I transferred 15,500 rubles (about 15.5 thousand rubles) to The New Times, which Putin wants to shut down using the largest fine in the history of the Russian media.
A 22 million ruble fine is a huge amount of money. And the calculation here is obviously this: people will see that the fine is enormous, sigh, get indignant, and then give up. And in a couple of months, one of the bravest media outlets in the country will simply be gone.
For me, this is simple. I like the magazine, I read it, and I want to keep reading it. This kind of brazen, demonstrative abuse—with the shutdown, the outrageous fine, and the lawless courts—is an attack on me.
Honestly. Right now I’m thinking more about myself than about the magazine. I’m the one being insulted; it’s from my hands that they’re trying to snatch something I do not want to give up. They want to order me around, but I will not allow it.
And just as demonstratively as the Kremlin is trying to ruin the magazine, I will send them money. I’ll join those who have already transferred 9 million rubles in just three days.
I authorize the magazine to use this money in whatever way they consider most effective. If they want, they can use it to pay the fine. If they want, they can use it to launch a new media outlet.
There is always a difficult choice here, with plenty of pitfalls and legal nuances. I have no doubt that the editorial team will make the right decision.
I urge everyone to do the same. We must not let them order us around and devour our media like this.
Money can be transferred to the bank account of the Press Freedom Support Foundation Tax ID 7703479573 Tax Registration Code 771701001 Bank details Alfa-Bank, Moscow Account No. 40703810601300000093 (ruble account) Correspondent account 30101810200000000593 BIC 044525593 Purpose of transfer: donations for the foundation’s statutory purposes. You can also transfer money to the bank cards that we specifically opened in the name of editor-in-chief Yevgenia Albats: at Alfa-Bank 4790 8720 5634 9044 at Sberbank 4274 3200 2071 9079 By making a money transfer from an individual to a bank card, you agree that you are making a gift to an individual in accordance with Article 572 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on gift agreements. Please indicate “gift” in the payment reference. For transfers in foreign currency: Press Freedom Support Foundation Bank name: Alfa-Bank SWIFT: ALFARUMM Account # (US dollars) 40703840301300000046 Account # (euro) 40703978501300000035 Please acknowledge your transaction as a charitable one.
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