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The issue of the freedom of the press in Russia involves both the ability of directors of mass media outlets to carry out independent policy and the ability of journalists to access sources of information and to work without outer pressure. Mass media in Russia include television and radio channels, periodicals, and Internet media, which according to the laws of Russian Federation may be either a state or a private property.

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe in 2005 interview to Russian radio Ekho Moskvy said there was pressure on media from authorities in Russia's regions, and situation with the central media caused concerns, as many central TV media looked to lose former independence; his conclusion was that the most important task in Russia was to protect the victories of the 1991 Law on mass media, and to let journalists work fully independently; yet he said that with all the difficulties the Russian media were free as a whole, and the fact he was interviewed in a direct broadcast without censorship spoke also about press freedom.

The Commissioner for Human Rights of Russia Vladimir Lukin reported in 2006, that suggesting that freedom of speech is non-existent in Russia would be an exaggeration, the constitutional right for speech freedom is basically observed, as well as there's no institutionalised censorship. Apparently for these very reasons journalists and publishers seldom appeal to the Commissioner protesting restrictions of their right of seeking, receiving, transferring, publishing or distributing information. Yet disguised restrictions exist to a considerable degree, they are often put through the economic pressure on mass media by the authorities and loyal business. The so-called "self-censorship" which induces journalists to refrain from disseminating information which, in their opinion, may not please the authorities, is also widespread. So in many places the right to praise the authorities is ensured, while the opposite right is just formally declared.

In 2009 Reporters Without Borders ranked Russia 153th out of 175 in the Press Freedom Index. According to International Press Institute, Russia is the most dangerous European country for journalists. According to Human Rights Watch, the Russian government control over civil society through selective implementation of the law, restriction and censure.

Legal position

Freedom of the press is provided by the Constitution of Russia.

Article 29

1. Everyone shall be guaranteed the freedom of ideas and speech.
2. The propaganda or agitation instigating social, racial, national or religious hatred and strife shall not be allowed. The propaganda of social, racial, national, religious or linguistic supremacy shall be banned.
3. No one may be forced to express his views and convictions or to reject them.
4. Everyone shall have the right to freely look for, receive, transmit, produce and distribute information by any legal way. The list of data comprising state secrets shall be determined by a federal law.

5. The freedom of mass communication shall be guaranteed. Censorship shall be banned.

The important law in context of the media freedom is the 1991 Law "On mass media", that guarantees freedom of expression for media, journalists' rights and citizens' right for information.

As reported by Alvaro Gil-Robles, the first Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe after his visit to Russia in 2004,

The law has a strong democratic character. It was very quickly put into practice and fostered the development of media freedom. It prompted an increase in the number of publications and television and radio channels, initially representing all the political currents in Russian society. The different national minorities have also taken up this tool, which is already broadly used to disseminate languages and cultures. Well adjusted to by Russian society, this law remains a key text and gaurantor for Russia's media. I was told repeatedly in numerous conversations with representatives of the media, both journalists and media-owners, that, to safeguard media freedom, the most important thing was to keep the law as it was and to resist certain calls to have it revised, which were expressed from time to time in the corridors of the Duma.

In 2008 annual report Commissioner for Human Rights of Russia Vladimir Lukin made a point, that it's important to have the comprehensive legal interpretation of the terms that may limit the freedom of thought and word. He spoke against the election legislation amendment that is "a practical prohibition" of contesting candidates criticism, calling it obviously excessive. And Lukin was critical about the Law on combating extremist activities, noting that extremism and dissent must be strictly legally divided.

A new law to be implemented at the beginning of 2009 will allow reporters investigating corruption in Russia to be protected. Under new legislation, they will be able to apply for special protection, like court witnesses. The new law is part of a grander national plan to fight corruption in Russia, an area that President Dmitry Medvedev has focused much of his attention on.

Trends

1990s and before

As noted by Gil-Robles, the process of democratization of the totalitarian Soviet Union started with the policy of Glasnost, "meaning openness or freedom of speech". That policy is still regarded within the Russian society as one of the "most precious achievements" of Perestroika, and the "vast majority of people are not willing to accept any kind of change to it". Gil-Robles noted, that the "long-awaited" 1991 Law on Mass Media "had been fought for since the beginning of glasnost not only by journalists and civil society but also by Russian society as a whole".

The contemporary state of media freedom, as Gil-Robles recognized, follows on from "the proactive policy pursued by the Russian authorities at the beginning of the 1990s". During the 1990s the Russian society "went through a period of rapid development of the traditional media".

2000s

In 2004 Gil-Robles systematically met a number of local and regional journalists in regions he visited and reported the "strong motivation of the journalists, their keenness to preserve and reinforce their rights and their everyday efforts to uphold freedom of expression". He said, "I also realised how closely media professionals associate freedom of the media with the health of democracy in general".

In 1997 there were just over 21,000 registered periodicals, virtually no electronic media, and just under 100 television companies, more than half of which were owned by the state. As of 2006 there were more than 58,000 periodicals, 14,000 electronic media, and 5,500 broadcasting companies, and the states share in the newspaper and journal market is estimated to be less than 10%. Its share in electronic media is even smaller.

As reported by Gil-Robles,

Even so, some worrying trends have emerged in recent years. According to international journalists' associations, the situation is taking a turn for the worse. A number of laws and provisions adopted in the general context of combating terrorism restrict freedom of speech and do away with the guarantees that are vital to the work of journalists in a democracy. This regrettable development has not been without victims, with a number of television companies, radio channels and newspapers being closed down. In addition, ownership changes for some media have brought them under the control of the State or of companies in which the State is the main shareholder. Finally, Russia counts amongst the countries in which attacks and acts of violence against journalists have noticeable risen in recent years.

As stated by BBC, two of the three main federal channels Channel One and Russia TV are controlled by the government controls while state-controlled energy giant Gazprom owns NTV.

In 2007, a report by professor of politics Nicolai N. Petro asserted that foreign companies owned shares in over half of all Russian broadcasting companies and not the state. He claimed that critics concentrated solely on national television media, while "detailed statistics also demolish the myth that Putin dominates national television and allows no critical reporting". In the same report, Petro declared that for the first time in modern Russian history independent media had become profitable.

In 2006 Vladimir Putin commented that in the period of 1990s freedom of press in Russia "was indeed under threat, not from the former state ideology that once held a monopoly on expression, but from the dictates of oligarchic capital". Journalist Yevgeniya Albats has said: "Of course in the 1990s there were restrictions on freedom of expression but, due to the fact that the media belonged to different business structures, despite influence being exerted pluralism was preserved." When asked about media freedom in 2006 interview with NBC TV channel, Putin replied: "We have more than 3,500 television and radio companies here in Russia and state participation in them is decreasing with every passing year. As for print media, there are more than 40,000 publications and we could not control them all even if we wanted to."

The World Press Freedom Review 2008 by International Press Institute stated that Russian independent media is under increasing pressure:

The central administration strengthened its grip on power by restricting journalism in the run-up to the State Duma and Presidential elections. State officials and pro-government businesses relied on a variety of methods to consolidate control of influential broadcasters, to sideline critical journalists, and to intimidate them into self-censorship.

Assaults on journalists

Since the early 1990s, a number of Russian reporters who have covered the situation in Chechnya, contentious stories on organized crime, state and administrative officials, and large businesses have been killed. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, since 1992, 50 journalists have been murdered for their professional activity in Russia (which made it the third deadliest country for journalist in the 1992-2006 period): 30 journalists from 1993 to 2000, and 20 journalists since 2000.

According to Glasnost Defence Foundation, there were 9 cases of suspicious deaths of journalists in 2006, as well as 59 assaults on journalists, and 12 attacks on editorial offices. In 2005, the list of all cases included 7 deaths, 63 assaults, 12 attacks on editorial offices, 23 incidents of censorship, 42 criminal prosecutions, 11 illegal layoffs, 47 cases of detention by militsiya, 382 lawsuits, 233 cases of obstruction, 23 closings of editorial offices, 10 evictions, 28 confiscations of printed production, 23 cases of stopping broadcasting, 38 refusals to distribute or print production, 25 acts of intimidation, and 344 other violations of Russian journalist's rights.

On October 7, 2006, Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, well known for her criticisms of Russia's actions in Chechnya and the pro-Russia Chechen government, was shot in the lobby of her apartment building. The death of this Russian journalist triggered an outcry of criticism of Russia in the Western media, with accusations that, at best, Putin has failed to protect the country's new independent media.

International Press Institute reports selective use of regulations, politically motivated criminal investigations, journalist imprisonments, outlet shutdowns and aggressive harassments by security services.

According to International Press Institute, in 2009 "Russia remains the most dangerous European country for journalists, with four killed this year. All four journalists either worked in or reported on Russia’s volatile North Caucasus region."

The Reporters Without Borders organization explained its current ranking of Russia, 153rd out of 175th (below Belarus) with the following reason :

The reasons for this fall, three years after Anna Politkovskaya’s murder, include continuing murders of journalists and human rights activists who help to inform the population, and physical attacks on local media representatives. They also include the return with increasing force of censorship and reporting taboos and the complete failure to punish those responsible for the murders.

The Amnesty International reported in 2009, that "Human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers who spoke openly about human rights abuses faced threats and intimidation. The police appeared to be reluctant to investigate such threats and a climate of impunity for attacks on civil society activists prevailed." The Amnesty International reported also a "climate of growing intolerance towards independent views".

In 2008 Amnesty International criticized the run-up to parliamentary and presidential elections as "a clampdown on the freedoms of assembly and expression", stating that "the authorities have violently dispersed some opposition demonstrations, while pro-government events have gone ahead without interference."

Police raids

On June 19, 2006, Russian police raided the Educated Media Foundation, a non-governmental organization that receives U.S. funding, seizing documents and equipment in a search its director said was likely linked to the government's growing distaste for Western-funded NGOs.

Moscow-based media

Print media

Following his 2004 visit to Russia Gil-Robles reported, "At the meeting organised with the editors-in-chief of the major Russian newspapers, I noted the broadly shared opinion that freedom of speech has remained substantial since 1991. It is true that there have been several recent reports of pressure on journalists."

The highest ranked difficulty mentioned was the financial situation of the press. Most of the Moscow-based newspapers seek diverse sources of funding, "so that their independence will not be jeopardised and they will not have to turn to either the State or private shareholders, which are more often than not big industrial groups."

Another specific problem was mentioned in relation to the press distribution outside the capital. While subscriptions to press was reliable in the capitals, difficulties with press subscriptions arose "in relation to other towns and cities, especially those in Siberia and the Far East":

This situation was partly due to the great distance between these regions and the capital. But we were also told that, in some cities, the postal services followed instructions from the regional authorities to delay distribution of a given newspaper because of how journalists had reported the actions of a given authority. Whilst it is difficult to imagine such unacceptable behaviour, it must, wherever might occur, be ceased forthwith.

Television and radio

See also List of Russian-language television channels

Gil-Robles noted, that "Television and radio find themselves in a quite different situation to that of the press, and their loss of independence raises a number of issues."

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, "All three major television networks are now in the hands of Kremlin loyalists." Indeed, while "Сhannel Russia" was state-owned since its foundation in 1991, major shareholders of ORT and NTV (Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky, respectively) sold their stocks to the government and Gazprom in 2000-2001. Moreover, TV6, a media outlet owned by Berezovsky, was closed in 2002 using a laws hole. In 2003 TVS channel which was formed mainly of former NTV and TV6 was closed due to financial problems.

Gil-Robles commented:

"It is true that these developments are partly due to economic processes, as the representatives of the authorities pointed out, but I believe that they reflect above all a taking of control of popular television and radio stations, whose broad coverage permits a degree of critical information to reach the majority of the population throughout the country. I was shocked to hear from the editors-in-chief of some of the main Russian newspapers and several of the leading television journalists I met on 30 June 2004 in Moscow that, of the thirty or so live programmes broadcast two or three years ago, not one remained on air, the last of them — symbolically entitled "Freedom of speech" — having been scrapped by NTV despite its great popularity."

Along with that, plenty of media outlets actively develop now while state participation in them is minimal . There are private Russian TV networks with the broadcast cover reaching the majority of the Russia's population: REN TV (known for the daily analytical talk show with Tigran Keosayan, analytical news program "Week" with Marianna Maksimovskaya), TV Center ("Postscriptum" with Aleksey Pushkov, "Moment of Truth" with Andrey Karaulov), Petersburg - Channel 5.

Gil-Robles made a special comment about a Russian radio channel:

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the work of the Echo of Moscow radio channel, which is internationally renowned and also a reference within the country itself. I have known this radio station for years and have always appreciated the frankness and professionalism of its journalists. It is never easy to reply to their direct questions but all its interviewees receive equal treatment, and this inspires respect.

Liberal opposition TV-Channel RTVi owned by Vladimir Gusinsky is not broadcast in Russia, but available in that country through networks of cable and satellite television, MMDS and IPTV networks. A former editor of a program on that channel, Vladimir Kara-Murza, believes it is the merit of the RTVi that the possibility of a third presidential term of Vladimir Putin was prevented, and that the "backdoor political technologists" were made to "abide to the Constitution, albeit with the Successor operation".

"Black lists" controversy

As reported by Clifford J. Levy in 2008 New York Times article, all Putin's opponents are being made to vanish from Russian TV. They are blacklisted and not allowed to appear in TV shows. In one example, a presentation critical of Putin's policies has been digitally erased .

As reported by Russian scientist Sergey L. Lopatnikov, information about "black lists" is nonsense; an argument was made that not less than 35-40% of participants of NTV-aired talk show "At a barrier" hosted by Vladimir Solovyov during the last two years represented the liberal opposition (including Novodvorskaya, Ivanenko, Nemtsov, Hakamada); from January to May 2008, overt adversaries of Vladimir Putin participated in 9 of 16 (more than 50%) issues of the talk show .

Alleged REN-TV and Channel 5 news ban controversy

In October 16, 2009, Kommersant newspaper reported that the owner of private television channels REN TV and Channel 5 had made changes to the managing structures of the channels. Referring to an anonymous source, Kommersant stated that as the result these channels would cease to broadcast independent news; instead, since 2010 they would receive the news from the state-powered TV-channel Russia Today. As Kommersant wrote, "the Channel 5 and REN-TV are the only Russian TV channels today the editorial policy of which is different from the state news. Only there opposition politicians are aired, as well as other events are reported that cause discontent of the authorities." However, the head of a REN-TV analytical news program "Week" Marianna Maksimovskaya was quoted by Kommersant as saying she held optimistic about the new executive director of REN-TV and sure that its editorial policy won't be altered.

In October 19, press secretary of REN-TV channel Nazarov asserted that REN-TV and Channel 5 will receive from the Russia Today "exclusively technological support", and the state channel will impose no influence on the informational part of the news.

In October 22, Alexander Orjonikize, a former head of REN-TV, and now CEO of National Media Group that owns TV channels in question, said that while the possibility of partnership in order to produce more saturated and interesting news is discussed, "it's important to note that whatever business stratery would be chosen in that direction, editorial policy regarding news and its informational contents will not be altered."

The Channel 5 employs 1700 people in St. Petersburg, its sales in 2009 accounted for 20 millions USD, while the expenditures exceeded 100 millions. In October 19, employees of the TV channel published an open letter to the top Russian politicians, concerned over a possibility of mass dismissals. In October 23, CEO of NMG-TV Vladimir Khanumyan in an interview promised no mass dismissals will take place; he also commented that "Information about Russia Today is generally some misunderstanding. I don't even understand how could it be used in our project. It's the TV channel which makes programs for the abroad audience in English and Arab languages. How does that relate to the Channel 5?"

Internet

Following his visit to Russia in 2004, Gil-Robles noted high quality of news and reaction speed of Russia's electronic media. Virtually all the main newspapers were available on-line, some even opting for Web as a sole information outlet. Russia's press agencies (including the most important Ria-Novosti and Itar-Tass) were also well represented in the Web. However, only a minority (8% of the population) had Internet access that time.

In May 2008, some 32.7 million users in Russia had continuous access to the internet, what accounted for internet penetration of almost 30%.

As reported by Agence France-Presse, "The Internet is the freest area of the media in Russia, where almost all television and many newspapers are under formal or unofficial government control".

Russia wasn't included in the list of 12 "Enemies of the Internet", prepared by the Reporters Without Borders in March 2009.

As reported by Kirill Pankratov in April 2009 in The Moscow Times,

Even discounting the chaotic nature of the web, there is plenty of Russian-language material on political and social issues that is well-written and represents a wide range of views. This does not mean, though, that most Russians are well-informed of the important political and social issues of today. But this is largely a matter of personal choice, not government restrictions. If somebody is too lazy to make just a few clicks to read and become aware of various issues and points of view, maybe he deserves to be fed bland, one-sided government propaganda.

Notably, a number of Russian websites provide Russian translations of the world press on a regular basis: InoSmi, InoForum, InoPressa.

Controversies

Magomed Yevloyev, editor of Ingushetia.org, a vocal critic of the region's administration, was murdered in August, 2008.

At the background of December 2008 demonstrations in Vladivostok, it was reported by Kontury news website that FSB officers addressed moderators of the ru_auto Internet community with a request to remove stories about the Vladivostok protests. The major reason, as reported by a moderator of the resource, was that a number of repeating posts with the information about protests worsened some sort of statistics on people's attitudes. The moderator in question requested bloggers to publish only unique posts about protest actions.

SORM

A System of Ensuring Investigative Activity, SORM, an amendment signed into law by Putin. SORM allowed law enforcement bodies to monitor Internet traffic and required ISPs to assist law enforcement in their investigations. In late 2000, Russian Supreme Court ruled that the law enforcement bodies are required to obtain a warrant and inform ISPs when law enforcement agents were using the system. Similar laws exist in most developed countries with large internet populations.

Regional media

Following his visit to Russia in 2004, Gil-Robles reported:

The press is highly developed in the regions. Russians have long been great readers of newspapers, averaging between one and two a day. I was struck by the number of newsstands and vendors in all manner of places - kiosks, stations, bus-stops, streets - and by the strong distribution of regional press. The very widespread practice of subscription is further evidence of the press' popularity. Newspapers remain affordable and this partly explains the obvious enthusiasm shown by the great majority of Russians.

Speaking about the obstacles that make that diversity "being tested somewhat", Gil-Robles noted "deliberate attempts to restrict the media's freedom of expression", and the financial issues that reflect "a difficult or in some cases disastrous economic situation". He reported:

It seems to be increasingly the case that regional authorities agree to fund regional press in return for favourable treatment from it, with the result that journalists can be hampered in their work by increasingly close ties between the media and local authorities.

According to Gil-Robles: "Finally, the only media to remain relatively independent in the regions are the big Moscow-based dailies, most of which carry a regional insert. As they are funded by their publishing group, they maintain a greater objectivity as regards regional authorities."

According to report by Reporters Without Borders in 2009, "the current situation of the media in the Russian regions provides grounds for hope as well as for concern". The regional print media has been able to maintain a solid position as an information resource. However, most publishers shy away from politically charged topics in order not to endanger their business. The situation is similar in radio where journalist has set up an Internet forum in which radio journalists can publish reports that their often strictly formatted radio stations refuse to broadcast.

Media in the Sverdlovsk region

Gil-Robles reported:

I must say that I was impressed by the sheer number of local media in the region. Not even counting the printed press, sixteen regional television channels is a surprising figure. I was also told that the different channels follow very different editorial lines and sometimes even take up radically opposed positions. I regard this as a fine example of media freedom, which reflects the healthy administration of democracy in the region overall. It seems that the media have no hesitation in criticising the Governor and his administration without any fear of repression.

As an issue, Gil-Robles noted the "broadcasting ban on the private television and radio company Telekon" in 2004. As reported on the Telekon's website, its radio and television broadcast was re-established in August 2007.

A major TV company of the Sverdlovsk region is TAU ("Television Agency of Ural"). That company won a prestigeous Russian TV award TEFI in 1999. The daily news program "Nine and a half" broadcast by this channel is viewed by 1/4 of the Yekaterinburg population, and its popularity contests that of a news program of federal TV network ORT.

Censorship

According to journalist Maxim Kononenko, "People invent censorship for themselves, and what happens on some TV channels, some newspapers, happens not because Putin dials them and says: No, this mustn't go. But because their bosses are fools." However, political scientist Yevgenia Albats in interview with Eduard Steiner has disputed this assertion: "Today the directors of the television channels and the newspapers are invited every Thursday into the Kremlin office of the deputy head of administration, Vladislav Surkov to learn what news should be presented, and where. Journalists are bought with enormous salaries. In discussions they tell us then how horrible it is to work in the state television service." .

According to 2005 research conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), the number of Russians who approve of censorship on TV has grown in a year from 63% to 82%; sociologists believe that Russians are not voting in favor of press freedom suppression, but rather for expulsion of ethically doubtful material (such as scenes of violence and sex: 57% for restricting of violence/ sex depiction on TV, 30% for ban of fraudelent businesses ads; and 24% for products for sex ads and 'criminal way of life propaganda' films).

Alexei Bayer, writing for the liberal opposition-minded Moscow Times newspaper, said, that aside from the main television channels, journalists in Russia can generally write whatever they wish and criticize and ridicule even topmost officials.

The World Report 2009 by Human Rights Watch claimed that the Russian government controlled over civil society through selective implementation of the law, media restrictions and harassment of activists and human rights defenders.

Russian politilogist Sergey Kara-Murza spoke positively in regards of censorship, aimed against such issues as brutality on TV screens, or issues (in particular religious ones) that may injure people's feelings.

According to 2008 Human Rights Report by the United States Department of State the Government generally respects freedom of expression, but it restricts issues such as Chechnya, human rights, corruption and criticism of the administration.

Freedom House overviews

According to the Freedom in the World report 2009 by Freedom House, Russia's status is "not free". The organisation reports declining of the media freedom in 2008 and "Soviet-style" media management. According to the report the Russian constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, but in reality, the politized and corrupt court system is used against independent journalists.

Russia remained one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the media due to widespread lawlessness that allows politicians, security agents, and criminals to silence journalists by any means.

According to the Freedom House, authorities influence on media outlets and news content. The government owns 60 percent of newspapers, and in whole or in part, all national televisio stations.

Criticism of Freedom House in Russia

Activities of Freedom House in regards of assessments of the situation in Russia are widely criticized in that country as russophobic.

In 2007, head of the President's Council for aiding development of institutions of civilian society and human rights Ella Pamfilova said that the results of Freedom House investigation in regards of Russia look "ridiculous, awkward and far-fetched" :

Many authoritative international organizations know perfectly what is the Freedom House. Among their leaders there is the former CIA head and many people who essentialy hate Russia. This organization is for long the tool of the U.S. politics, such a human-rights bludgeon.

According to MSIIR professor Aleksey Pushkov:

There's a sensation that their anti-Russian attitude has no relation to reality but is related to different tasks, that is, of maintaining the very unfavourable image of Russia abroad.

Stances by the Russian opposition towards the press freedom

Head of the largest opposition party, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov spoke in 2007 in support of the press freedom :

In the meantime you, the journalists, can also rely on us. We are the last bastion of speech freedom and democracy in Russia. Without us there would be such extent of crime and the police state, that all of you would do bad. Essentially, you hear and watch that every day. You are treated now very simply: if you say something wrong, you are thrown from your job in 24 hours. But we will guarantee the speech freedom and normal democratic elections.

The country's socialist party, Fair Russia has the program that involves the following points :

Our party speaks in support of mass media defense from the pressure of commercial and governmental structures. We are for the responsibility in the cause of realization of speech freedom principle. The speech freedom must rely on the moral and ethical norms and be subject to the corporate ethics of the mass media. The media must held responsible for the "pullution of man's informational environment", and the society must control the quality of the information.

The television is a powerful means to influence the moral and ethical condition of the society, and we have no right to ignore its contents.

The party speaks in support of the open informational society. We believe it's principally important to provide the Internet access for every citizen of the country.

The country's nationalist party LDPR makes the following statements in its program:

For LDPR the basic norm is that a person must be that much free, as one's freedom doesn't start to restrict freedom of a different person.

The country's liberal democratic party Right Cause makes the following points in its program:

We do not need charity gifts, but the liberty — liberty of choice, liberty of business, liberty of the word and the equal rights for everyone. That all is only possible under the effective power, responsible before the society and the law. We need the order based not on the right of the force and privileges but on the law, the single one for everybody.

We united in the name of the principle "The state is for a person, but not a person is for the state."

...

We consider the free media the most important institute of the civilian society, the means of control over the authorities. Only the media, independent from both the state will and the private corporate interests may be the effective tool of the democratic system.

We speak for the establishment of the media managed by the society, including TV, radio and a newspaper.

We are for strengthening the rights of the media to receive from the state or other bodies of power any not secret information after an inquiry, while the refuse to provide the information or its deliberate skewing must be punished by the Administrative or the Criminal Code.

We are against state endowments paid to the media, including the ones established by the state bodies or other structures, as such endowments are a form of pressure imposed on the media. In the same time we are for broadening the taxation privileges for the media, including the ones related to advertising revenues.

We are against the free interpretation of the limitations imposed on the activities of the media under pretexts of combating the terrorism, incitement of social or religious discord, etc., what means in practice limitation of media freedom for the sake of this or that authority benefits.

The United Civil Front, headed by a Russian oppositioner Garry Kasparov makes the following claims in its manifesto:

Our country is ruled by the regime which stands against both the interests of Russia as a whole, and practically every its citizen. Except only for the top people in the security services and the corrupted bureaucracy, that use the state machine in their private interests. This regime makes the steady go to destroy all the institutes of the democratic society: elections, free media, independent court.

...

The major UCF task of the day is breaking the Putin's regime, its complete dismantling. We believe that today it's already impossible to limit ourselves with the only constatation of the fact that Russia is headed towards the wrong direction. Today it is the time to come from words into the action, plainly because it will be late tomorrow. It's this phrase — "From words to the action" — that will become the major motto of the new organization at the current stage.

See also

• List of journalists killed in Russia
• Media of Russia
• Telecommunications in Russia
• Human rights in Russia

References

1. Interview of Alvaro Gil-Robles to M. Ganapolsky, Echo of Moscow, April 24, 2005 (in Russian)
2. THE REPORT Of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation For the Year 2006, (in English)
3. Index of Reporters without Borders, 2009
4. International Press Institute: Europe Overview
5. ^ International Press Institute: Russia
6. Human Rights Watch: World Report, Russia p. 393
7. ^ The Constitution of the Russian Federation
8. Law Of The Russian Federation No.2124-1 Of December 27, 1991 On Mass Media
9. ^ "Report by Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles on his Visits to the Russian Federation". Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights. 2005-04-20. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
10. ^ 2008 Report of Russian Ombudsman (in Russian)
11. New law protects journalists Russia Today Retrieved on July 22, 2008
12. Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007.
13. BBC News Country profile: Russia
14. ^ Russia as friend, not foe, By Nicolai N Petro.
15. Interview with NBC Channel. July 12, 2006
16. Journalist Politkovskaya murder retrial begins in Moscow, August 5, 2009
17. CPJ calls on Putin to take responsibility for Politkovskaya murder probe - Committee to Protect Journalists
18. Attacks 2005: EUROPE and CENTRAL ASIA
19. http://cpj.org/deadly/cpj-database.xls
20. Конфликты, зафиксированные службой мониторинга ФЗГ на территории РФ в течение 2006 года
21. Конфликты, зафиксированные ФЗГ в течение 2005 года на территории РФ
22. Putin's Russia failed to protect this brave woman, Joan Smith.
23. Anna Politkovskaya, Prominent Russian Journalist, Putin Critic and Human Rights Activist, Murdered in Moscow, Democracy Now
24. International Press Institute: Europe Overview
25. ^ Reporters Without Borders: Europe no longer so exemplary, Russian tragedy deepens
26. Reporters Without Borders: Indeks svabody pressy 2009 god (in Russia)
27. Amnesty International: Freedom curtailed in the Russian Federation
28. Russian police raid U.S.-funded Educated Media Foundation - International Herald Tribune
29. Financial Times: Russian media set for landmark deals, January 8, 2002
30. Official site of RTVi
31. Near the broken air, by Novata Gazeta, 2008
32. It Isn’t Magic: Putin Opponents Vanish From TV New York Times, June 3, 2008 Related discussion
33. REN-TV and Channel 5 will get different news, by Kommersant, October 16, 2008
34. Guardian: Dissenting voices to be silenced as liberal Russian TV channels come under state control (16 October 2009)
35. REN-TV will retain its own news, by lenta.ru, October 19, 2009
36. CEO of NMG: editorial policy regarding news on Channel 5 and REN-TV won't be altered, by Lenizdat.Ru, October 22, 2009, (in Russian)
37. Employees of the Channel 5 threaten mass protests, (in Russian)
38. Interview of Vladimir Khanumyan to Business Peterburg newspaper, October 23, 2009
39. 33m internet users in Russia, IT & Telecoms in Russia
40. Russian prosecutors eye Internet censorship, AFP
41. Internet monitored and controlled, even in democracies, Reporters Without Borders, March 12, 2009
42. Russia Is No Enemy of the Internet, by Kirill Pankratov, The Moscow Times, April 8, 2009
43. Kremlin critic shot in Ingushetia, BBC
44. Protests on Car Tariffs Erupt in Russia, New York Times, December 22,2008
46. ^ Cite error: The named reference RWB-heroesandhenchmen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
47. History of TV company Telekon, at the official site (in Russia)
48. Website of TAU (in Russian)
49. Template:Ru icon Interview with M. Kononenko by Itartass
50. Source: 82% of Russians Approve TV Censorship, Russian Development Portal, 24 June 2005
    , A point to note is, that according to the Article 29/5 of the Constitution of Russia, Censorship shall be prohibited.
51. Bayer, Alexei (2008-08-17). . The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2009-08-17. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); External link in |title= (help)
52. Human Rights Watch: World Report 2009: Russia
53. Managing the image of death..., interview with Sergey Kara-Murza, 2003 (in Russian)
54. US State Department: 2008 Human Rights Report: Russia (February 25, 2009)
55. Combined Average Ratings: Independent Countries 2009
56. ^ Freedom House: Freedom of Press 2009
57. ^ Human rights defenders were offended by the Freedom House, by NewIzv, February 2, 2007 (in Russian)
58. Rating of countries published by FH is obvious political nonsense, by A. Pushkov, February 2007
59. ^ The victory of Communists at the election is in interests of everybody
60. Program documents of Fair Russia -- Culture and the mass media (in Russian)
61. Program of LDPR, (in Russian)
62. Program of the Right Cause, (in Russian)
63. Manifesto of the United Civil Front

• Freedom of expression
• Journalism
• Censorship in Russia
• Russian media