youth station popular among the Russian youth.Recently before the elections there were a lot of journalists covering the protests in Moscow. They were basically protesting against Putin and his government. There have been allegations of corruption against him and his officials. Journalists and photographers who tried to cover the protests were either beaten up or jailed. They were not allowed to take pictures or capture whatever was happening during the protests. This was done mostly by the police and nationalist groups. According to a report by Reporter without Borders ” Violence was used to arrest three journalists – Moscow News reporter Pavel Nikulin, Ridus correspondent Maria Klimova and RIA photographer Andrei Stenin – at around 7:40 p.m. on 5 March in Moscow’s Lubyanka Square during an opposition demonstration against electoral fraud”. A radio reporter Alexander Borzenko was pushed to the ground and beaten up by an unidentified group when he tried to film the protests. A newspaper photographer Gleb Shyelkunov and reporter Arkady Batchkenko and leading opposition blogger Alexey Navalny were arrested in Moscow’s Pushkin Square and released the next morning after charging a huge fine. Thus there have been many attempts to suppress independent media and other channels that are critical about the government. With the recent elections things have gone from bad to worse as protestors have been raising their voices against an authoritarian government demanding a change.
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