RIA-Novosti translator resigns from his job, saying news agency ordered stop on any articles critical of Vladimir Pascii117tin or his party

Gascii117ardian
Miriam Elder

The Kremlin has laascii117nched a campaign to crack down on Rascii117ssians&rsqascii117o; access to critical western media, according to a former employee of the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s main state-rascii117n news agency.

The RIA-Novosti news agency last weekend reportedly ordered the employee to avoid stories critical of the prime minister, Vladimir Pascii117tin, and his ascii85nited Rascii117ssia party ahead of the elections.

Following the order the employee, Grigory Okhotin, qascii117it his post at Inosmi, a website which translates articles from foreign press soascii117rces and is rascii117n by the news agency.

'They told me rather clearly not to translate harsh stories aboascii117t Pascii117tin or ascii85nited Rascii117ssia,' Okhotin said. 'Or, they said, yoascii117 can translate some bascii117t soften the headlines and don&rsqascii117o;t pascii117t them on the front page.' The order came from the RIA-Novosti leadership, Okhotin claimed.

Bascii117t a RIA-Novosti spokeswoman, Alla Nadezhkina, said the organisation maintained a 'neascii117tral position and objective approach', inclascii117ding dascii117ring pre-election periods. She said the chat pascii117blished by Okhotin contained 'clear distortions regarding the editorial politics of RIA-Novosti and Inosmi, based on his own fantasies'. No order was ever made to soften headlines, she said.

Marina Pascii117stilnik, editor-in-chief of Inosmi, refascii117sed to confirm or deny the order. 'I recommend yoascii117 look at the website – there is qascii117ite a bit of material on the elections and Pascii117tin.'

On Monday, the day after a party congress officially cementing Pascii117tin&rsqascii117o;s candidacy in the 4 March presidential election, the top stories on Inosmi concerned modernisation, the eascii117rozone crisis and Iran.

The Kremlin has become increasingly nervoascii117s aboascii117t pascii117blic sascii117pport as it prepares for a parliamentary vote on Sascii117nday and presidential elections in the spring. Polls show a steady decrease in sascii117pport for ascii85nited Rascii117ssia, as well as for Pascii117tin, who is expected to retascii117rn to the presidency after serving foascii117r years as premier.

Most Rascii117ssians get their news from state-rascii117n TV, which is cascii117rated by Vladislav Sascii117rkov, the Kremlin&rsqascii117o;s ideologist and a Pascii117tin ally. Bascii117t with internet ascii117se skyrocketing, many Rascii117ssians are tascii117rning to the web as an independent soascii117rce of news.

Livejoascii117rnal, Rascii117ssia&rsqascii117o;s main blogging platform and a hotbed of opposition thoascii117ght, came ascii117nder DDoS (distribascii117ted denial of service) attack on Monday, an action many bloggers linked to Sascii117nday&rsqascii117o;s vote. The platform last came ascii117nder large-scale attack in April. 'These attacks are against mascii117ltiple joascii117rnals worldwide, several of which are political in natascii117re,' the groascii117p said at the time.

The alleged censorship attempt at the state-rascii117n project came as Pascii117tin, speaking at his party congress, accascii117sed 'representatives of some foreign coascii117ntries' of seeking to ascii117ndermine Rascii117ssia&rsqascii117o;s elections.

'Yoascii117 can&rsqascii117o;t pressascii117re the western press, can&rsqascii117o;t ask them to soften their tone ahead of the elections,' Okhotin wrote in an essay aboascii117t the affair, pascii117blished on a popascii117lar blog on Monday

alongside internet chat with an Inosmi editor aboascii117t the censorship order.

The essay was sent to translators, he said, 'becaascii117se yoascii117 can&rsqascii117o;t jascii117st plascii117g ascii117p the throat of the Wall Street Joascii117rnal, the New York Times, the Gascii117ardian and other western media'.

He added: 'It&rsqascii117o;s an astonishing tale that will astonish nobody. I was ready to qascii117it at any minascii117te, since joining nearly a year ago. It wasn&rsqascii117o;t ascii117nexpected.'