In the last couple of months, so many Russian publications have closed, lost their funding or fired some of their most prominent journalists to prove their loyalty to the Kremlin that only a handful of independent publications remain. Each closure, firing or investor pullout has been presented as an economic decision. But every time, the same debate has flared up: How political are these economic decisions?
Advertisers also are businesses, and they, too, are always at risk in Russia. So when they pull ads or simply refuse to go near a publication perceived as opposing the government, they are making a sound political decision. When advertising executives tell editors they cannot sell any pages if the magazine covers politics at all — and I have been the editor on the receiving end of this message more than once — they are making an economic argument of sorts. The leading opposition newsweekly in Moscow has not sold its back cover in months. If it closes, that will certainly be for economic reasons. Which are political.
Masha Gessen is the director of Radio Liberty’s Russian Service and the author of “The Man Without a Face,” a biography of Vladimir Putin.
Masha Gessen is the director of Radio Liberty’s Russian Service and the author of “The Man Without a Face,” a biography of Vladimir Putin.
