Communist daily on last warning after Zakayev interview

Boris Sapozhnikov  

In the run-up to the parliamentary elections the leftist opposition may loose one of its most popular media outlets, the Zavtra daily. On Wednesday the Press Ministry took the first step towards its closure by issuing an official warning to the paper for violating the law on mass media and anti-terror legislation. After one more warning the Ministry has the right to ask the courts to shut down the paper.
The Ministry issued its warning after Zavtra ran a lengthy interview granted by Akhmed Zakayev - an aide to the separatist Chechen president - to the daily's chief-editor Alexander Prokhanov. Zakayev's name has been put on the international wanted list and he is currently in London, awaiting the British authorities' decision on Moscow's request to extradite him. In Russia he faces charges of murder and terrorism. 

The Press Ministry said the interview, published in the paper's February 6 and 7 issues, ''incites inter-ethnic enmity''. According to Deputy Press Minister Mikhail Seslavinsky, ''spreading materials of an extremist nature through the media is inadmissible''. 

As a spokesperson with Mikhail Lesin's agency explained to Gazeta.Ru, the Ministry was angered chiefly with ''the tone of the conversation itself, the presentation of the questions and answers''. ''In particular, when it came to Chechnya, Zakayev said that Chechens live on their own soil, while Russians are occupiers. This bears a negative attitude towards Russians. Also, more than once a centuries-old war was mentioned as opposition between Russians and Chechens. This incites enmity between peoples.'' 

Our interlocutor said that by publishing the Zakayev interview Zavtra had violated the provisions of Article 4 of the law on mass media and Article 1 of the federal law on countering extremism. In a letter sent to Alexander Prkohanov, the Press Ministry also said that on the basis of Article 35 of the law on mass media, the official warning must be published in the paper's next issue, following the day it was received. 

The Ministry's spokesman, however, noted that the Zavtra editors may still contest the decision in court, but if the court upholds it, the Ministry will watch the daily's publications even more closely, and ''another mistake may cost them a licence''. 

A representative of Zavtra's editorial office told Gazeta.Ru by telephone that ''it is Alexander Andreyevich's [Prokhanov] birthday, and this is the best present for him''. (Prokhanov has just turned 65.) At this, our interlocutor sounded as though he was pleased with the situation, and judging by the buzz of jovial voices in the background, Zavtra's editors have not taken the Ministry's threats too sseriously. 

It is worth reminding our readers that in its former guise the Zavtra daily was called Dyen (Day), and it has already lost its licence once - in the wake of the parliamentary upheaval in 1993. Then, Prokhanov's daily harshly criticized Boris Yeltsin, for which it was punished. 

After the closure of Dyen Prokhanov founded the Zavtra daily, published by the same group of journalists, and pursuing the same hardline opposition stance. It is noteworthy, that Prokhanov is absolutely independent and determines his paper's editorial policy himself. For instance, the interview with Boris Berezovsky published by Prokhanov several months ago nearly led to a split in the so-called National-Patriotic Union of Russia (NPSR - a coalition of all left-wing opposition forces, ranging from ultranationalist factions to pro-democratic Communists). Prokhanov is one of the co-leaders of the Union. In his interview Berezovsky called on all opposition forces to unite in their struggle against the Kremlin. Some Communist leaders indignantly rejected Berezovsky's calls, considering any sort of alliance with him inconceivable. 

As yet, it remains unclear whether the Press Ministry will attempt to close the daily in the run up to the parliamentary polls, but the official warning issued to Zavtra puts it in a rather tricky situation. Now the paper will have to be more careful when publishing materials that irritate the authorities. 

Some media observers on Wednesday suggested that the real reason behind the Press Ministry's warning was not the interview with Akhmed Zakayev, but the fact that Alexander Prokhanov has, of late, been on especially friendly terms with outspoken critic of the Kremlin Boris Berezovsky, currently in self-imposed exile in London. 

27 February 14:49