How the News is Reported in Russia
April, 2009
by Andrei Nesterov

Meeting of US and Russian Presidents Hailed as Success

First Channel reported that at the G-20 summit on April 1, the Russian and American presidents met and "reached agreements" on most controversial issues. The leaders agreed to initiate bilateral talks about signing a new START treaty on strategic arms reduction. The channel quoted President Medvedev as saying that "nonproliferation of the weapons of mass destruction, strategic arms limitations, measures against terrorism, and ways to establish a more stable economic order in the world" were discussed as priorities. The Russian leader said that the talks demonstrated that there is more common ground between Russia and the US than there are disagreements.

It was also reported that the two presidents spoke together for 90 minutes instead of the planned 50 minutes, that at the talks President Obama accepted the invitation of President Medvedev to visit Russia in June, and the Russian President said that some bilateral agreements would be elaborated and might be concluded during that visit.

After the talks, the two presidents issued a statement that Russia and the USA will continue working to resolve issues in the Caucasus region, despite having different opinions about the causes of the war in South Ossetia. In addition, the presidents stated that Russia's ascension to the World Trade Organization will be accelerated and the two countries will continue working to create more economic cooperation between themselves.

NATO Gets New Secretary-General

Russia Channel quoted Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's envoy to NATO, as saying that electing Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who was serving as Denmark's Prime Minister, to the post of Secretary-General of NATO would not bring anything unexpected for Russia. Rogozin said that Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a person of "right-wing views," and he is likely to continue the NATO's current policies. He also commented that no decision was made about accepting Georgia to NATO at the summit where the appointment of the new Secretary-General was announced. According to Rogozin, Georgia is farther from NATO membership than it was 5-6 years ago because of its assault on South Ossetia, and today NATO cannot accept Georgia without recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

First Channel in its report on the NATO summit stated that US President Barack Obama's policy to improve relations with Russia will result in the renewal of NATO-Russia relations as well, and the first step to it is the revival of the Russia-NATO Council.  

Georgian Opposition Protests

Russian TV gave heavy coverage to rallies held by the Georgian opposition calling for President Mikhail Saakashvili's resignation. On April 9, First Channel reported that the opposition had gathered 100 thousand people in the center of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. According to First Channel, the people of Georgia came to the rally to tell that their lives had not improved after the Rose Revolution which brought Mikhael Saakashvili to power in 2003.

First Channel quoted many opposition politicians and Georgian celebrities and public figures as calling for President Saakashvili to resign, such as former President Shevardnadze (who was ousted by the Rose Revolution) and chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili.

Russia Channel criticized President Saakashvili's "policy flaws" such as dispersing opposition rallies and initiating military action in South Ossetia. According to the channel, the opposition leaders, most of whom were top-ranking officials several years ago, rejected the proposal of Mikheil Saakshvili to start a dialogue and request only one thing – the resignation of the Georgian President.

Both channels stressed that protesters intended to achieve their goals in peaceful ways, but also expressed doubts that the protesters would have enough stamina to held rallies for a long time if their goals were not achieved soon.

Riots in Moldova

On April 12, First Channel in its report called the riots in Moldova "the fourth attempt of an Orange Revolution, camouflaged as anti-communist rallies of protest."

First Channel stated that the protesters used techniques already practiced in other countries, such as sending SMS messages to young people about dishonest elections, followed with attempts to take over government buildings.

The channel ironically called the usage the flags of another state, neighboring Romania by the protesters, as new "only for the events in Moldova" – indicating that other states had been involved in other "color revolutions" previously.  First Channel denounced the position of the European Union during the riots in Moldova because the EU had recognized the elections in Moldova as fair, but then did not react immediately to the riots.

Leading Russian politicians have not commented on the events in Moldova, but Russia Channel broadcast interviews with minority party leaders. Communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov  accused the Romanian authorities of involvement in the riots. LDPR party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky said that the riots had been "bought by the West."

15th Anniversary of Russia's Internet Domain

Russia Channel had a series reports on the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the “.ru” domain. Internet sites regiersed in Russia carry this suffix (such as the Prime Minister's site http://premier.gov.ru). First Channel did not report anything on the event.

Russia Channel quoted Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications Igor Shegolev as saying that there are 50 million Internet users in Russia, and the Russian Internet sector – or "Runet" as it is referred to – is growing fast. Meanwhile, in another report, Russia Channel quoted research conducted by Yandex, Russia's leading search engine, which revealed that the Russian Internet sector growth had slowed. According to the research, in 2008, Runet grew by only 4 percent, mainly due to a slight increase in the number of Internet users in the Russian regions. In addition, there is a sharp contrast between the speed of the Internet connection in Moscow and St. Petersburg and other Russian cities – 7000 Kbit per second versus 512 Kbit per second.

The best Internet connection outside of the two major cities is in the Yekaterinburg, refered to in the report as “almost the third Internet-capital of Russia.” The worst Internet service is in the south of the country, Russia Channel reported.

"Antiterrorism Regime" in Chechnya Ended

On April 16, Russian National Antiterrorism Committee ended the antiterrorism regime in Chechnya that had been introduced 10 years ago. This decision may result in withdrawal of Russian Army units from the republic, and Chechnya will receive a number of benefits, such as the opportunity to trade with other countries directly. The airport of Chechen capital Grozny will have the status of an international airport, and a customs will be established there, all major TV channels reported.

First Channel reported that this decision was made by the order of President Medvedev.

Earlier, on March 27, First Channel quoted Dmitry Medvedev as saying at a meeting with Aleksandr Bortnikov, the Head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), that life in Chechnya is getting normalized, modern infrastructure is being constructed, social problems are being solved, and that he recommended the antiterrorism regime be ended. Aleksandr Bortnikov agreed with the President and said that the end of the antiterrorism regime would contribute to further improvement of the situation in Chechnya, and it will also create better conditions for foreign trade and attract investment to the republic.

The decision was praised by Ramzan Kadyrov, the President of the Chechen Republic, who said that the war against terrorism had been won in Chechnya, and the Chechen authorities were waiting for the special regime to end as it was needed for the republic to become stronger economically.

Russia Channel quoted the press service of President Kadyrov as saying that the reports of some media on the situation in the mountainous areas of Chechnya and about the plans of rebels to enter Grozny and set terrorist attacks there are “without grounds.” President Kadyrov also stated in an Interfax interview that “gang units” had been completely annihilated in Chechnya.

Meanwhile, on April 22 Russia Channel reported that three Russian soldiers were killed in Chechen village Bamut, and the attackers stole the soldiers’ machine-gun.

First Channel quoted Bortnikov as saying that more than 300 militants had been “rendered harmless” in Chechnya since the beginning of 2009, and 35 terrorist attacks had been prevented.

Scandal at UN Conference on Racism

Russia Channel stated that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was greeted by the majority of the people who were present at UN anti-racism conference on April 20, while another part of them shouted comments at the meeting to express their displeasure. In the speech, the Iranian leader condemned Israel for "occupying the Palestinian territories and practicing racism as a policy.” Immediately after these statements, delegations of the most EU countries left the conference. The USA, Israel and other countries boycotted the conference from the very beginning because of Ahmadinejad's scheduled speech.

Russia Channel stated that the boycott of the conference means that politicians have serious communication problems, which left no room for discussing the pressing issues of racism.  

First Channel quoted Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Aleksandr Yakovenko as saying that the other forum participants perceived the boycott negatively, saying that the boycotting countries had been expected to take part in elaborating documents aimed at tackling racism issues. "Not all countries are ready to admit the fact that racism and intolerance exist in all forms of our life, and to react to these challenges," Yakovenko stated, denouncing the boycott. 

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