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	==Life==		==Life==
	Yevgenia Albats was born ] ]. Her father, Mark ~~Evgenievich~~ Albats worked for ] on the territory occupied by ] during ]. In 1943 he was discharged from the Army and worked as an engineer designing ] systems for Soviet defense industry <ref name="Fired"/>.		Yevgenia Albats was born ] ]. Her father, Mark Yevgenyevich Albats worked for ] on the territory occupied by ] during ]. In 1943 he was discharged from the Army and worked as an engineer designing ] systems for Soviet defense industry <ref name="Fired"/>.

	Yevgenia Albats graduated from the Department of Journalism of ] in ]. She started her professional work as a science observer writing about ] and ] for the Sunday addition named ''Nedelya'' (Week) to the governmental ] newspaper. In 1986-1992 she worked for the ] newspaper. In 1993-2000 she was a member of the Clemency Commission at the office of ]. In 1996-2006 she worked for Izvestia (led the weekly column "We and Our Children") and ].<ref name=echo> {{ru icon}}</ref> Izvestia dismissed Albats in 1997 after one of her publications. She was restored by a court decision on ] ].<ref name="Fired"/>		Yevgenia Albats graduated from the Department of Journalism of ] in ]. She started her professional work as a science observer writing about ] and ] for the Sunday addition named ''Nedelya'' (Week) to the governmental ] newspaper. In 1986-1992 she worked for the ] newspaper. In 1993-2000 she was a member of the Clemency Commission at the office of ]. In 1996-2006 she worked for Izvestia (led the weekly column "We and Our Children") and ].<ref name=echo> {{ru icon}}</ref> Izvestia dismissed Albats in 1997 after one of her publications. She was restored by a court decision on ] ].<ref name="Fired"/>

Revision as of 01:43, 22 February 2007

Yevgenia Albats (Template:Lang-ru; born 5 September 1958 ) is a Russian investigative journalist, political scientist, writer, and radio host.

Life

Yevgenia Albats was born 5 September 1958. Her father, Mark Yevgenyevich Albats worked for Soviet military intelligence on the territory occupied by Germany during World War II. In 1943 he was discharged from the Army and worked as an engineer designing radiolocation systems for Soviet defense industry .

Yevgenia Albats graduated from the Department of Journalism of Moscow State University in 1980. She started her professional work as a science observer writing about astrophysics and particle physics for the Sunday addition named Nedelya (Week) to the governmental Izvestia newspaper. In 1986-1992 she worked for the Moscow News newspaper. In 1993-2000 she was a member of the Clemency Commission at the office of President of Russian Federation. In 1996-2006 she worked for Izvestia (led the weekly column "We and Our Children") and Novaya Gazeta. Izvestia dismissed Albats in 1997 after one of her publications. She was restored by a court decision on 15 March 1997.

She received the Golden Pen Award from the Russian Union of Jornalists for exposing horrid conditions in maternity wards in 1989. She became a fellow of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University in 1993.

In 2004 Albats received her PhD degree in political sciences from Harvard University. She is currently a Professor in the Moscow Higher School of Economics and works at the radio station Echo of Moscow. She also writes for Moscow Times.

Research and investigative journalism

Albats is known as a researcher on KGB subjects who was assigned by the Russian Parliament to examine the KGB archives after the Soviet coup attempt of 1991. As a member of an official commission to investigate KGB activities, she interviewed many KGB officers. Albats described some of her findings in the book "The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia--Past, Present, and Future" published in 1994. She estimated that the number of Chekists in Russia in 1992 was approximately 500,000. It means that "Russia has one FSB-ist for every 297 citizens", whereas "the Soviet Union had one KGB officer for every 428 citizens."

She described KGB as a leading political force, rather than a security organization. According to Albats, most KGB leaders, including Lavrenty Beria, Yuri Andropov, and Vladimir Kryuchkov, have always struggled for the power with the Communist Party and manipulated the communist leaders. Moreover, FSB has formal membership, military discipline, an extensive network of civilian informants , hardcore ideology of Russian nationalism, and support of population (60% of Russians trust FSB ), which makes it a perfect totalitarian party Such views are shared by journalist John Barron , retired KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin and the highest-ranking Soviet Bloc intelligence defector, Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa

Albats also revealed collaboration of American Senator Edward Kennedy with KGB that has been established through Western financier and KGB agent David Karr. In 1992, she published an article in Izvestia quoting documents from KGB archives that Karr was “a competent KGB source” who ‘‘submitted information to the KGB on the technical capabilities of the United States and other capitalist countries.”

She cited KGB correspondence about money payments to Rajiv Gandhi and his family, which have been arranged by Viktor Chebrikov

She confirmed that Russian Patriarch Alexius II was KGB agent DROZDOV. This has also been reported by Vasili Mitrokhin and dissident priest Gleb Yakunin who was given access to KGB archives.

Radio talk shows

Albats hosts a weekly talk show at radio station Echo of Moscow. One of her recent interviews was with Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the Moscow-based Center for the Study of Elites. They discussed members of FSB and other state security and intelligence agencies as ruling class of Russia. Kryshtanovskaya explained that key positions in Russian government, Parliament, and business are held by the former and current members of the FSB and other state security, intelligence and military organizations, who are collectively known as "silovik's" and united by their military background and nationalistic views. She noted that most FSB members remain in the "acting reserve" even if they formally leave the organization. All "acting reserve" members receive second FSB salary, follow FSB instructions, and remain above the law, being protected by the organization, according to Kryshtanovskaya .

In another session Albats confronted a journalist Anna Arutunyan. Earlier, Arutunyan wrote an article in the Moscow News criticizing Anna Politkovskaya, who had already been murdered by the time. Arutunyan wrote that Politkovskaya had been more an activist than a journalist and that her articles had been full of "inaccuracies". At the talk, Albats accused Arutunyan of defamation of the late Politkovskaya hinting that the article was ordered by the government and doubting in Arutunyan's authorship. Journalists Oleg Kashin viewed Albats' behavior as extremely uncivil and rude. . He reported on a flash mob campaign by Russian Internet users against Yevgenia Albats under a slogan "Albats, get out of the air!"

References

^ http://www.agentura.ru/dossier/russia/people/albaz/ Agentura.ru Dossier
Dictionary New Russia Znamya magazine
Albats' site at Echo of Moscow Template:Ru icon
Sherry Ricchiardi Standing Up to Death Threats American Jounalism Review, November 1995
Bureaucrats and the Russian transition: The politics of accommodation, 1991-2003. PhD Dissertation, Harvard University, 2004. - 343 p.
The Spies Who Stayed Out in the Cold, The New York Times, by Glenn Garelik, November 27, 1994
^ Symposium: When an Evil Empire Returns, interview with Ion Mihai Pacepa, R. James Woolsey, Jr., Yuri Yarim-Agaev, and Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, FrontPageMagazine.com, June 23, 2006.
Slaves of KGB. 20th Century. The religion of betrayal (Рабы ГБ. XX век. Религия предательства), by Yuri Shchekochikhin Moscow, 1999.
Archives explosion by Maksim Artemiev, grani.ru, December 22, 2006
^ Yevgenia Albats and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia--Past, Present, and Future. 1994. ISBN 0-374-52738-5. Cite error: The named reference "Albats" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
KGB: The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents. New York: Reader's Digest Press, 1974. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1974. New York: Bantam Books, 1974
The Triumph of the KGB by retired KGB Major General Oleg D. Kalugin
Senator Edward Kennedy Requested KGB Assistance With a Profitable Contract for his Businessman-Friend, Izvestia 24 June 1992, 5.
Can Corrupt Politicians Preserve Freedom?, by Rajinder Puri (it claims that KGB chief Viktor Chebrikov in December 1985 had sought in writing from the CPSU, "authorization to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Ms Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi." )
Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West, Gardners Books (2000), ISBN 0-14-028487-7
In Russia, A Secretive Force Widens - by P. Finn - Washington Post, 2006
Interview with Olga Kryshtanovskaya (Russian) "Siloviks in power: fears or reality?" by Evgenia Albats, Echo of Moscow, 4 February 2006
Does Russian society need a fourth estate?, Full Albats, a talk show by Yevgenia Albats, Echo of Moscow, 22 October 2006 (in Russian)
Journalist Murder a Conundrum By Anna Arutunyan, Moscow News, №39, 2006.
^ Full Albats by Oleg Kashin, business newspaper Vzgliad, October 26, 2006 (in Russian)

Her books

Bureaucrats and Russian Transition: Politics of Accommodation. Harvard University Press, 2004.
Yevgenia Albats and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia--Past, Present, and Future. 1994. ISBN 0-374-18104-7.

External links

English

Her interview to PBS
Reporting Stories in Russia That No One Will Publish
Albats, Yevgenia, The Shakedown State. Preprint. Moscow: Higher School of Economics, 2005.

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