by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright April 23, 2001
All Rights Reserved.

icking at the remains of Russia’s free press, smooth talking Russian President Vladimir I. Putin took another giant leap backward into his totalitarian past shutting down Russia’s last two independent news publications. Dismantling Itogi and Sevodnya—the two journals owned by NTV founder and exiled media magnate Vladimir A.Guzinsky—the Kremlin finished decapitating independent journalism in Russia. “The message that the Kremlin is sending to society is simple and clear: Line up at attention and listen to orders,” said the Viktor Shenderovich, the creator of NTV’s 'Kukly,' a popular puppet show lampooning Putin and the Kremlin. Known for its biting criticism, Itogi and Sevodnya were on the chopping block after charging Guzinky with embezzlement, tax evasion and then chasing him out of the country. Exiled in Spain, the once guardian of Russia’s rickety free press, now finds himself hogtied, unable to salvage the remains of his once powerful media conglomerate known as Media-Most. When Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy company, seized NTV last week, Russia’s last independent TV network bit the dust. All the Kremlin’s empty promises about “democracy” can’t deny that the government pulled the plug on Russia’s free press.

       Allowing hatchet-men at Gazprom, the tax police and Russia’s general prosecutor to complete their hostile takeover of Media-Most, NTV, and now Itogi and Sevodnya, Putin cleverly distanced himself from the Soviet-style purge. Charging key executives with tax evasion, Putin dismissed its actions as simply collecting a $400 million debt owed to Gazprom. “Only the blind could not see the whole remarkable chain of coincidences involving the business problems of Media-Most and the political interests of the Kremlin,” observed Shenderovich, hoping that it would expose the government’s relentless persecution of Guzinky’s independent media company. Pretending that Putin was democratically elected or that his government tolerates anything less than complete obedience, ignores the distasteful reality that Russia’s still doing business Soviet style. Called the “evil empire” by Ronald Reagan, Russia is committed to seizing absolute control over its press. Controlling the airwaves assures, if nothing else, that Putin’s propaganda machine calls the shots.

       Unleashing a campaign of terror against Russia’s free press, Putin reminds onlookers that only his haircut and flowery words resemble Western values. Slinging buzzwords, “This is possible only in a free country, which has stopped fearing not only others but itself too, having freed its citizens and given them more liberty,” Putin crowed to Western journalists inside the Kremlin at his inauguration over a year ago. So many lies, so much deceit, and now irrefutable proof of his real intentions, Putin knew that he must control the airwaves to consolidate power. Watching Media-Most criticize the government, Putin had no other choice but liquidation. Confirming this scenario, Oleg Panfilov, an analyst for the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations [a Moscow-based watchdog group] described the seizure of NTV as a government crackdown. Feeble gestures from CNN founder Ted Turner and others to salvage Guzinsky’s cash-strapped company went nowhere.

       Unlike Chinese President Jiang Zemin who still wears Maoist attire, Putin dons Italian suits and says all the right things to Western journalists. While China has no pretense about controlling its press, Putin pays lip service to “freedom” and “democracy.” When the U.S. EP-3 reconnaissance plane collided with a Chinese F-8 fighter over the South China Sea, Americans received a rude awakening, realizing that China holds a very different set of values. Grandstanding on the world stage, China wasn’t interested in getting the facts—they wanted to play hardball and assert their superpower status. Signing the China Trade Bill didn’t change their totalitarian stripes, especially about manipulating world opinion. With multinational corporations hopelessly dependent on cheap Chinese labor, China was suddenly calling the shots. Cajoled to release the 24-member crew with a pathetic apology, the carcass of the surveillance plane still sits in Chinese custody. Without leverage, the U.S. looked impotent to Chinese whims. Now the U.S. stands idly by while Putin plunders Russia’s free press.

       When the Berlin Wall cracked in 1989, Ronald Reagan received much deserved credit for the collapse of the “evil empire.” While the old Soviet Union might have gotten a much-needed face-lift, the same bad apples have undermined Russia’s wobbly free press. Ending communism and calling Russia “democratic” doesn’t erase the fact that Putin has reinstated the same totalitarian architecture in what he calls his “free country.” “Freedom of the press is under severe threat now,” said Dmitri Sabov, deputy editor of Itogi, “The state is ready to ignore criminal pornographic publications, but it will not put up with publications that criticize it or firmly tell what is really going on in Russia.” Cutting through the Kremlin’s smoke, what’s really going on is the systematic eradication of Russia’s free press—something that the U.S. can neither tolerate nor accept without registering a forceful protest. Holding “free” elections by running only one candidate with any media exposure, Putin holds no mandate to sabotage Russia’s fledgling democracy. Regressing to its dark past, he turned back the clock on Yeltsin’s democratic reforms.

       Sitting in his Spanish villa, Guzinsky received a bit of good news when he learned that Spanish state prosecutor Eduardo Fungairino decided to forego an appeal of a court order blocking extradition to Russia. Though it assures Guzinsky’s freedom, it doesn’t reinstate his independent media company—including its national TV station NTV and its critical publications Itogi and Sevodnya. Asked about the future, “This television station has ceased to be the television company I helped create,” lamented Guzinsky, realizing his dream of a Russian free press crashed and burned. Now considered a fugitive, the once powerful media kingpin got dangerously close to losing his own freedom, attempting to preserve Russia’s empty promise of democracy. Faced with disintegration of the empire, economic upheaval, military reversals and growing corruption, Putin found a new scapegoat, beating Guzinky and the free press into submission. Like the U.S. just learned in China, all the smoke about “democracy” needs to be balanced against the stubborn fact that Russia still hasn’t kicked its nasty habit.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in political consulting and strategic public relations. He’s the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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