Quote:
Originally Posted by deltav
Sure, but it's also an administration very very conscious of being in control of the messages coming from all media outlets. I don't profess knowing one way or another, but this would fit into that narrative.
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If i had to bet, i'd bet that the truth has not been told and that it is all about something else entirely. That's usually the case.
Though Putin did spend quite a few years trying to wrestle the media into submission, it should also be remembered what the media was. You could buy any article or news story saying anything about yourself or another. I had a well known crime figure as a neighbor once that used to do this once a week. It was funny. This huge, scarred up guy with a limp and 10 body guards would have articles published on schedule about his "charity" and philanthropy and good deeds for children, questioning why the police thought he was such a bad guy. It was very common. The news was never news. Those who tried to be actual reporters ultimately became statistics and what made Russia one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the developed world.
Yeltsin only won his second term because Berezovsky (UK, self imposed exile guy) and a couple others bought up the major media properties and ran "The boris show" 24/7 to take him from 5% approval rating to 95%. They did it by borrowing government money, investing it into GKO bonds (high interest bonds that the government ultimately defaulted on - in the end, paying 50% or more per 6 months) and spending 140,000,000.00 USD or so with a legal campaign spending limit of 30,000,000.00 USD or something like that. Thats why Berezovsky, Fridman, Abramovich, Potanin et al, became known as King Makers.
The media was used to build people up and destroy people for financial and political gain. There was never a free press to begin with. Now its quite a bit different in that the government has a great deal more control but i just mean to say that behind that was a huge amount of abuse with people using them to build billion dollar fortunes and crush others who got in their way.
So.. the wests talking about "Freedom of speech" in Russia, needs some context. The media was once largely owned by a fist full of super wealthy that used the news to take control of more and more of the country, to appoint corrupt governors and mayors and legislators etc etc. as well as destroy those who dared get in their way. The "free press" was just as big a problem as everything else in Russia. So it was always more complicated than what was perceived as the Kremlin encroaching on freedom of speech.
I am not for or against anything really.. just trying to add context.