Media wars against Kremlin foes highlight lack of press freedom in Russia
Some major Russian TV channels, displaying investigative journalism zealousness, by the way, a rare practice among the country’s major media houses in recent years, ran devastating reports that carried the blatantly distinctive hallmarks of ‘a well-orchestrated smear campaign’ against Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who, as shown by recent developments, has obviously fallen afoul of the Kremlin. A similar approach was used by the Russian media against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who has also recently found himself on the receiving end of Kremlin’s negative propaganda machine.
The irony, however, is the fact that what these media houses have in respect to Luzhkov's case portrayed as ‘sensational investigative journalism scoops,’ were neither 'new nor sensational,' at least, to those, who are keen observers of events in this region. For instance, the NTV, First Channel and Rossiya One TV channels accused the mayor of corruption, favoritism in doling out city contracts to family members and friends, demolition of historical buildings, creating unbearable traffic jams in the city, etc. According to the mayor’s foes, one does not need to be an Einstein to fathom the direct link between the billions amassed by Luzhkov’s wife, the only female billionaire in Russia with a business empire that spans almost all the sectors of the economy and his position as the mayor of the country’s richest city, whose annual budget dwarfs those of most of the CIS states and comparable to some Eastern European states.
Indeed, both high-profile opposition politicians such as Boris Nemtsov and vocal State Duma legislators, such as LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, have levied similar allegations against the mayor, who, by the way, was exonerated by the court, dismissing the allegations as ‘utterly groundless.’ It is worth noting that a press conference called by Nemtsov to voice his allegations against Luzhkov, when he was still a Kremlin favorite, was not only ignored by these TV channels, but also the alleged charges and the consequent court procedures.
The ultimate question is why these channels have decided to display such investigative journalism fanaticism now, and secondly, why is it that it is only politicians that have fallen afoul of the Kremlin that have come under their investigations, and finally, if such irrefutable proofs of the mayor’s misdemeanors were in their possessions, why did they not release them to the public earlier, in line with their primary responsibility as the custodian of the public interests.
It is clear to all who has orchestrated these media attacks, and it is definitely not the CEOs of those channels. This is why to use the media in this manner only helps further cement the ugly impression of absolute lack of press freedom and independence in Russia and, for these media executives not to have foreseen such interpretations in and outside the country shows incurable myopia or lack of professionalism and/or both.
These are not the types of media and media executives that Russia needs in the 21st century. Russia needs an objective press, free both de-facto and de-juror, capable of acting as an independent watchdog, effecting real checks and balances on other arms of the government.
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