Arrest of Russian media mogul raises concerns for press freedom

June 13, 2000
Web posted at: 10:21 p.m. EDT (0221 GMT)

In this story: A warning to journalists? 'We spoke different languages' A well-connected oligarch RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

MOSCOW -- Russian media mogul Vladimir Gusinsky -- a top critic of the Russian government -- was arrested Tuesday, accused of embezzlement.

Some say his detention is a move by Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration to silence free speech.

VIDEO CNN's Matthew Chance reports on reaction in Russia to the arrest of media mogul Vladimir Gusinsky. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

"I'm afraid we are on the eve of very harsh events in Russia, and this is the reason -- the press will be the first victim of the new Russian administration," said journalist Evgenya Albats.

Gusinsky's arrest came one month after investigators, supported by masked police brandishing guns, raided the offices of his holding company, Media-Most. That raid was later ruled illegal in court.

Gusinsky, 47, was under investigation for allegedly embezzling state-owned properties worth at least $10 million, according to Russian news agencies quoting the prosecutor-general's office.

Gusinsky's lawyer, Pavel Astakhov, said Gusinsky was summoned to the prosecutor-general's office for questioning related to the raids, was then arrested and was being held in a Moscow prison, according to the Interfax News Agency.

Gusinsky believes the Kremlin is persecuting him because it wants to crack down on independent news media -- and his Media-Most company, one of Russia's largest, is considered the most vocal critic of Putin's administration.

Gusinsky's arrest quickly drew the attention of Washington, as did last month's raid.

"We are quite concerned about some of the steps taken against the free media, said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart.

One of Russia's leading politicians, Boris Nemtsov, said the detention sent a clear warning to his country's news media.

"If you don't behave, you'll also end up in the slammer," Nemtsov said on a discussion show on NTV, one of Media-Most's holdings and Russia's only independent news station, only two hours after the arrest was announced.

Putin, on a state visit to Spain, said he did not know about the arrest in advance.

"I hope the prosecutor's office has sufficient grounds and everything was done in keeping with the law," Putin said, according to Interfax.

Putin has in the past assured Clinton and the Russian public that the independent media are not under attack.

Gusinsky's media once strongly backed Putin's predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, but has become increasingly critical of the Kremlin in recent years.

The media baron openly backed Putin rival Grigory Yavlinsky, a veteran liberal politician, in the election last March.

Gusinsky alleged last month that Putin's chief of staff, Alexander Voloshin, had offered him $100 million for his media not to impede Putin's presidential campaign.

Gusinsky's media outlets, especially NTV, have been the most critical of Putin's military campaign against rebels in Chechnya.

But he says his insistence that military force alone could not solve the region's problems fell on deaf ears during a conversation with Putin last October.

"We understood that we spoke different languages. (It was) a conversation of the deaf and dumb," said Gusinsky.

Gusinsky is not a journalist but a prominent, wealthy businessman, one of modern Russia's powerful oligarchs with connections and great influence.

With a business career stretching back to the days of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika reforms in the former U.S.S.R., Gusinsky has cultivated a modest public persona, insisting that he is just a successful businessman and nothing more.

"A secretary to a top official has more clout than me," Gusinsky once said.

"Murdoch and Time-Warner are great examples," he added. "I would like to match them in size -- this is my yardstick."

Gusinsky also dismissed reports that by concentrating his business interests he wanted to boost his political influence.

"For us, mass media is a way of making money, good money," he said.

Gusinsky grew up studying the gas and oil industries, worked as a theater director and even drove a private taxi before launching his Media-Most empire.

In addition to NTV, Media-Most's holdings include the newspaper Segodnya and the radio station Ekho Moskvy.

Gusinsky is married and has two sons.

Correspondent Mathew Chance, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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