Gusinsky's Russian media conglomerate collapses
By freedomforum.org staff
04.17.01
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| Itogi editor in chief Sergei Parkhomenko hugs unidentified member of his editorial staff near magazine's office in Moscow today. |
As the rest of a media empire collapsed, concern is being voiced about the future of a free press in Russia.
On the heels of the takeover of NTV, Russia's only independent television service, the daily newspaper Segodnya and weekly magazine Itogi, both also owned by Vladimir Gusinsky, have changed hands or folded.
The Russian online newspaper gazeta.ru and other Moscow news outlets reported that the offices of Segodnya, a respected daily, had been closed.
Last night, 40 minutes before today's edition was due to go to press, the general director of Sem Dnei publishing house, announced that it would no longer finance the publication. Segodnya Editor in Chief Mikhail Berger was fired "on grounds of staff reduction."
Initially, Sem Dnei General Director Dmitry Biryukov planned to close the daily a week earlier, but then the term of publication was extended for a few more days.
Gazeta.ru said observers believed that Sem Dnei would have printed the daily until April 30 had it not been for an attempt on Biryukov's life on April 13. An unidentified attacker threw a Molotov cocktail at the publisher's car.
At the same publishing house, the entire staff of Itogi, the top Russian news magazine, was fired. All were loyal to Gusinsky.
"On Biryukov's orders, the editorial staff of the Itogi magazine is sacked 'due to staff cuts' and the publishing house stops producing the magazine with the old lineup," lawyer Alexander Berezin told reporters.
Itogi is a joint publication with U.S. magazine Newsweek. The publishing house plans to continue publishing Itogi, but it is not clear whether sacked staff will be rehired to do this and whether the relationship with Newsweek will continue.
Sergei Parkhomenko, Itogi's outgoing editor in chief, said the shake-up followed the pattern of natural gas monopoly Gazprom's takeover last week of Gusinsky's former star asset, NTV television.
Meanwhile, investors led by Ted Turner may end negotiations to buy 30% of Russia's only national independent television network now that it has been taken over by the government-controlled gas company, the Associated Press reported today from Atlanta.
''We are very disappointed with the events of the weekend,'' spokesman Brian Faw said. ''We are going to take the next few days to re-evaluate our positions with respect to NTV.''
Turner isn't the only one expressing concern.
The takeover of television station NTV could impede Russia's uncertain steps toward a more open society, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said yesterday, according to the AP.
"It's the only one of Russia's three largest television networks that's been independent of government control,'' he said. "We certainly hope that this weekend's management takeover will not prevent it from continuing to play that role.''
Boucher would not characterize the seizure as a significant step backward. "I think we'll see how this ultimately plays out,'' he said.
"We're watching this very carefully. We think it would be a great loss to the people of Russia if the changes at NTV reduce their access to a wide range of news and views over the airwaves.''
Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the matter with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov last week in Paris, Boucher said.
Similar concerns are being voiced in Russia.
The Moscow Times carried an editorial today that concluded with these words:
"In objecting to the cynical destruction of NTV as a private media outlet, we are not defending NTV so much as defending ourselves as citizens and our rights. We have seen what a state television monopoly in this country is like and we don't want it. Such a monopoly is inconsistent with democracy and with the dignity and safety of the Russian people. It is inconsistent with free-market reform and economic development. It is inconsistent with the rule of law. The government must divest itself of this monopoly immediately."
