Russia newspaper editors quit, denouncing censorship

MOSCOW: Senior editors at Russia´s leading business newspaper quit en masse 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.