Introduction

1. General observations
2. Phenomenon of Yaransk town
3. Relationships between the public authorities and the press
4. Influence of journalistic organizations
5. Mari-language news media
6. Prosecutor's office and courts

Summary
 

Introduction

The goal of regional missions of the Glasnost' Defense Foundation (further referred to as the GDF) is collection of information on the situation with news media, and conflicts of news media in problem areas of intense conflicts. As the next step, the collected materials are thoroughly examined and then applied as grounds for elaboration of methods to solve the conflicts and forms of interaction between the public authorities and the press with reference to regional specifics. In addition, upon termination of missions, the Glasnost' Defense Foundation, as may be necessary, prepares appropriate letters to the public authorities, and inquiries to the Prosecutor General's office, and other institutional settings.

The mission is traditionally represented by the chief of one of the GDF's services, and a lawyer of the GDF, with involvement of foreign human rights organizations, and reporters for foreign and domestic news media.

1. General observations

In the Mari-El Republic, print news media predominate. The television is scanty; the State TV and Radio Company is all that they have in terms of television and radio. For years, the State TV and Radio Company totally discouraged independent television companies by using every excuse possible to deny them televising. Therefore, today there are no independent television companies in the republic.

FM Radio stations broadcast no news reports or programs.

In the republic, there is no independent regional or district press. According to Tatiana Cheboxarinova, the acting chairman of the State Committee on the press and information of the Mari-El Republic, the only independent district newspaper was recently founded in the Sovetski settlement, and registered half of a year ago. Yet, T.Cheboxarinova failed to recall the title of the newspaper.

In the Mari-El republic, there are 38 active state and private printing houses, though only two of them, "The Mari-El Periodicals" and the Mari-El polygraph printing complex, engage in printing newspapers. Both printing houses are the state property, and are directly supervised by Mr. Frolov, the chief of administration of the president of the Mari-El.

It should be mentioned that, for the last two years, the state printing houses have been preparing ways for ousting independent editions. Thus, "The Mari-El Periodicals" priced out printing for independent news media four times, as compared with state editions; as a consequence, replication of the newspapers Kudo Kodu, Dobrye Sosedi (Kind Neighbours), and Sirenevy Tuman (Lilac Fog) was suspended. What is more, the aforementioned editions became deeply indebted to the printing house, since they were not warned about the overcharge early. It is worthy of notice that both publishing houses quite often exercised censorship on independent news media. As Alexandr Soloviov, the recently discharged director for the Mari-El polygraph printing complex informs, columns of newspapers already made into page would be cancelled following an appropriate calls from the administration of the Mari-El president.

The municipal newspaper Yoshkar-Ola recently denied the opportunity for printing as well. According to chief editor of the newspaper Lezhanin, in October 2002, the board of managers for "The Mari-El Periodicals" unilaterally broke the contract on printing services. The newspaper outlet staff lodges a lawsuit against the printing house with the court of arbitration.

2. Phenomenon of Yaransk town

Today, eight newspapers of the Mari-El are printed in Yaransk, a town in the Kirov region. Orders made by the Mari-El press for printing there, offered the printing house a good chance to overhaul the equipment completely, increase the number of employees four times, and to take the third position on the list of enterprises holding the largest number of contracts - all in terms of 2002. Editors of the Mari-El the newspapers printed in Yaransk are unanimous in speaking highly of good will shown by both personnel of the printing house, and the local public authorities: they have been in cooperation for about a year and the half, and none of them ever interfered with the publishing matters. Editors indicate that the difference between printing expenses in Yaransk and costs for printing state press in Yoshkar-Ola is tiny.

Nevertheless, the price that the Mari-El newspapers have to pay is still high. Here are additional costs of transportation and travel expenses, and, to a certain extent, moral uneasiness, due to forced "emigration".

Here we face the situation unprecedented for Russian regions: vast majority of Mari-El independent editions (or, in actual fact, all of them, except for regional issues of the Komsomol'skaya Pravda and Moskovski Komsomolets), and now also the main municipal newspaper are unable to be printed on the territory of the republic, - notwithstanding that A.Samsonkin, the chief of that very "The Mari-El Periodicals" made complaints against the lack of printing contracts and holdups experienced by the printing house.

Yakov Zil'berman, the first Deputy Prosecutor of the republic strongly recommended us to inquire into the "Yaransk phenomenon", and pointed out readiness of the prosecutor's office of the republic to conduct an examination of the matter, provided that local journalistic organizations had official recourse to the law.
 

3. Relationships between the public authorities and the press

It is our belief that the following quote is the best illustration of the type of relationship that the president of the republic has with the independent press:
- How can I tolerate state publishing houses printing newspapers of anti-president orientation?

(Source: Leonid Markelov, the President, - the statement made in the course of meeting with the Mari-El news media representatives in February 22 of this year).

Last June, representatives of the Glasnost' Defense Foundation's similar mission that worked in the Mari-El at the material time, conversed with chiefs of publishing houses on the attitude toward the press assumed by newly elected president Markelov. Today, it makes a point of interest to recollect their estimations traced a year and the half earlier, and to compare them with nowadays evaluation of that very attitude by the same people.

A.Samsonkin,the director of the publishing house "The Mari-El Periodics":

JUNE of 2001: "To replace Kislitsyn, there came a younger, though shiftier and more cunning public figure. I doubt whether his coming will bring relief to the independent press. I know for certain, employees of the presidential administration and the prosecutor's office of the republic exercise the so-called "telephone right" to get rid of the publications that contain criticism directed against them, and blackmail news media by shutdown or suspension of subsidies from the budget.
DECEMBER of 2002: "We have learned methods to compromise with this power as well. Nevertheless, we are still confronted by certain problems: for instance, we fewer contracts from the Mari-El newspapers compelled to be printed in the neighboring area, and our printing house now and then stands idly. And, the role of the president in the matter is rather negative ".
Alexandr Soloviov, the director of the printing house at the Mari-El polygraphy printing complex:

JUNE 2001: "For all that, relationships between former president Kislitsyn and the press were not nice. He felt free to yell at editors and threaten them. I think that the newly elected president will take into account his predecessor's mistakes and show more prudence in respect of the press representatives".

DECEMBER 2002: "Regretfully, I seem to have jumped to conclusions when making fine predictions about Markelov's rule. Today, the Mari-El press goes through hard times, and importance of nowadays president in the matter should not be underestimated. Administrative pressure of similar intensity put on newspaper staffs can be hardly compared even with that one exerted upon news media in Soviet times".

Comment: two months earlier, A.Soloviov was dismissed from the office on the plea of "official duties misfit". In opinion of German Pirogov, the chief of the local branch of the Union of Journalists of Russia, Soloviov paid for his refusal to increase printing fares for independent newspapers as well as his unwillingness to censor newspapers published in his printing house.

The president of the Mari-El turned down the request of the GDF's mission to meet with him. He decided that there was no need for such a meeting, yet we met with his press secretary Bella Shedaniya. Ms. Shedaniya stated that interaction between the executive authorities of the republic and the press is "normal and constructive". However, she failed to describe a single specofoc instance of "constructive interaction". In opinion of B.Shedaniya regarding disloyal editions, their choice for non-domestic printing houses was made out of their own good will, not any sort of bans or pressure. She does not know why news media decided in favor of publishing houses located in neighbor areas, yet she suggests lower prices for printing as the presumable reason for their choice. The presidential press secretary also stressed that "lack of presidential funds makes decent livelihood for all the media impossible". For more details on interaction between authorities and the press in the republic, B.Shedaniya referred us to Tatiana Cheboxarinova, the acting chairman of the State Committee on the press and information in the Mari-El. Very shortly before our mission's arrival, her predecessor, Yelena Khripchenko was dismissed from the office of the chairman of the State Committee (it is rumored that her layoff was stimulated by interest shown by the prosecutor's office of the republic to her malicious attempt to bring the publishing house "The Mari-El Periodicals" to bankruptcy).

T.Cheboxarinova defined powers of her department as "supervision of only those news media, which share their business with the State Committee on the press, where the Committee appears a fellow founder", and expressed the following opinion on the independent press, "Independent journalists make money on ruckuses and big stirs, which are their nature". The State Committee holds no actions for news media, - beside the only mention about annual workshop and congress for chiefs of newspapers of republican and regional levels. Yet, G.Pirogov , the chief of the local branch of the Union of Journalists of Russia regarded the action attributed to the Committee as exaggeration, to put it mildly, since the Union of Journalists would hold the aforementioned actions at their own expense, and the State Committee on the press representatives would come thereto as visitors. In T.Cheboxarinova's view, objectionable news media are printed in contiguous regions, inasmuch as publishing house "The Mari-El Periodicals" is swamped with orders. There came a natural question, why printing of the Mariyskaya Pravda (The Mari-El Truth) newspaper is within the limits of the possible, yet managers of "The Mari-El Periodicals" see no way for publishing the Yoshkar-Ola newspaper, for instance. When responding, T.Cheboxarinova pointed out that the Mariyskaya Pravda was a daily newspaper; therefore its production excelled any other edition in profitability.

It should be noticed that T.Cheboxarinova had never worked for any news medium prior to her assignment to the post of deputy chairman of the State Committee, thus local press representatives show skepticism about her professional competence.

We conducted a mini survey among chief editors of newspapers. The survey suggested evaluation of activity of the president and his administration with reference to news media. Employees for the Mariyskaya Pravda (a state edition at the republic) indicated it as positive. Journalists pertaining to the newspapers Yoshkar-Ola (a municipal edition), Lyubimy Gorod (Favourite City) (an independent liberally-oriented political edition), Kudo Kodu (the national Mari-El newspaper disseminated in Russia, the Baltic States and Finland), Vybor (Choice) (the joint edition published by the regional branch of Union of Journalists of Russia and association of creative unions of Mari-El), and Resoursy Mari-El (The Sourses Of Mari-El) (an independent edition) gave it the negative estimate. Reporters for the Komsomol'skaya Pravda v Mari-El (Truth Of Young Lenin's Followers in Mari-El) and Moskovski Komsomolets v Mari-El (Young Lenin's Follower From Moscow In Mari-El) newspapers abstained from participation in the poll.

As for Valerian Yegorov, the chief federal inspector in the republic, his activities won unanimous appreciation of the local news media set forth above, which made their choice for the reference "positive". V.Yegorov is very energetic when working toward improvement of the situation with news media. Thus, he initiated the program of the United Information Center of Federal Bodies in the Mari-El Republic and the Anti-crisis School for chief editors of independent news media. V.Yegorov also develops the project "Club of Journalists" co-designed with Vladimir Tarkhov, the mayor of Yoshkar-Ola.

Next, V.Yegorov contributes to solution of conflicts between the authorities and news media representatives, and also among news media, doing what he can to help. Thus, in late October of this year, the Mariyskaya Pravda released the publication "Diaspora". The material related about the Chechen Diaspora in Mari-El, and was considered by many Mari-El fellow reporters as instigating national enmity, whereupon V.Yegorov filed an appropriate inquiry to the public prosecutor's office of the republic requiring legal examination of the publication, and also arranged for linguistic examination of the article by experts of the Kazan State University.

In addition, the chief federal inspector and his assistant Nina Yefimova prepare ways for establishment of the Chamber on information disputes, aimed at solution of conflicts with news media involvement within the republic. Now, they make common cause with Victor Monakhov, a former chief of the Russian Chamber on information disputes working over the law and forms, in which the organization would shape (today, the matter of status, membership, and scope of activities still remains open, as well as the institutional setting that the Chamber will be affiliated with). Nevertheless, V.Yegorov shows no doubt that the Chamber will start up in the 1st quarter of 2003 at the latest.

The press does not fail to attain mutual understanding with top officials of the State Assembly of the republic, admittedly, with good assistance of the Glasnost' Defense Foundation. In September, following the appropriate memorial of the Foundation on account of introduction of illegal enactment on accreditation by the State Assembly and administration of the president of the Mari-El, and publication of the comment by the GDF 's lawyers (the online version of the comment is available here: http://www.gdf.ru/digest/digest/digest099.shtml#gdf002), the vice-president of the State Assembly addressed the Foundation the letter that read, "On behalf of the State Assembly of the Mari-El Republic, I express appreciation of amendments and observations on the Enactment on accreditation of journalists of news media with the State Assembly of the Mari-El Republic. The Branch Standing Committee to organize the work of the State Assembly, public relations and news media closely studied them, and developed the draft resolution of the State Assembly of the Mari-El on adoption of amendments, and will furnish it to the next session […]

[…] Draft amendments adopted to the enactment were submitted to the approval of experts of the Prosecutor's Office of the Mari-El Republic. In addition, I consider it necessary to notify you that while being prepared, the Enactment underwent the specialized examination with the office of D.Polyakov, the representative of the Privolzhie Territorial Administration of the Ministry on the press, television and radio broadcasts and mass communication media of Russian Federation in the Mari-El Republic".

4. Influence of journalistic organizations

Journalistic organizations in Mari-El are represented by local branches of the Union of Journalists of Russia and the "Mediasoyuz" association. Maria Mit'sheva, the chief of the regional branch of the "Mediasoyuz", for the first once for 2002, held the workshop and congress for chiefs of the Mari-El news media as a joint project with the State Committee on the press, and it has been the only action by the "Mediasoyuz" in the republic so far. In opinion of editors for independent news media, their interaction with "Mediasoyuz" is still poor, thus they have preference for work with the local branch of the Union of Journalists built upon well-effected relationships; and, what is more, the Union shows better understanding of independent news media's problems. Notwithstanding that, the position of independent newspapers toward activity of the "Mediasoyuz" cannot be distinguished as flatly critical, - in their opinion, the organization is newly established, and one should avoid making hasty estimations then yet.

Steps taken by German Pirogov, the chief of the local branch of the Union of Journalists of Russia are more energetic by far as compared with those ones of the colleagues from the "Mediasoyuz". Every so often he has recourse to the regional prosecutor's offices with inquiries on news media matters (for instance, inquiries on investigation findings regarding reporter A.Babaikin's death, and assault of and arson in the apartment belonging to A.Mal'tsev, the chief editor of the Dobrye Sosedi (Kind Neighbours) newspaper). For quite a long time, peaceful methods to solve conflicts between newspaper staffs and printing houses brought forward by Pirogov have been a success. Additionally, G.Pirogov is a publisher for the Vybor (Choice) newspaper, one of the most respected objectionable editions in the republic. G.Pirogov cited the utterance by former chief of the State Committee on the press Y.Khripchenko as a pictorial rendition of the newspaper's status in opinion of president Markelov, "There was an instruction banning publication of the newspapers Kudo Kodu and Dobrye Sosedi in the republic; as for the Vybor, it was not mentioned in any prohibitory documents". Nevertheless, the Vybor is rather harsh toward today's administration of the republic; every now and then it releases weighty journalistic investigations and materials by objectionable politicians (for instance, leader of the Mari-El Congress M.Nikolaev). The results of the opinion poll showed editors of newspapers indicated their attitude toward the Union of Journalists of Russia as close to positive.

5. Mari-language news media

In the republic, there are two Mari-language newspapers covering issues of public and political significance. One of them is the independent Kudo Kodu supported by the Institute "Open Society" (the Soros Foundation), and another one is the state Kugarnya disseminated in the Baltic States and Finland in addition to the Mari-El republic; the State Committee on the press in the republic is among founders of the newspaper. Both newspapers release publication in Russian and Mari. Circulations of those weekly editions are similar in number, and make about three and the half thousand copies apiece; in opinion of the editors for those newspapers, it is insufficient in terms of the republic. The newspapers are in quite high demand, however both editions sustain sizeable financial difficulties that preclude those news media from further development. Although the Kugarnya enjoys subsidies allocated from the budget of the republic, the newspaper experienced several holdups in printing due to financial crises.

The State TV and Radio Company broadcasts numerous programs in Mari, yet as for the contents of those, chief of the Union of Journalists G.Pirogov and many reporters point out that those programs are often indoctrinating and prejudicial. Decision of managers for the State TV and Radio Company on cooperation with independent news media including the Mari-language TV Companies would have incurred pivotal change of the situation; however, the State TV and Radio Company shows regretful disinclination to similar moves.

6. Prosecutor's office and courts

There is a deep division that separates the stand taken by the city prosecutor's office, and that one of the republic toward independent press. Whereas the prosecutor's office of the republic is rather liberal to independent press (judicial officials we spoke to were up on the latest publications and well-informed about inner disposition of news media; they repeatedly gave news media a helping hand, and evinced readiness to render assistance in case news media had recourse to the prosecutor's office), the city prosecutor's office turns a blind eye on the news media's problems. Top officials of the city prosecutor's office denied us reception: although the meeting was appointed, nobody came to see us. Additionally, according to editors Pirogov, Mal'tsev, Lezhanin and Kozlov, all the applications lodged with the city prosecutor's office resulted in failure. Instead of investigation of assaults on reporters, or coroner's inquests of reporter homicide, answers written for form only turn the beam, - though, 2002 is worthy of notice for deaths of assistant chief editor for the Dobrye Sosedi newspaper A.Babaikin and vice-president of the publishing house "The Mari-El Periodics" L.Plotnikov. Babaikin case was not solved, however, in May 2002, investigator Oleg Doronin closed it. Furthermore, the trial was not fair due to introduced forgery. Thus, in January 2002, the coroner announced identification of felons that murdered the journalist: a group of gypsies that appeared before court as defendants in several other cases ostensibly pleaded guilty of Babaikin's murder. Later it was found out that the gypsies were detained in September, while the murder was committed in November. During the trial, the accused declared that they had been forced to shoulder the liability for the felony. Nevertheless, the investigator did not withdraw, and eventually failed the case.

The city prosecutor's office failed to solve the arson in the apartment pertaining to Timur Khabibov, a reporter for the Yoshkar-Ola, committed in August 2002. The threats against T.Khabibov followed the journalistic investigation of the industrial complex "Lesmash" he reported in the newspaper. Shortly later, gangsters burnt the reporter's apartment down. Meanwhile, the threats directed against T.Khabibov were not ceased. In October, he had to leave the republic for a certain time.

Yakov Zil'berman, the first Deputy Prosecutor of the republic (a most experienced lawyer in Mari-El, and senior counsel of justice) stressed readiness of his department to conduct investigation of similar incidents. The problem is that journalists resort to the city prosecutor's office, unwilling to transmit unsolved or difficult cases to upper courts. In other words, applicants lose their cases over legal incompetence. Y.Zil'berman set the positive instance of reporter Yelena Rogacheva's application having to do with introduction of illegitimate norms of accreditation in the administration of the president of the Mari-El (September 2002). The prosecutor's office of the republic considered the application, and found the standards of accreditation being introduced wrongful. Y.Zil'berman emphasized singleness of the aforesaid journalist's application to the prosecutor's office of the republic.

In 2002, 16 lawsuits against the Mari-El news media were registered; 5 of those were lodged against the Mariyskaya Pravda, so now it is starring on the defendant list. Among journalists, the champion is Vladimir Mal'tsev, the editor for the Dobrye Sosedi. All the claims (except for the lawsuits filed against the Mariyskaya Pravda on the evidence of instigation of national enmity) were initiated by people of the president of the republic. As for Leonid Markelov himself, he is the most zealous plaintiff, as his claims make one third of the aforementioned lawsuits.

7. Summary

The only way to solve numerous problems that the Mari-El news media encounter is joint efforts by representatives of news media and executive authorities. We have to state good will to try methods to resolve the independent news media's problems and discuss what the solution might be, that presidential administration's representatives and, in all probability, the president of Mari-El principally failing. Only intervention by Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation in the Privozhski federal district, or from even higher level is capable of clearing the air. When given a scope for further aggravation, the conflict situation can yield in default of independent news media in the Mari-El republic.

Poor legal competence of journalists makes them unable to protect their rights in judicial bodies (in 2002, no plaintiff's applications on the part of reporters was registered); what is more, they have a rough idea of the procedure of lodging an application with the prosecutor's office, and very often simply cannot afford qualified lawyers to defend their cases in the courtroom. The GDF will recommend fellow organizations to hold workshops in Mari-El, and as far as possible do its part for similar actions.

Furthermore, we consider the problem of Mari-language news media as urgent. Development of the national-language press constitutes one of fundamental tasks of the administration of the republic set forth in the Constitution of the republic. To make for solution of the problem, the State TV and Radio Company should provide airwaves for programs broadcast in the Mari language; allocations to the Kugarnya newspaper should be increased, and the independent newspaper Kudo Kodu should enlist financial support. Neglect of the national-language press problem today can adversely affect the political field, and relationships among Finno-Ugric peoples (Estonians, Finns etc.).

We call for attention of the Ministry of Russian Federation on the press, television and radio broadcasts and mass communication media, and the Envoy of the President of Russian Federation in the Privolzhski federal district to the situation with news media in the Mari-El republic. We hope that if both offices exercise their powers, the situation may be changed for the better.

We prepare appropriate inquiries to the Prosecutor General's office on account of investigation of assassinations committed to journalist A.Babaikin and assistant chief of the publishing house "The Mari-El Periodicals" L.Plotnikov, and mass "migration" of independent news media leaving informational domain of the republic.