In the final weeks of Russia’s presidential election, the three major TV networks and much of the media are filled with uncritical and often fawning coverage of the man President Vladimir Putin has blessed as his successor.
Some of Russia’s bloggers, however, have been sharply critical of First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and the presidential contest he seems certain of winning.
One blogger named “lekka_reka” said an old lady asked him on the street: “Have they named Medvedev president yet or will we be able to actually go out and cast our votes?”
A blogger named “YUGva” was worried about Medvedev’s liberal image: “This Medvedev is a strange personality, a dark horse…. I think he’s just going to skip out on Russia, sell it to America and the West — and everyone is openly lauding his arrival?”
The postings by Web commentators, professionals and amateurs alike, are sometimes barbed, frequently satirical and always unfiltered — a marked contrast to most of Russia’s major media, where many reporters, editors and producers are wary of incurring the Kremlin’s wrath.
During Putin’s eight years in office, the Kremlin has extended and strengthened its control over the news media, mainly through the purchase of national broadcasters and major newspapers by state-controlled corporations or loyal billionaires.
Anyone interested in probing reporting or frank commentary has few places to turn. Increasingly, savvy Russians are turning to the Internet.
“The propaganda on TV doesn’t work for anyone anymore,” said Oleg Panfilov, a journalist advocate who is also a regular blogger.
The Internet’s uncontrolled nature has long worried the Kremlin. Parliament’s upper house is considering legislation that would make Web sites with more than 1,000 readers daily subject to the same regulations as print media. And some Web advocates fear a newly updated law on publishing allegedly extremist literature could be used to prosecute bloggers…