In Russia, journalism is a risky profession. The risks run from dismissal to imprisonment to murder. A recent estimate puts the number of journalists killed since 2000 at 27. But Russian journalists face pressure by other means, too.
Last week, one of Russia’s last remaining independent media holdings lost its three top editors after reporting on the development of oyster farming near Putin’s alleged “palace” in southern Russia. As a result, the management at RBC, a business newspaper and website owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, received a request to sack editor Maxim Solyus, triggering the resignations of editor-in-chief Elizaveta Osetinskaya, website editor Roman Badanin, and a dozen other editors in protest.
There are signs that Prokhorov is now gearing up to sell RBC, and Moscow’s journalist community has few doubts that these latest moves signal the loss of RBC’s independence. After all, these editors were responsible for turning RBC into Russia’s leading business and investigative outlet. Prior to 2014, RBC was best known for its “paid” material. But under Badanin, Osetinskaya and Solyus, RBC was transformed into the outlet that conducted the 2015 investigation into the $1.7 billion expansion of Moscow State University.
