Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Russia

Gazprom To Buy Russia's Biggest Newspaper

"Komsomolskaya pravda" (ITAR-TASS)

November 22, 2006 -- The media holding of Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly, Gazprom, plans to buy the country's most widely read newspaper, "Komsomolskaya pravda."

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November 22, 2006

Nikolai Senkevich, the head of Gazprom-Media, said on November 21 that the company expects to complete the deal by early next year.

Gazprom-Media already owns Russia's biggest private television station, NTV, the "Izvestiya" daily, and numerous other media outlets.

"Komsomolskaya pravda" is currently owned by Prof-Media, the media-holding arm of oligarch Vladimir Potanin's Interros group. Prof-Media sold "Izvestiya" to Gazprom-Media in 2005.

Critics say the Kremlin is seeking to squeeze media freedoms by bringing major media outlets under the control of state-run companies.

(Reuters, Interfax)

Russia Beyond 2008

President Putin is mulling his political future (epa)

THE 2008 QUESTION: President Vladimir Putin's second term of office ends in the spring of 2008. Since the Russian Constitution bars him from seeking a third consecutive term, this event threatens to present a crisis in a country that has a history of managed power transitions. Already, Russian politics are dominated by the ominous 2008 question.
RFE/RL's Washington office hosted a briefing to discuss the prospects of Putin seeking a third term. The featured speakers were RFE/RL Communications Director Don Jensen and political scientist Peter Reddaway of George Washington University.

LISTEN

Listen to Don Jensen's presentation (about 16 minutes):
Real Audio Windows Media

LISTEN

Listen to Peter Reddaway's presentation (about 35 minutes):
Real Audio Windows Media

Will Putin Pursue Third Term, Or Will It Pursue Him?

Could Yakunin Be 'First-Called' As Putin's Successor?

Putin Again Says He Won't Run For Third Term But Will 'Work' For Russia

Interview: Former Premier Kasyanov Warns Of Political Crisis

Former Premier Kasyanov Announces Run For President

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RFE/RL's English-language coverage of Russia.

For news and analysis on Russia by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Russia Report."

Syrians in the northwestern town of Kfar Nubul pose with a cartoon depicting Russia

Angry Over Syria, Arab World Threatens Russian Boycott

Groups in a number of Arab states, angry over the Russian-Chinese veto of a UN resolution aimed at stopping the violence in Syria, have called for a one-day boycott of Russian and Chinese goods on February 12. More

Alla Dzhioyeva attends a protest by her supporters in Tskhinvali on January 28.

South Ossetian Opposition Leader Hospitalized After Raid

Alla Dzhioyeva, the opposition candidate whose victory in a runoff ballot in November for de facto president of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia was swiftly annulled by the republic's Supreme Court, was taken to a hospital after a raid by some 200 masked security personnel on her headquarters in Tskhinvali. More

Protesters gather behind a banner reading "Honest Elections" during a demonstration in Moscow on February 4.

How To Rig An Election

A whistle-blower in Samara explains how the authorities fixed the Duma elections in December -- and plan to do the same in the presidential vote in March. More