RUSSIA - "TO THE BARRIER" NO MORE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 001223

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR RS SOCI
SUBJECT: RUSSIA - "TO THE BARRIER" NO MORE


1. (SBU) Summary. The decision in late April to pull
Vladimir Solovyev's program, "To the Barrier," from the
airwaves stirred controversy among Moscow's commentariat,
reflecting the often conflicted attitude toward the host and
his contradictory role as both regime advocate and critic.
The reasons for shuttering the program, as always, are
unclear, with NTV network maintaining "business reasons"
drove the cancellation. Others saw Solovyev's activity as a
hired gun in the murky elite politics as a more convincing
explanation, pointing to his attacks on Medvedev's legal
reforms and his choice to head the Moscow Arbitration Court,
as the trigger for the Kremlin backlash. The program was
canceled only weeks before the Kremlin proposed a new system
for selecting judges to the Constitutional Court by
Presidential appointment (with approval from the Federation
Council) -- indirect vindication of Solovyev's accusations
that Medvedev was seeking to put the courts under his
control. Whatever the reason, closing the show removes the
last rare bit of spice from Russian television's menu of
politically-managed, plain vanilla programming. End summary.

To the Barrier!
--------------


2. (SBU) On April 28, the management of the
Gazprom-controlled NTV channel announced without explanation
that Vladimir Solovyev's program, "To the Barrier," would no
longer be aired as of May 1. The program pitted two
opponents in usually vociferous debate on a specific topic,
while a counter tolled the number of callers, phoning in to
support one or the other of the participants (the one who
garnered the most "won" the debate). The last program on
April 23, which set the mercurial pit-bull of Russian
politics, Vladimir Zhirinovskiy, against the more
mild-mannered, liberal former Deputy Head of the Federal
Agency for Environment Oversight Oleg Mitvol on the issue of
political party development in Russia, typified the program's
style: flashy, contemporary, yet strident.


3. (SBU) Behind the scenes, the show was carefully managed to
hew to an approved Kremlin line. Center for Journalism in
Extreme Situations head Oleg Panfilov described to us the
careful message management that Solovyev and his production
team used to massage the final production, shown to Moscow
and other central Russian viewers. As a participant in one
of the shows, Panfilov noted that the director gave careful
instructions to the audience (mainly students) as to when to
applaud -- usually in support of Solovyev's commentary.
Moreover, he claimed that the "points" system was manipulated
to show support for one particular point of view; the show
was shown first in the Far East; edited (to remove
particularly "offensive" material"); and then the call-in
tally was re-formulated to tilt in favor of the Kremlin line.
Thus, Panfilov noted, a participant could "win" the popular
vote in Vladivostok, but would lose when the show aired in
Moscow. Panfilov alleged that Solovyev took direction from
"the Kremlin" even during the course of the filming.

The Reason Why
--------------


4. (SBU) Solovyev has publicly explained NTV's closure
decision as reflecting "business considerations" -- a claim
he made on his radio program on station "Silver Rain" as well
as on his blog. Yet, in Russia's media culture, the
financial bottom line matters far less than the political
line, leading many here to look for hidden, political motives
to explain the program's cancellation. Perhaps the easiest
answer is that Solovyev's polarizing personality and penchant
for getting enmeshed in political controversies (with
allegations that he profited well from taking particular
stances) created enemies who finally managed to shut him down
-- at least on television.


5. (SBU) Given Solovyev's close connections to Putin and his
team, our contacts surmise that the decision to pull the plug
on "To the Barrier" could only have come from within the
tandem. The prevailing theory is that Medvedev and his team
were the driving force behind the decision, perhaps as a
warning to Solovyev. Ekho Mosvky Editor Aleksey Venediktov
said that shortly before NTV announced the program's closure,
President Medvedev had had a conversation with Gazprom Media
CEO Nikolay Senkevich about Solovyev's inquiry in connection
with Valeriya Adamova's nomination as the chairman of the
Moscow Federal Court of Arbitration in mid-April.
(Medvedev's classmate, Adamova was confirmed as chairman of
the court in early May, replacing Lyudmila Maykova, who had
been dismissed for ethical violations because of an
investigation also initiated by Solovyev.) Following
Adamova's nomination, Solovyev sent a letter to the Judges'
Supreme Qualifications Board questioning the sources of her

MOSCOW 00001223 002 OF 002


income and housing property. Venediktov said that Solovyev
made inquiries both on Maykova and Adamova in the interest of
another, unnamed candidate for the chairmanship. Solovyev
knew Adamova enjoyed Medvedev's support, but he could not
step back because he had already made commitments and perhaps
accepted money from the candidate. Whether this is true or
not, Venediktov insisted that "To the Barrier" was shut down
hours after Medvedev's phone call to Senkevich. According to
Venediktov, if NTV wanted to close it down for commercial
reasons, there was no need to this now because Solovyev
contract was expiring on July 1 anyway.


6. (SBU) Center for Political Technologies analyst Tatyana
Stanovaya, like Venediktov, also sees Medvedev and his
supporters as likely culprits in the decision to cancel "To
the Barrier." She notes that Solovyev's blog took a
particularly nasty tone in discussing the President on April
15, making negative comparisons to Putin and poking fun at
his penchant for fat neckties. Solovyev also raised concern
that Medvedev sought "to bring the judiciary under the
control of himself and his friends" -- allegations that
preceded the Kremlin's announced proposal this week to have
the President appoint judges to the Constitutional Court.
Moreover, she notes that Solovyev's attack on Adamova may
also have ruffled feathers within the NTV management and its
parent company, Gazprom-Media, since Adamova's husband, Oleg
Adamov, was the first deputy general director of NTV and an
advisor to the general director of Gazprom-Media. In short,
Solovyev may well have bitten the hand that kept him so well
fed.

Admirers and Detractors
--------------


7. (SBU) Amongst the more liberal-minded commentators, the
reaction has been mixed between lamentations about the
closure of the last vestige of television pluralism and a
certain schadenfreude over the perceived setback for one of
the regime's unabashed public advocates. New Times Deputy
Editor Yevgenia Albats essentially gave "good riddance to bad
rubbish," dismissing Solovyev as a lobbyist for hire and his
program as a public farce. She questioned his motives and
professional integrity, citing Solovyev's "award" from the
Russian Media Watch as Russia's "most corrupt journalist."
(In his defense, Solovyev's blog claims that the Media Watch
is funded by players connected to Yukos, noting that none of
the journalists that Khodorkovskiy bought to promote his
agenda in the early 2000s were on the list.)


8. (SBU) Others, however, are less categorical about Solovyev
and his program. Even Oleg Panfilov -- clearly not a fan of
Solovyev himself -- decried the loss of "To the Barrier" as
the last mainstream television program that aired views from
across the political spectrum (within certain limits, of
course) and gave liberals an opportunity to criticize the
government, even if the playing field was tilted to favor the
state. Few here deny Solovyev's talent for framing current
issues and providing a rostrum for sometimes-sharp political
disagreement.
RUBIN