Debate: Russian journalistic freedom
By Posted Mon, Oct 23 2006
The idea of an “unfree” media has lately been first on the list of “Why you shouldn't make friends with Russia.” It makes the countries of the EU and NATO suspicious of relationships with Russia. It's become such a popular issue to discuss that everybody has apparently gotten used to the fact that Russia is a country without free media. Period.
“There is no criticism of the president or the administration,” Igor Yakovenko, secretary-general of the Russian Union of Journalists, pointed out. Apparently criticism is the measure of a country's freedom. The more criticism you have, the more liberty you posses. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but from what I see and hear, criticism is a thing we're not short on. Take Echo Moskvi for example, a popular program called The Spiral of Evil. After 15 minutes it will make you crave one of Putin's speeches so as not to suffocate from pessimism.
The press is not immune to this. Take a short look at the day's headlines; angry judgment is hidden underneath: In Moskovskii Komsomolets, a story by Olga Bozhieva called “The Motherland's Deformed Wings:” Russia, bloated with petrodollars, still can't afford new planes; in Novaya Gazeta, a story by Alexei Polukhin called “The State – It's Them:” The bureaucracy is aware it is the force that distributes and reaps. The bureaucracy is gradually building a separate country for itself; in Moscow Times, a story by William Mauldin, called “Free of Debt Stigma but Stuck on Oil.”
TV is also a haven for criticism of all kind. Try watching NTV over the weekend at 8 p.m. and be prepared for shocking news: death, poverty, violence, crimes, scandals, bribes and immorality. It may not be pointing a finger at the government's failure, but it all leads to one question: “Who's responsible for it?” If you're interested in direct judgment, popular programs like Vremena with Vladimir Pozner or Voskresnii vecher with Vladimir Soloviev could serve as the perfect example. On these shows guests are encouraged to express their most open points of view, and ministers and other state officials are invited to the program where they are anything but flattered. And these programs are broadcast on government-owned channel 1. That's the picture you get in Moscow, not to mention regional media where criticism is practiced on an even larger scale.
Almost everything and everyone is subject to criticism. I can't remember reporters actually saying something good about the country's development – that is apparently considered to be in bad taste. You'll be more likely to hear good news about Russia's prospects from a foreigner than from a fellow countryman. The first contemporary man I heard to actually admire the Russian language was George Kennan.
Every tiny hint on some positive changes in Russia's economics or social status is sure to be accepted with skepticism and indifference by Russian people. They are so exhausted from false promises and unhappiness that they are only satisfied when things are bad. It is this attitude not the criticism shortage in media that ought to concern influential people of our time.
It is time to switch from the trite question of “Who is to blame?” to a more useful one “What to do?” Few reporters actually answer that question, and I don't think that judicial pressure or the new law on extremism is at fault here (* for reference see: Russian TV praises Putin but censorship growing, media unfree – journalist leader, Sources: Ekho Moskvy news agency, Moscow.)
If we just use our common sense, it would be clear that, since we have the opportunity to discuss all these matters and say it all out loud, Russian media isn't as oppressed as it seems to some, and it is far freer than Chinese media. Mr. Yakovenko for example pointed out the lack of criticism live on Echo Moskvi radio. This is more than a little contradictory given the fact that he is a prominent figure in the sphere of journalism, and more than one of his articles can be easily found on the internet, I doubt he personally experiences professional oppression.
I don't want to sound like a student afflicted with false patriotism and trying her best to point out that Russian media is the best in the world. Each system has its own pros and cons, and our media is not an exception. Sure, it's censored. But censorship is something you can't do without even now, in the highly developed 21st century. Just look at the printed material. You can't possibly imagine how many periodicals of all sorts and kinds are printed in Russia. And who knows what's inside. Students are often warned to be extra picky about what to read, never taking the printed word for granted because we could be easily deluded. Especially when it comes to socio-political and economic issues the information can almost certainly be poorly researched, unstructured and biased.
My point is not to put on rose-colored glasses and make the best of life, my point is to find the happy medium. To me freedom has always been unattainable. You can't find absolute freedom anywhere on Earth, otherwise there would be chaos. And yet the pursuit of it is quite a remarkable thing.