Russia
2009
Attacks on the Press in 2008: Russia
When Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, won 68 percent of the vote in Russia’s presidential election March 2, many saw in the new leader a moderate technocrat who might liberalize the country’s press policies. In his May 7 inauguration speech, Medvedev declared that the protection of human rights and freedom would drive “the sense…
Newspaper editor attacked in Moscow region
New York, February 5, 2009–Russian authorities must launch a serious investigation into an evident attack on Yuri Grachev, editor of pro-opposition weekly Solnechnogorsky Forum, who is hospitalized with a concussion, broken nose, and lacerated cheek, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. An initial statement from authorities, which suggested the injuries might be the result…
In Russia, prominent editor threatened
We issued the following statement after Aleksei Venediktov, the prominent editor of independent radio station Ekho Moskvy, received a veiled threat. Venediktov last night found an ax stuck into a log by his door and a videocamera left in front of his apartment…
CPJ calls on Medvedev to address impunity
Dear President Medvedev: CPJ is outraged by the January 19 murder of Anastasiya Baburova, the 25-year-old freelance correspondent for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta who was gunned down in broad daylight in downtown Moscow, along with human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov.
Murder pushes Novaya Gazeta to request guns
In a November 2007 interview, just before receiving CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, Dmitry Muratov, the editor of the embattled Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, recalled the loss of three colleagues to work-related murders in six years. “We have suffered war-like casualties,” Muratov said.
Journalist, human rights lawyer shot dead in Moscow
New York, January 20, 2009–A reporter for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and a prominent human rights lawyer whose clients included murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya were both shot and killed on Monday. At around 3 p.m., Anastasiya Baburova, 25, and Stanislav Markelov, 34, were walking together toward a metro stop in Moscow after a press…
Medvedev, endangered sheep, and online controls
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has tried to create an image apart from his mentor Vladimir Putin. Medvedev claims to support civil liberties, vows to combat corruption, and likes to speak about press freedom. In his first State of the Nation address last fall, Medvedev said the Internet was a guarantor of press freedom in Russia.