Press freedom in Russia

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a France-based nonprofit organization, recently released its annual report, Freedom of the Press Worldwide in 2008. In it, RSF has developed a rather strong argument that the Russian government is actively destroying independent media and seeks to quash any signs of dissent or opposition.

Basically, the situation facing Russia's independent media can be summed up in any number of negative words: horrible, dire, God awful… In the last year, the Russian government has raided and shut down several independent newspapers, and others had to shut down because printers were too afraid to publish the newspapers. Novaya Gazeta, Novyj Times, and Kommersant are the only major independent outlets that remain.

Throughout the year, several independent journalists were arrested just for covering opposition demonstrations. Many journalists were brutally beaten. Most recently on November 13, editor Mikhail Beketov was found in a pool of his own blood after receiving numerous death threats for opposing the construction of a bridge. Also, at least two journalists were forcibly sent to psychiatric hospitals this year – an old trick straight out of the Soviet playbook where you discredit the dissenter by claiming he's insane and end up making him insane because Russian mental hospitals could break even Chuck Norris. It's pretty old school, but effective and a clear violation of human rights.

Where does this leave the Russian population? Well, the dissenting portion of the population remains under constant threat of losing their freedom or their lives. And the remainder of the population is informed of only what the government wants known. For example, if today you should happen to peruse Izvestiya – a state-owned paper – you might be interested in one of its top stories: "Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?" Happy reading, Russia.