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Politicization and Self-Censorship in the Russian Media

How Financial Dependence Slants News Coverage

During the 1996 presidential campaign, it was difficult to discern to what extent media bias was caused by external pressure and to what extent by Russian journalists' own "self-preservation instinct." Neither journalists nor business interests wanted to return to communist rule. Some journalists consequently failed to anticipate that editorial freedom could be threatened when their interests did not coincide with those of their financial backers.

The transformation of the newspaper "Izvestiya" over the last year is instructive in this regard (see Appendix 2). When the loss-making paper sold a stake to the oil company LUKoil in late 1996, editor in chief Igor Golembiovskii insisted that complete editorial independence would be preserved. But in April 1997, LUKoil managers and "Izvestiya" editors clashed over an article (reprinted from the French newspaper "Le Monde") accusing Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin of accumulating massive wealth while in office. As the conflict escalated, "Izvestiya" sought help from Yeltsin.(25) Journalists then sold a major stake to Oneksimbank in the hope that the bank would fend off LUKoil. Instead, Oneksimbank and LUKoil joined forces to oust Golembiovskii, leading to a massive exodus of journalists. The newspaper's editorial line subsequently reflected Oneksimbank's interests.

The influence of media owners is most apparent in coverage of issues that pit financial groups against one another, especially privatization sales. The auction of a 25 percent stake in the telecommunications giant Svyazinvest sparked a "bank war" that has been fought in competing Russian media outlets since July. Russian Public Television and "Nezavisimaya gazeta," under the influence of Boris Berezovskii, unleashed furious attacks against First Deputy Prime Ministers Anatolii Chubais and Boris Nemtsov. They also attacked Oneksimbank, which led the winning consortium for Svyazinvest. The network NTV and the newspaper "Segodnya," both owned by Vladimir Gusinskii, did the same.(26) Berezovskii and Gusinskii were reportedly involved in the losing bid for the Svyazinvest stake. Meanwhile, newspapers partly owned by Oneksimbank vigorously defended Chubais and Nemtsov and retaliated with attacks against Berezovskii and Prime Minister Chernomyrdin, who was considered close to Berezovskii.(27)

The "bank war" continues to this day, especially on weekend "analytical" television programs, such as Russian Public Television's "Vremya" and NTV's "Itogi."(28) When Yeltsin sacked Berezovskii from the Security Council in early November 1997, the media reaction was entirely predictable. Commentators on "Vremya" and "Itogi" depicted Berezovskii as a departing hero and hinted that the dismissal could lead to grave consequences for Chubais and Nemtsov. In contrast, state-controlled Russian Television and newspapers funded by Oneksimbank ("Izvestiya" and "Komsomolskaya pravda") welcomed Berezovskii's ouster as a long-overdue step.(29)

Bias and self-censorship in the Russian media extend beyond coverage of privatization scandals and Kremlin power struggles. Often the influence of the financial backer is subtle and difficult to detect. For instance, a newspaper report might criticize the government's proposed tax code on the grounds that it would hurt ordinary citizens or harm "Russia's national interests." In fact, the newspaper's financier may oppose the tax code for reasons that are not stated in the article; perhaps the code would raise taxes on oil exports or divert property tax revenues from the city of Moscow to regional governments. Similarly, a commentary arguing against the government's plan to redenominate the ruble in January 1998 may reflect a media campaign against Chubais, even if he is not named by the commentator.(30)

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special reports 1997

A paper by Laura Belin, a specialist on Russian affairs at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. It was presented at the national conference of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Slavic Studies, Seattle, Washington, November 1997. The author can be contacted via email at laurabelin@mailexcite.com:

	Introduction
	Owners Attracted by Power of Media
	Media Squeezed by Market Realities
	How Financial Dependence Slants News Coverage
	The Impact of Media Coverage
	Prospects for Development
	Regional Media Even Less Free
	Conclusion
	Endnotes
	Appendix 1: Russian Media Empires
	Appendix 2: Changes in Editorial Policy and Ownership at 'Izvestiya'