Freedom of Russian press under scrutiny following Ukraine crisis

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/10/freedom-russian-press-scrutiny

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In the post-Soviet space, it is not just the fate of Ukraine that is the subject of intense debate – but the freedom of Russian journalists to report it. Proponents of a free press have long complained of a subtle – and at times not so subtle – Kremlin crackdown on Russian media, arguing that fewer and fewer newspapers and television channels are truly independent and free to report news without external interference. The Kremlin says it is no big deal that the state controls the commanding heights of television, insisting that robust debate is still possible in Russia.

Two very different viewpoints are offered by two figures at the forefront of this battle. Tikhon Dzyadko, deputy editor of the last truly independent Russian television station, describes how Rain TV has come under immense pressure in recent weeks to close down.

"As the current Russian leadership understands it, the main aim of the media should be propaganda," Dzyadko writes on the Guardian's Comment is Free site. "In this system, there is no room for independent media groups like TV Rain, or for me and my colleagues."

But Dmitry Kiselev, a television host who was blacklisted by the EU sanctions list which called him Vladimir Putin's "chief propagandist", dismisses the argument, claiming that freedom of speech is now better respected in Russia than the west.

"The main charge levelled against me is that I engage in propaganda," he said of the decision to blacklist him. "However, propaganda is not a concept addressed by international law, while freedom of speech is. By sanctioning me, the EU has sanctioned freedom of speech."

Some independent Russian journalists agree, saying that however much they dislike Kiselev and what he stands for, the EU has opened up a can of worms by sanctioning someone who, in title at least, is a journalist.

Kiselev claims that in Russia there are no similar issues with freedom of speech: "Russian journalists are free to tackle difficult issues in their reporting without fear of government sanction."

Dzyadko says that TV Rain has questioned both government and opposition figures in a way that state television could never do, and calls Kiselev "a symbol of the new Russian journalism, or rather the new Russian propaganda, which does not assume positions at odds with those of the state".

Media freedom has been under threat for many years in Russia, and the few independent outlets remaining have come under intensified pressure in the past months. The respected lenta.ru online portal changed its editor-in-chief and many of its journalists after the owner took offence at its coverage of the Ukraine crisis. With an ever smaller space for independent journalists in Russia, many are looking to leave the country or change profession.

The intense political climate over Ukraine has also caused problems for journalists working on the ground, with several Ukrainian journalists badly beaten up in Crimea by masked thugs apparently linked to the pro-Russian authorities, and many foreign journalists having their equipment stolen.

As the main events have moved to eastern Ukraine, Kiev has implemented a policy of banning Russian journalists, who have been turned back at airports and pulled off trains entering the country. As well as journalists working for state television, independent Russian journalists have also been targeted.