Censorship denounced Russian newspaper editors quit

MOSCOW: Senior editors at Russia’s leading business newspaper quit en masse on Monday in protest against what they say is censorship under new management as a long-running dispute between journalists and management came to a head.

Vedomosti is one of the few remaining independent news outlets in Russia, where journalists are increasingly squeezed by curbs on press freedoms and pressure from the Kremlin.

“All five deputy editors at Vedomosti are leaving the newspaper in protest over the appointment of Andrei Shmarov as editor-in-chief,” the newspaper said. Launched in 1999, Vedomosti was co-founded and co-owned by Dutch entrepreneur Derk Sauer’s Independent Media, the London-based Financial Times and US business daily, The Wall Street Journal.

It has changed hands several times since its first print run as lawmakers introduced legislation limiting foreign ownership of Russian media. In March, the newspaper’s reporters and editors were surprised by an announcement from then-owner Demyan Kudryavtsev that he planned to sell the newspaper.

Shmarov was appointed acting editor-in-chief the same month, before the sale was finalised. The newspaper was eventually sold to the head of a little-known regional news agency called FederalPress, Ivan Yeryomin.

Vedomosti journalists have denounced censorship under Shmarov, saying his appointment was political. They complain they have been barred from covering negative opinion polls of President Vladimir Putin, and that Shmarov interfered in coverage of oil giant Rosneft, which is run by top Putin ally Igor Sechin.

In an open letter published by The Bell, an independent Russian-language news site, all five editors said they were leaving after Shmarov was confirmed editor-in-chief. “As acting chief editor, he ran the newsroom for almost three months and managed over that period to repeatedly violate editorial norms and guidelines adopted at Vedomosti,” they said.

“We have no other choice but to leave.” Vedomosti journalists repeatedly complained to management about Shmarov and recently put forward an alternative candidate to lead the paper.

Nearly 70 staff members backed a colleague to be editor-in-chief, but the owners still went ahead with the appointment of Shmarov, they said. The outgoing editors have worked at the newspaper for around 15 years or more.