| JRL HOME | SUPPORT | SUBSCRIBE | RESEARCH & ANALYTICAL SUPPLEMENT | |
Old Saint Basil's Cathedral in MoscowJohnson's Russia List title and scenes of Saint Petersburg
Excerpts from the JRL E-Mail Community :: Founded and Edited by David Johnson

#17
strana.ru
December 13, 2001
Kremlin Spin Doctor on Why He is Ditching Internet Media

On Wednesday Gleb Pavlovsky, the head of the Fund of Effective Politics who is widely considered as the Kremlin's chief spin doctor, made the following statement: "Due to forced and insuperable circumstances, the Fund of Effective Politics is winding up its cooperation with the group of mass media outlets it runs on the internet -- Strana.Ru, SMI.ru, Vesti.Ru and others. In the next few days the ownership of these resources will be reorganised and consequently officially written over to another party.

Gazeta.Ru asked Gleb Pavlovsky to comment about his decision.

Why are you abandoning the mass media outlets which you yourself created and of which you have been the ideologist for such a long time?

It's to do with the wish not to complicate cooperation between investors and the mass media outlets. The Fund of Effective Politics (FEP) which I head and I myself personally have difficult relations with the investors. There now exists real, and for me obvious, pressure on me from the investors, but not from the state authorities. The situation has arisen because the investors over exaggerate my role in public polemics between public figures.

I'm convinced that the state power is not the source of this problem, although undoubtedly one group of bureaucrats or another could be the catalyst for the investors' attitude towards me.

Is the pressure upon you not a continuation of the episode with Gazprom when Strana.Ru over hastily announced Alexsei Miller's resignation? note -- Alexei Miller was appointed general director of Gazprom in July. He is considered a member of the so-called "Petersburg Team" and was appointed to the post to strengthen state control over the gas giant.

Gazprom has nothing to do with this affaire. There are complaints on the level of the so-called polemic of the "Kremlin Parties" (i.e. pro-Kremlin political parties) which unfolded in those media outlets. I can say that the polemic is being driven by money - it's an ordered PR campaign. The whole thing is depressing me, therefore I want leave it to put an end to the conflict.

Can you name the investors who are pressuring you?

Under agreement I don't have the right to do that. I'm not going to name any investors, nor bureaucrats so as not to break agreements of confidentiality. I don't have a conflict with anyone personally - to the contrary, I want to defuse the conflict.

How are your relations with the Presidential Administration?

With the Presidential Administration I have straight and calm relations within the framework of a circle of themes on which we cooperate.

What will you do after you give up your rights to your internet media outlets?

I'll continue to occupy myself with what I'm now occupied -- the Fund of Effective Politics. The Fund will no longer work in cooperation with those media outlets. The media resources will exist as a corporation or holding. Neither me nor any one else from the FEP will have access to them. Those employees of the FEP who currently work with both the Fund and those media outlets will have to choose with whom they wish to stay.

Back to the Top    Next Issue