Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Foreign media forced to self-censorship (November 9th)

Luke Daniel Harding the 42 year old UK political journalist who had initially been refused entry into Russia, has been the subject of a brilliant article written with an interesting perspective by Edward Lucas. Harding in February 2011 became the first foreign journalist to be expelled from Russia since the end of the Cold War. Harding’s employer the Guardian linked his expulsion with his unflattering coverage of Russia and the Kremlin. Russia reversed the decision to expel him but granted only a short term visa. Harding did not further renew his visa and returned to the UK, alleging harassment during his Russian return, claiming the Federal Security Service were unhappy at the stories he wrote. Elsa Vidal of the media freedom watchdog, stated: “unprecedented since the Cold War … It’s an attempt to force correspondents working for foreign media in Moscow to engage in self-censorship.”

Inspired by Edward Lucas http://ow.ly/7deBo image source misterdann.com http://ow.ly/7dfmJ

Yevgenii Nikolaevich Prilepin the 36 year old Russian writer and political dissident known as Zahar Prilepin has been the subject of an article published by Owen Matthews, who describes Priepin’s writing as “dark and violent, yet it shines with a Tolstoy-like faith in the Russian people”. Priepin a former military commander of the brutal OMON unit was subjected to howls of protest following remarks at a literary festival in France when he matter-of-factly stated “All I can say is that the Russian soldier has a natural talent for fighting and he’s ready to demonstrate that skill in any European country you like”. Priepin now heads the local branch of the banned National Bolshevik Party, is an admirer of the assassinated investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, and despises the “thieves” in the Kremlin particularly Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Inspired by Owen Matthews http://ow.ly/69b0I image source Serj Nickel http://ow.ly/69bc9