U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
April 18, 2001

Statement by Richard Boucher, Spokesman

The United States expresses its deep disappointment with setbacks suffered recently by independent media in Russia. NTV, the nation's only national non-governmental television station, "Segodnya", a respected daily newspaper, and the weekly magazine "Itogi" have lost their independent voices. The Government also filed tax evasion charges against the chief accountant at another television channel, TNT.

These events are the culmination of a series of actions we have observed over the past year, as the independent media outlets of the Media-Most company have been the clear targets of a series of extraordinary pressures from law enforcement and other elements of the Russian Government. These actions lead reasonable observers in Russia and elsewhere to the conclusion that the campaign against Media-Most is politically motivated, given the media company's often outspoken criticism of Russian government policies.

The United States is extremely troubled that the management takeover at NTV, combined with Segodnya's and Itogi's closures and police actions against TNT, are reducing the ability of Russians to receive a wide range of news and views.

Freedom of speech and pluralism in the media are essential elements of a democratic system, and are among the most important gains the Russian people have achieved over the past ten years. These gains are put in jeopardy so long as the Russian Government continues to use political pressures and intimidation tactics to limit the people's access to unfiltered sources of information.