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."

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.