MEDVEDEV ON THE MEDIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 001214 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/15/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR RS SOCI SUBJECT: MEDVEDEV ON THE MEDIA REF: MOSCOW 260 Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells. Reason: 1.4 (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: President-elect Medvedev's April 29 public endorsement of Russian television as among "the best in the world" coupled with his advocacy of the unregulated internet are consistent with his more extended, but as-yet unpublished, interviews. His comments leave the impression that Russians "deserve the news they seek," while his endorsement of the internet as "unregulatable" appears to accept the limits of state control. The post-election transition has not produced any easing in Kremlin controls, according to "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" Editor Remchukov, who describes mounting pressure in response to critical NG articles. End Summary Medvedev Supports Kremlin-colored TV -------------- ¶2. (SBU) President-elect Medvedev engaged the press on April 29 at the Russian national weekly newspaper "Argumenty i Fakty"(AiF),in his first "informal" press conference since his election in March. His comments on the state of Russian television as "among the best in the world" and his dismissal of criticism about the administration's heavy-handed influence over the medium drew the greatest attention, with some interpreting his remarks as suggesting that he sees little need in reforming the relationship between the state and national television. He described the mass media as a separate branch of power and called on the press to "tell the truth and bear responsibility for the materials they publish." (The latter clause may have been a swipe at the now closed tabloid Moskovskiy Korrespondent, which earlier this month published an article alleging Putin planned to marry gymnast-turned-Duma deputy Alina Kabayeva). ¶3. (U) Medvedev followed his comments about television by again advocating the internet - where the range of opinion ranges from nationalist to libertarian - as an important personal source of information. As such, his words may have been a subtle indicator of Medvedev's commitment to maintaining a space where a more open exchange of views can take place outside of the mainstream television news. Russians Deserve the News They Seek -------------- ¶4. (C) Medvedev's public remarks mirrored the tone of his extended interviews with prominent television journalist Nikolai Svanidze, which are due to be published in late May. In contrast to the impression Medvedev created in his private conversation with Civil Forces Leader Mikhail Barshchevskiy, of being amenable to a loosening of Kremlin controls over prime time television (reftel),Svanidze told us that Medvedev projected satisfaction with the state of Russian television. When coupled with Medvedev's categorical statements that internet and satellite television were "unregulated and unregulatable," Svanidze interpreted the President-elect's position as being that Russians "deserved the news that they sought." Svanidze emphasized the generational difference between Medvedev and Putin, with Medvedev an active purveyor of news on the internet -- a point the President-elect emphasized again during his session with the AiF staff. By example, Svanidze argued, Medvedev was advertising the value of alternate sources of information from those traditionally fed to the Kremlin by an obedient bureaucracy. Media Pressure Continues -------------- ¶5. (C) A clearly disillusioned "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" editor Konstantin Remchukov expressed strong concern to us over the media tone being set during the political transition. Citing Kremlin unhappiness with several NG articles -- including its three-day scoop on the presidential instructions expanding relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, critical reporting of ruling party maneuvers in the Duma, and an earlier piece debunking Russia's effort at creating an indigenous GPS system -- Remchukov said his paper and staff have come under increasing pressure since the March 2 presidential elections. The trial of Remchukov's deputy, accused of extortion and narcotics possession, was advanced to this week, with the lead investigator purportedly telling Remchukov that "other forces" were driving the legal pace and judicial charges. Remchukov noted that Russian-owned or influenced television have ceased referring to NG-articles or commentary, and Remchukov has been struck from the roles of acceptable political commentators on national television (with the "Kultura" channel also unable to issue an invitation, despite Remchukov's prominent status as a supporter of the arts). MOSCOW 00001214 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Distancing himself from earlier predictions of a more liberal Medvedev tone, Remchukov argued that the political transition revealed that Putin still intended to be "master of the media," with the publicized beefing up of the White House press office an indicator that the future Prime Minister was not prepared to cede the media limelight or control. Remchukov recounted efforts by Ekspert Editor Valeriy Fadeyev to run interference between NG and Kremlin ideological guru Vladislav Surkov. When Surkov threatened to "run over" Remchukov and his paper, Fadeyev -- a personal friend of Remchukov -- undertook to pass on the advice that NG should be more careful in its coverage. While Fadeyev's support has translated into invitations to Remchukov to participate in the United Russia-organized "2020 debates" over Russia's future, the Kremlin has disinvited the editor from other roundtable sessions. (When we met with Renchukov he had not yet received his invitation to the Kremlin's "insider only" inaugural celebrations, but he has since been invited to many of the events.) While caveating his remarks with the comment that it would take several more months before the contours of the tandem become clear, Remchukov said he was increasingly convinced that Putin and Medvedev were "ideological brothers," differing only in tone. The bright spot, he conceded, remained internet. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Medvedev's comments lauding Russian television, coupled with the "voluntary" closure of "Moskovskiy Korrespondent" and the draft law permitting the closure of newspapers without judicial review for the publication of libelous material have dampened expectations of a "thaw" in Russian media control. At the same time, Medvedev's emphasis on internet, at a time of rapidly increasing internet penetration and elite reliance on electronic reporting, appears to send a strong signal that the President-elect understands the limits of state control. RUSSELL