In a crackdown reminiscent of the Soviet-era, the editor of a newspaper in an obscure Russian town has been fired because of an article leveling blame for many of Russia's social ills at the feet of the Communists and Stalin.
The article, written by reporter Mikhail Rogalov, appeared three weeks ago in the opinion pages of Nasha Zhizn (Our Life), the only newspaper in the tiny northwestern town of Pyestov, with a circulation of 4,500.
The "Second Advent of Josif," as the article was headed, was a bitter condemnation of Stalin's Russia, and a warning against any repetition.
"Stalin by banditry, was building a bandit state ... Stalin, by cannibalism, was achieving his aims ... The `Socialist State' built by Stalin looked a lot like a feudal state," the article said. "I hate Stalin for millions of innocents arrested and killed."
The article added that the Communists were still seeking power. "Haven't they drunk enough of our blood?"
Rogalov said: "On May 15, I returned to work and suddenly discovered my editor [Alexander Vinogradov] had been sacked without explanation. I was shocked."
Like many regional officials, the Pyestov government still exercises Soviet-era control over local journalists, bidding them express the local administration's opinions.
"There were attempts by the local administration to censor us from the beginning. They wanted to read the articles before they were published, and wanted us to guess their will. I only tried to defend our right to express our opinion," Vinogradov said.
"This is a government-owned paper, and such papers usually represent the views of their owners. If they don't, then the government has many ways of exercising pressure," said Veronica Dmitriyeva, Russian director of the Media Development Loan Fund, a US foundation.
The Kremlin portrays itself as an advocate of free press, despite an increasing culture of self-censorship among the media. The deputy minister for press has written to the deputy prosecutor for the northwest region of Russia and the local governor expressing his disapproval of the sacking. Vinogradov's paper customarily voiced support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of