La liberté de la presse n'est plus ce qu'elle était !

The freedom of the press appeared in Russia under Gorbatchev and saw its flourishing when Eltsin was president. It has however deteriorated extensively since Vladimir Putin became Russia's President in 2000. The mass media have again become what they used to be : tools for official propaganda. To obtain this goal, different means have been used : people or groups (GazProm, for example), close to the centres of power, have bought some media outlets ; the main editors are regularly summoned to the Kremlin, where politicians or civil servants of high rank explain to them, what they can write about and how. Journalists who do not respect the rules are accused of violating the law, especially the recent law regarding extremism. As a result and contrary to what took place in the 90'es and at the end of the 80'es, the Russian population does not show much interest in the press and nor does it trust it. A space for freedom persists nevertheless in Russia thanks to the Internet. But the political power apparently wants to control it more and more.Svetova Zoïa. La liberté de la presse n'est plus ce qu'elle était !. In: Revue Russe n°33, 2009. D’autres Russies. Altérité, diversité et complexité dans la Russie d' aujourd’hui. pp. 131-136