A tremendously powerful piece from Meduza. Extremely interesting and a must-read. The most timely part is, of course, the fate of RBC (a major Russian media group), which is worrying all of us, but the historical digressions are excellent too.
I was especially struck by the section on Snob—the story of how this media outlet came into being and operated had somehow completely passed me by. It was a strange thing, neither good nor bad, and yet it was practically the highest-budget media outlet in the country (not counting TV channels):
The part about politics is excellent too:
It’s just pure hell. Exactly like the saying, “easy come, easy go.” If your fortune originated in the loans-for-shares auctions (the controversial Russian privatization deals of the 1990s), then it’s no surprise that masseurs start popping up, flying to Ibiza to appear on TV shows for $100,000.
All in all, give it a read—it’s worthwhile.
People