When President Vladimir Putin was elected successor to Boris Jelzin, Europe breathed a sigh of relief. It finally looked like the Russian bear would become predictable - economically, politically and not least of all, militarily. The wild period of transition from the Soviet Union to a democratic Russia was closed and the new master in the Kremlin appeared to be a guarantor on the way to Russian democracy and a reliable cooperation with Europe. That blood was still flowing in Chechnya and that there were still reports of atrocities by Russian soldiers against the populace, was noted with a frown and it was hoped that the new friend in Moscow could be convinced to deal peacefully with the Chechen people, whom he curtly classified as "terrorists."

The relationship between Bush & Co. and President Putin became virtually ecstatic after the 11th of September, as he joined in the anti-terror choir. Had he not already shown in Chechnya how one should deal with terrorists? His critics fell silent and secretly asked themselves whether he was not right, after all. Everything was suddenly possible - even Bush's termination of the ABM contract, the most important agreement concerning the reduction of atomic missiles, without Putin getting mad about it. Months before, Washington's unilateral actions had threatened to become a bone of contention and to burden the West-East springtime with a period of frost.

But the man whom the Europeans, especially the Germans, would so gladly take into their hearts, causes more and more irritation. One of these is his treatment of freedom of the press. For some days now, Russia no longer has a television that is independent of the State. TW-6 was the last one that was still left. Officials turned off its electricity on the night of Jan. 22, 2002 during a talk show. The next day only more sports shows, advertisements and Swan Lake could be viewed. The official word was that the station had gone bankrupt and this was why, based on a court ruling, press minister Lessin had ordered the closing of the station, up to 75% of which belongs to Boris Beresowskij, one of the so-called oligarchs of the Jelzin era, who has fled into exile. Another who belongs to this caste of those who got rich and mighty quick, has also fled abroad, businessman Vladimir Gussinskij. He, too, had his own television station, which fell victim to the State: It was called NTW and was swallowed up by the half-government owned gas company, Gazprom, and since then reports only Kremlin-friendly news. Some months before NTW was brought into line, the state also nationalized the first television station, "Russian Public Television," (ORT), in which Beresowskij was also a shareholder. 

Concerning all this, the Kremlin innocently assured that it merely had to do with economic developments. But insiders report just the opposite. They do not believe that economic factors played a role in closing down TW-6, because the state television stations ORT and RTR are far more deeply in debt than TW-6, for instance, was. The main shareholder Beresowskij thinks the whole thing is a political act of revenge or a preventive measure. For the station is said to have prepared a film about the background of the nighttime explosion in two Moscow apartment blocks in September 1999, in which 250 people died. Suspicion fell on Chechen terrorists. In the television film prepared by Beresowskij's station, the Russian secret service, FSB, was suspected of being involved in the explosions, which were decisive for the Russians in supporting the war against Chechnya, which the Minister President of that time and presidential candidate Putin had ignited anew. People were convinced that one must massively act against the "Chechen terrorism," which was now destroying Moscow.

Now the Russians will no longer be made uncertain by television reports critical of the Kremlin. So that they do not suddenly start reading critical books out of boredom, the youth organization "We Walk Together" is now tending to the people's reading material. Recently an action was announced in which books by "damaging authors" should be exchanged for those of a "useful" author - in 30 places in the city, as a Frankfurt newspaper reported. This youth movement supposedly has 40,000 members and according to the newspaper report became noticed "for the first time in May of last year," when it transported more than 11,000 young people from various Russian cities to the Red Square, where, wearing T-shirts with a portrait of the president and chanting "Putin" and "Russia," they celebrated the first anniversary of the Russian head of state's inauguration. They had also already demonstrated against the ex-oligarch Gussinskij who is hated by the Kremlin. Putin's life history has recently become one of the useful books they are propagating. In exchange, Karl Marx was put on the Index.

Is the new Russia already moving backward - in the direction of person-cults and state conformity, which in the long run will become incompatible with democratic relations? The friends of Russia and Putin will deeply regret this. 

back to main news page