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07.07.2008 How the News is Reported in Russia June, 2008 by Andrei Nesterov The two largest state-run television stations in Russia are First Channel and Russia Channel. Most Russians get their news from one of these two stations. SRAS's Andrei Nesterov compiled the following synopsis of how major events in the FSU were covered by news reports on these two stations. This news review is part of SRAS's monthly "obzor" publications. For more reviews, see the newsletter for this corresponding month. If you would like to request that a story occurring in June be covered here, inform our editor. To receive the free monthly newsletter and obzori by email, simply sign up.   Putin Meets With French Government First Channel called Prime Minister Putin's visit to France the main event of the week in Russia's foreign policy. According to that broadcast, Russia hopes that France, which will chair the EU starting in July, will help negotiate a new strategic agreement between Russia and the EU. The channel stressed that the agreement affects Russia not only politically, but economically.   First Channel reported that trade between Russia and France has tripled in the last five years, although 85 percent of the goods traded are still oil and gas. During his visit, Vladimir Putin stated that "promising opportunities for cooperation in the area of high technology," exist between the two countries and added that "Russia's work on bio- and nanotechnologies are always of interest to our French partners." Vladimir Putin met with both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon. The reporters of Le Monde newspaper were shown asking Putin whether discussing foreign policy goes beyond the responsibilities of the Russian Prime Minister. Putin replied that his primary foci are the economy and social policy, but that foreign policy issues are within his competency as of a member of Russia's Security Council. As for delegating authority, final decisions are made by the president, and the president today is Mr. Medvedev, Putin stressed. He stated that Russia is a presidential republic, and there are no plans to change the key role of the president in the country's political system. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin said that the fact that he now heads of the majority party in the parliament, demonstrates that parliament's role in politics is growing in Russia. Russian TV showed Vladimir Putin denouncing an accusation made by French reporters that human rights in Russia are not observed. "The fears about the absence of human rights in Russia are very much exaggerated. Such talks are frequently a tool of exerting pressure on Russia, to achieve goals which have nothing to do with human rights," said Vladimir Putin. He added that every country has problems in the area of human rights, and suggested that the French had better pay attention to similar problems in their own country.   Georgian Parliamentary Elections On Election Day in Georgia, Russia Channel predicted that the elections would result in a political crisis. "The authorities and opposition threaten and blame each other, and the deteriorating situation in the conflict zone between Georgia and Abkhazia, increases this tension," Russia Channel reported. It predicted that "the battle for parliament will not be as easy for Mikhail Saakashvili and his team as the January presidential elections. Back then, the opposition did not recognize the elections' legitimacy, but agreed to the situation and kept silent. However, this time the opposition will act decisively and lead its people to the streets," stated Russia Channel's commentator. After the elections took place and the incumbent United National Movement won 120 out of 150 seats, First Channel reported on an opposition rally held in front of the parliament building and the ultimatum delivered by opposition party leaders to president Saakashvili – to cancel the results of the parliamentary elections and to set a new election date or face a political crisis. "We are against the decision of the American sponsors of Saakashvili who decided to keep him in power," the leader of the United Opposition, Levan Gachechiladze, was broadcasted saying on Russia Channel. The response of President Saakashvili was also broadcast, refusing to meet the opposition's demands to cancel the election results.   Russian Military to Participate in Restoring Abkhazia Railways Russia Channel reported that Russian Railway Troops had entered Abkhazia on May 31 to restore the railways - in accordance with a decree by the Russian President to provide humanitarian aid to the unrecognized republic. The Russian military plans to restore 50 kilometers of railway on a route from Sukhumi to Ochamchir. Russia Channel also reported that Georgia (which Abkhazia is officially part of) and NATO consider Russia's actions an act of aggression. In response to this accusation, the TV channel broadcast an interview with the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Relations, Andrei Klimov, who said that the presence of the Russian Railway Troops in Abkhazia has "nothing to do with the jurisdiction of NATO or the EU." In addition, Russia Channel broadcast a statement made by the Russian Foreign Ministry which claims that "the task of restoring the railway in Abkhazia is in full compliance with the agreements held between Russia and Georgia."   Car Fires Flare in Russia Russian TV reported about a series of car fires which started in Moscow at the end of May and continued to occur in Moscow and other cities through the month of June. Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg were among these other cities. According to Russia Channel, 22 cars burned from May 30 to June 3. The first 14 cars were burned in one night in the North Butovo neighborhood in the southwest of Moscow. After that, the car fires took place all over Moscow – on Flotskaya and Vladimirskaya Streets and Leningradskoe Highway. All kinds of cars were burned – expensive foreign-made cars, old trucks, and both old and new Russian cars. Soon after the fires started, Moscow police detained two teenagers from Kaliningrad, accusing them of the crimes. However, the teenagers proved to be innocent, and the police started pursuing a lead that the criminal was a "mentally ill man." On June 17, Russian TV reported that the arsonist had been arrested. He was a 53-year-old mentally ill alcoholic and was caught setting fire to a ZIL truck in the Eastern Biryulevo neighborhood. Immediately after the arrest of the man, the Head of Moscow Police Administration Vladimir Pronin said in a TV interview that the car fires had been stopped. He quoted the statistics of damage to cars in Moscow. According to Pronin, 124 cars were burned and destroyed in the Russian capital from the beginning of 2008, and this number is smaller than the number of the destroyed cars for the same period of 2007. "Taking into account the amount of the cars in Moscow – more than three million – this is a natural process. I can't see a planned action in this," said the head of Moscow police. The statistics he presented were apparently from all types of fire - from accidental to technical to intentional. Russia Channel, however, reported that several people had been arrested in connection to the car fires, but it is still unclear how many arsonists had been involved. The different location and time of the fires, and different ways in which the cars were burned, suggested that there may be more than just one arsonist. On the first week of June, Russia Channel reported that two cars were burned in Novosibirsk and two – in St. Petersburg. Although the channel did not link these incidents with the Moscow fires, it did not rule out the possibility.   Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church On June 24-27, The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. The Council of Bishops is the highest administrative body of the Russian Orthodox Church and takes place every four years. About 200 priests from all over Russia and the states of the former Soviet Union participated in 2008. For the first time representatives of Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia came for the Council meeting - a delegation of twelve bishops headed by Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of that branch. Russian TV reported that the main issue to be discussed at the Council meetings was unity. "A threat to the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church comes from Chukotka," stated First Channel in its reporting on the last day of the meetings. On that day, the decision was made to defrock Bishop Diomid, who presides over the church in the regions of Chukotka and Anadyr. According to First Channel, Bishop Diomid was punished for actions aimed at splitting the church and for violating church canon. In particular, he constantly criticized the actions of the Russian Orthodox Church leadership. REN TV, which is widely regarded as Russia's most independent TV channel, stated that Bishop Diomid had denounced church authorities for serving the secular authorities and "pursuing a cult of the material world." Meanwhile, Russia Channel and First Channel did not mention these details and reported that the bishop's major infractions had been to call for the severance of all contact between the Russian Orthodox Church and other confessions and his calls for the Russian Orthodox populace to stop using mobile phones and passports (he asserts that they are a tool for the state to control the people). By the majority of votes, the Council of Bishops removed Bishop Diomid from his office. The decree allowed the bishop the chance to publicly repent and not be removed, but he submitted a court appeal instead, other Russian media reported. Interestingly, at the Council session, The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II said many of the same things which Bishop Diomid wrote in his open letters criticizing the Russian Orthodox Church. Alexy II said that a widespread secular mindset constitutes the main threat to a virtuous life. The Patriarch denounced the cult of material wealth and lust of the body as the one "preventing acceptance of the Christ's truth."   Russia Takes Third in European Soccer Championship The Russian national soccer team reached the semifinal of the European Championship for the first time in twenty years. After the first game where Russia lost to Spain with the score 1:4, the Russian team won games against the Swedish, Greek, and Dutch teams. "We have never seen such soccer from our team," stated First Channel after this series of victories. The channel went further and stated that after the victory over the Dutch team, the "entire country was happy" and "the happiness and pride for our country has united all the people." According to First Channel, in recent times, the idea that each person is responsible for him/herself only had dominated society but that today the situation had changed, and that there is a feeling that everybody is a co-participant in what happens in Russia. First Channel expressed the belief that this feeling helped Russian soccer players to win. There were many praises braodcast for Guus Hiddink, the coach of the Russian national team. According to First Channel, Russians were so grateful to the coach that they proposed to erect a monument to him, and a family in Novosibirsk region gave the had named their newborn son "Guus" in honor of the coach. Russian TV reported heavily on the noisy celebrations held by soccer fans in the streets of Moscow and other Russian cities. Reporting did not extend to the negative incidents that occurred. In one such incident, a Moscow man threw a grenade at a group of young fans yelling near his window late at night on June 21. Seventeen fans were wounded, the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reported. After the Russian team lost to Spain (who went on to win the championship), Russia Channel stated that, despite this loss, Russian sportsmen had performed very well. The major TV channels broadcast the warm reception the national team had on arrival in Moscow. Russian pop stars gave a concert for the sportsmen, their coach, and fans.   Study Politics in Russia The Library: Politics in Russia SRAS Resources for Teachers   Find out more! SRAS Travel Services More Study Abroad Programs Internships in Russia Heath and Safety in Russia The SRAS Newsletter Journal for Students More Free Resources! Questions or comments? Contact the editor. « back to News archive print this page email this page