{"id":170604,"date":"2011-02-10T09:21:02","date_gmt":"2011-02-10T09:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.moldova.org\/2011\/02\/10\/kremlins-new-undesirables-217042-eng\/"},"modified":"2011-02-10T09:21:02","modified_gmt":"2011-02-10T09:21:02","slug":"kremlins-new-undesirables-217042-eng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/kremlins-new-undesirables-217042-eng\/","title":{"rendered":"Kremlin\u2019s new \u2018undesirables\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\nIn the latest annual Press Freedom Index, Russia ranked 140th in the world, between Ethiopia and Malaysia. Even putting aside the all-too-frequent murders, the origins of which are difficult to prove, Russian journalists have faced an increasing array of Kremlin-sponsored tricks designed to suppress “unwanted” information, from financial pressure and censorship to the forced closure of independent TV stations.<\/p>\n

When it comes to foreign reporters, the arsenal is somewhat more limited. Last weekend Luke Harding, Moscow correspondent for Britain’s Guardian newspaper, flew into Domodedovo airport after a two-month secondment in London covering the WikiLeaks cables. At border control, Mr. Harding’s passport was confiscated; the journalist was taken to a cell where he was held for 45 minutes before being placed on the first flight to Britain. His visa, valid until May 31, was annulled. The border guard simply told Mr. Harding that “Russia is closed for you.” When British Foreign Secretary William Hague telephoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to demand an explanation, he was given none, though few doubt that Mr. Harding’s recent WikiLeaks-based stories on Vladimir Putin’s Russia turning into a “virtual mafia state” and Mr. Putin’s alleged prior knowledge of the polonium poisoning in London of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, were not favorite bedside reading in Moscow.<\/p>\n

Mr. Harding’s expulsion marked the first time that a British staff reporter was removed from Russia since the days of the Soviet Union, though many other foreign journalists have already encountered this increasingly popular practice. According to the Moscow-based Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, more than 40 reporters were expelled or refused entry by the Russian authorities since 2000. This list includes Natalia Morari, a Moldovan citizen and a journalist for The New Times, a respected Russian independent weekly, who was stopped at Moscow airport and expelled in December 2007 as a “security threat.” Days before, Ms. Morari had published an investigative story into the Kremlin’s illegal financing of political parties in the 2007 parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n

Amazingly, even some Russian citizens have faced trouble at their own border. In August 2005, Domodedovo officials attempted to prevent former world chess champion and opposition leader Garry Kasparov from returning to the country, briefly confiscating his passport. In December 2010, prominent dissident Vladimir Bukovsky was detained for four hours at the same airport while flying in for the opposition Solidarity congress.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin wants to keep these restrictions one-way. While closing the borders to “undesirables,” Russian officials themselves like to spend their vacations, keep their money, and educate their children in the West. The momentum now appears to be rising, both in Brussels and in Washington, for imposing targeted visa restrictions on those responsible for violating Russia’s international commitments on human rights and the rule of law – along the lines of sanctions already introduced against the authoritarian government in neighboring Belarus. In one respect at least, the Kremlin’s hypocrisy may be coming to an end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>In the latest annual Press Freedom Index, Russia ranked 140th in the world, between Ethiopia and Malaysia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"content_social_share":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\nIn the latest annual Press Freedom Index, Russia ranked 140th in the world, between Ethiopia and Malaysia. Even putting aside the all-too-frequent murders, the origins of which are difficult to prove, Russian journalists have faced an increasing array of Kremlin-sponsored tricks designed to suppress “unwanted” information, from financial pressure and censorship to the forced closure of independent TV stations.<\/p>\n

When it comes to foreign reporters, the arsenal is somewhat more limited. Last weekend Luke Harding, Moscow correspondent for Britain’s Guardian newspaper, flew into Domodedovo airport after a two-month secondment in London covering the WikiLeaks cables. At border control, Mr. Harding’s passport was confiscated; the journalist was taken to a cell where he was held for 45 minutes before being placed on the first flight to Britain. His visa, valid until May 31, was annulled. The border guard simply told Mr. Harding that “Russia is closed for you.” When British Foreign Secretary William Hague telephoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to demand an explanation, he was given none, though few doubt that Mr. Harding’s recent WikiLeaks-based stories on Vladimir Putin’s Russia turning into a “virtual mafia state” and Mr. Putin’s alleged prior knowledge of the polonium poisoning in London of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, were not favorite bedside reading in Moscow.<\/p>\n

Mr. Harding’s expulsion marked the first time that a British staff reporter was removed from Russia since the days of the Soviet Union, though many other foreign journalists have already encountered this increasingly popular practice. According to the Moscow-based Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, more than 40 reporters were expelled or refused entry by the Russian authorities since 2000. This list includes Natalia Morari, a Moldovan citizen and a journalist for The New Times, a respected Russian independent weekly, who was stopped at Moscow airport and expelled in December 2007 as a “security threat.” Days before, Ms. Morari had published an investigative story into the Kremlin’s illegal financing of political parties in the 2007 parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n

Amazingly, even some Russian citizens have faced trouble at their own border. In August 2005, Domodedovo officials attempted to prevent former world chess champion and opposition leader Garry Kasparov from returning to the country, briefly confiscating his passport. In December 2010, prominent dissident Vladimir Bukovsky was detained for four hours at the same airport while flying in for the opposition Solidarity congress.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin wants to keep these restrictions one-way. While closing the borders to “undesirables,” Russian officials themselves like to spend their vacations, keep their money, and educate their children in the West. The momentum now appears to be rising, both in Brussels and in Washington, for imposing targeted visa restrictions on those responsible for violating Russia’s international commitments on human rights and the rule of law – along the lines of sanctions already introduced against the authoritarian government in neighboring Belarus. In one respect at least, the Kremlin’s hypocrisy may be coming to an end.<\/p>\n

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