Russia Profile
February 21, 2008
A Dangerous Profession
Russia Ranks Below Afghanistan, Sudan, and Tajikistan on Freedom of the Press
By Yelena Biberman
Russia’s spectacular economic growth seems to have eluded the increasingly vulnerable caste of journalists, many of whom continue to pay with their health, freedom and even lives for what they say. “Journalists have a tough time earning a living. Their defenders seem less effective than ever,” begins the 2008 annual report by Reporters without Borders (RSF) on 98 countries, including Russia.
The Paris-based press freedom organization underscored several ominous trends confronted by journalists in Russia in 2007. First, despite predictable election outcomes, the Russian media was bent to support the regime’s election campaigns. Second, the Soviet legacy of forced internment in psychiatric hospitals and beatings was applied to journalists with “undesirable” views. Third, little progress has been made in punishing those who murder journalists.
David Kramer, deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, said that the United States has “expressed serious concerns about many of the troubling abuses detailed in the report.”
“Vigorous, independent and probing media are indispensable to all democracies and democratic development,” he added.
According to Yasha Lange, managing partner of MediaWork International, the RSF report gives a fair account of the situation in Russia, “where the power of the Kremlin and associated businesses over the media limits real diversity of opinions in the mainstream media.”
Peter Kurg, a professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law believes that while it is important to document challenges journalists are faced with, the report would have benefited from identifying the factual foundations for some of its examples.
Oleg Panfilov, Director of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, described the report as objective, but not extensive. He said that he would also add the worrisome trend of legal persecution of journalists in Russia, with 50-60 such cases opened annually.
In 2006, President Vladimir Putin signed amendments to the Law on Fighting Extremist Activity. The measure expanded the definition of extremism to include media criticism of public officials and authorized up to three years of imprisonment for journalists, as well as suspension or closure of their publications if they are convicted.
Putin had also signed into law in 2006 new regulations that required stricter registration and reporting for nongovernmental organizations. The nongovernmental organization and independent think tank Freedom House criticized this measure for not only enabling greater government control over civil society, but also hindering journalists from obtaining news from NGOs.
Quality on demand
While journalists represent one of the most vulnerable vocations in Russia, the demand for their craft is rapidly growing.
According to Alexei Pankin, editor of IFRA-GIPP Magazine, the Russian media market is among the most lucrative in the world. Advertising business growth in Russia has only been outpaced by that of China and India, which bolsters the expansion of electronic and print media.
RBC, one of Russia’s three public media companies, posted a total media revenue growth of 45 percent last year. Its revenue from print publications grew by as much as 175 percent to $44 million in 2007, as compared to $16 million in 2006.
Ruslan Tagiev, TNS Gallup Media media-research director, estimates that in the nearest 3 to 5 years the Russian media market will experience major qualitative changes spurred by the increase in the number of communication channels available and changes in content delivery.
The Russian media industry is already noticeably maturing, Pankin said. Despite the problems of corruption, lack of internal regulation and the tight government grip, it is improving in quality, becoming better managed and attracting more investors.
RSF 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom index ranks Russia 144th out of 169 countries, below Afghanistan, Sudan and Tajikistan. However, as the Russian media market grows and matures, and demand for journalists increases, is Russia likely to rise in the rank?
Eric Johnson, Executive Director of Internews International, doubts that even amidst the Russian booming businesses increased demand will lead to greater freedom for journalists in Russia, as long as respect for rule of law continues to wane when it comes to civil society related issues.
“Russia is not Burma, Uzbekistan or Zimbabwe, but it’s moving in that direction, not least because journalists, and their managers, increasingly feel that, to survive politically, economically, and even physically, they must exercise ever-more-vigilant levels of self-censorship to avoid offending the ‘powers that be.’ Few, if any, remain willing to question the ‘rules of the game’ as laid down by the corporatist state that is Russia todayand that leaves less and less room for criticism of those in power,” Johnson said.
Pankin agrees that Russia is far from having a free press, but nevertheless argues that the economic development of the media market should not be dismissed as a vehicle to freedom. He points out that government control has been concentrated mainly on unprofitable ventures, while the successful ones, such as Kommersant and The Moscow Times, are mostly unrestricted.
Moreover, according to Pankin, press freedom today has two significant advantages over that of the Yeltsin period, when it appeared to be at its peak. Two important Putin-era developments helped to lay the foundation necessary for ultimately overcoming Russia’s dwindling press freedom rank. Firstly, the Russian media has become more technologically sophisticated and professional, thus creating more opportunities for high quality reporting. Secondly, the new pluralism-promoting media outposts, such as the Internet, gained a large and serious Russian audience. There are nearly 30 million Russian Internet users, just over a fifth of the entire Russian population.
Krug cautions that having the technological and professional foundations for free press will not suffice if Russian society does not value press freedom enough, and, like Johnson, underscores the importance of an effective legal system.
“It is natural in every country that these activities will not be welcomed by everyone. Thus, the need for protection will arise precisely in those cases where the practice of journalism does not please everyone, even though there is a growing market for it. The crucial questions will be whether society as a whole values the importance of information and ideas for successful democratic governance, and whether the legal system will be capable of providing effective guarantees of protection even in cases of considerable controversy,” Krug explained.
Russia’s improving economic conditions did lay a foundation for press freedom. Whether Russia will capitalize on it to surpass not only Afghanistan, Sudan and Tajikistan, but also Moldova, Brazil and Poland, will depend not only on its top executive, but also on the Russian public’s uncompromising demand.