Muzzled in Moscow

On the outskirts of Moscow stands a giant television tower, the tallest structure in Europe. It is a tragic monument—once a symbol of Soviet power over Russian journalists but now, as new antennae make it 130 feet taller, a cosmetic triumph for the increasingly controlled Russian media. But despite the strength of this symbol, serious threats challenge the freedom of the Russian press. Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, has just voted to extend new restrictions on a press that is already the subject to random raids and blackouts.

The proposed law would ban reports that compromise counterterrorist efforts or support opposition to antiterrorist action. Descriptions of devices used during government raids would also become illegal. Though many of the provisions are just restatements of existing law, the bill’s passage by a margin of more than two to one is worrying. This is another weakly-resisted step towards the curtailment of the Russian press, a long-term trend that has recently gained vitality with 15-hour television blackouts, raids on newspapers on orders of dubious legality from the Russian Press Ministry. Russian authorities, infamous for selective enforcement of certain laws, will undoubtedly find a broad interpretation of these new provisions useful in regular government crackdowns.

Russia must choose its way—either its government can continue to chip away at press rights, allowing crony capitalism and corruption to run rampant, or reverse its course and steer itself towards accountability and openness. Without aggressive, muckraking journalists, Russia’s democratic experiment will fail as its electorate remains uninformed, and government officials stay unresponsive to popular sentiment. Russia’s economy will also suffer as long as foreign investors remain skeptical of the government’s commitment to basic Western freedoms.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, who has shown little regard for the free press in the past, will reject the Duma’s proposal. In addition, little diplomatic pressure from the United States can be expected, as President George W. Bush continues to woo Putin away from the Axis of Evil. Tragically, as the height of Moscow’s TV tower rises, the soul of the Russian media will continue to be chained.