Against the backdrop of the global and American press tearing into Trump, Hillary, both of them together, then separately again, then together once more, and then a bit more separately (there’s an excellent follow-up today), it is especially depressing to see how completely broken the system of media influence over the authorities and society in Russia has become.
We have already moved from the phase of “pretending that Russia has media freedom and journalists’ rights” to the phase of “officially denying journalists the right to information.”
Do you remember our investigation into Shuvalov’s plane, which the deputy prime minister uses to fly his dogs to shows?
We haven’t dropped it at all—we’re still digging, little by little, gathering facts and information for a future court case against this crook.
We have a media outlet—Leviathan—that does straightforward journalistic work after investigations: collecting comments and requesting information from government bodies.
Let me remind you that under the law, media editorial offices have the right to request information about the activities of state bodies, and those bodies are accordingly required to respond within seven days.
On top of that, there is an equally splendid resolution by the Plenum of the Supreme Court, according to which editorial offices are not required to justify why they need the requested information.
So Leviathan sent a perfectly proper and polite request to the government asking for the schedule of Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov’s official trips.
The purpose is obvious: we are comparing his official trips with the movements of that wonderful $50 million plane. This is ordinary journalistic work—something every media outlet in the country should really have done, but only Leviathan is doing it.
The government refuses. We go to court, fully aware that there is not a single conceivable chance that our claim should be denied.
They denied it. And not just denied it, but did so with a ruling that, if it becomes a precedent, will simply destroy the work of the remaining independent media:
Full text and details are on the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) legal team’s blog.
A media request for information about the official trips of a deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation is, according to the court, idle curiosity and an unlawful interest. It also found clear bad faith and obvious groundlessness. So ruled in the name of the Russian Federation.
On January 24, our appeal against this ruling will be heard by the Moscow City Court.
We will fight this in court both for ourselves and for that other guy—that is, for a real journalist, a representative of a species going extinct in Russia.
And let me remind you: I am running for office in order to guarantee the rights of the media and journalists. A free press is a prerequisite without which there can be neither political competition nor a fight against corruption. Support my nomination.