Journalists Under Pressure to Follow Kremlin’s Lead

Even as Russia trumpets its triumph in taking the capital of Chechnya from separatist rebels, journalists in the country are feeling new pressure to report what authorities approve of--and only what authorities approve of.

Since the Chechen war began in late September, journalists in Russia have been detained, interrogated, arrested and even ordered to undergo psychiatric tests, in what many see as a dangerous wave of government intimidation.

Alexander Khinstein, 25, who annoys the authorities with his sensational and often vicious reports attacking top officials, got a knock on his door from the FSB, the main successor to the KGB, on Jan. 17.

He was at home ill when his mother opened the door to the agents, who carried guns and--like the secret police who came for political dissidents in Soviet times--a warrant to take him to a psychiatric clinic. The clinic is in Vladimir, 110 miles east of Moscow.

But the journalist, who works for TV-Tsentr and the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, avoided detention on a technicality: He had a doctor’s certificate that he was sick, so under Russian law he could not be detained. He still faces the psychiatric test and must answer an accusation that he falsified a 1997 driver’s license, which he denies.

Khinstein finds it odd that he should be asked to travel so far for a psychiatric test that could easily be carried out in Moscow.

“Such things have not happened since Soviet times. This really makes me think that there is something fishy about this trip to Vladimir, and it only increases my reluctance to go,” he said.

Like Khinstein, Andrei Babitsky, 35--a correspondent for U.S.-funded Radio Liberty--broadcast material that authorities did not like and wound up in trouble. His reports from Chechnya contradicted the official line on the war in the breakaway republic, and in mid-January he was taken into custody, accused of aiding the separatist rebels.

Last Thursday, officials announced that they had traded Babitsky to Chechen fighters in return for three Russian prisoners. But he still has not been heard from, and there are deep fears for his safety.

Officials Seek Media’s Help in Waging War

Top Russian officials have been exhorting journalists to help wage an information war against the Chechen rebels. The pressure, coupled with tough action against individual journalists, has created an atmosphere of press intimidation.

Numerous other journalists have been detained and interrogated. In December, Russian authorities accused two reporters, from the Reuters news agency and Associated Press, of being foreign spies because they had reported that more than 100 Russian soldiers had been killed in a Chechen attack. When they returned to Moscow, they were detained for two hours and questioned by police.

In October, a British journalist and an American photographer were taken into custody for several days in Chechnya because they did not have Russian press accreditation. In December, seven Western journalists who were accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry were detained and questioned for nine hours, as authorities demanded that they obtain additional accreditation cards in order to cover the war.

Expressing deep concern last week about Babitsky’s fate, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch criticized Russian authorities for harassing journalists and imposing what it called a virtual ban on coverage of the war.

“Russia is keeping international and local journalists out of Chechnya through arbitrary and obstructive regulations,” said Jean-Paul Marthoz, European press director for the organization. “Russia is arresting journalists for not having accreditation, which Russian authorities refuse to provide them in the first place.”

Some Worry About Controls Under Putin

Editors and human rights advocates in Russia fear that the controls now being imposed on war correspondents may be applied more generally should acting President Vladimir V. Putin, a former KGB colonel, keep power after a presidential election in March.

Masha Lipman, deputy editor in chief of Itogi magazine, said it seems the military was after revenge in its treatment of Babitsky.

“I think it sends a very alarming signal,” she said.

Unlike Babitsky, who is highly regarded for his fearless coverage of Chechnya, Khinstein enjoys little respect in Moscow’s journalistic community, where many see him as a scandalmonger and political player.

Despite criticisms of his style and sources, Khinstein is a high-profile opposition journalist, better known to Russians than Babitsky, and his persecution sends out a chilling message.

“[Khinstein and Babitsky] are two journalists who are really critical of government policy. They’re both in trouble. I think it represents a danger,” said Vyacheslav A. Nikonov, a former Kremlin aide and now director of the Politika think tank. “Other journalists see what’s going on, so they’re becoming more and more cautious, especially the chief editors, who know they’ll be in trouble if they run certain things.”

He said the government could lean on editors without heavy-handed efforts at Soviet-style censorship: It could raise licensing fees, pursue a newspaper over taxes or temporarily close down a publication under fire safety regulations.

Even before Babitsky’s arrest, Putin’s appointment as acting president evoked dismay among some human rights advocates. Sergei I. Grigoryants, president of the Glasnost human rights fund, argued that Putin wanted to silence opposition and control the media.

“The war in Chechnya came in very handy for this purpose,” he said. “Citing strategic considerations and Russia’s national interests, the Putin administration set new rules for the media to cover the military campaign in Chechnya, and it will start applying these rules in everyday life too.”

Khinstein is associated with media aligned with the Moscow mayor, Yuri M. Luzhkov. The journalist campaigned vigorously against one of the mayor’s enemies, the powerful oligarch Boris A. Berezovsky, who owns the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta and controls the majority state-owned national ORT television network.

In December’s parliamentary elections, Khinstein ran and lost as a candidate of Fatherland-All Russia, the bloc then associated with Luzhkov and former Prime Minister Yevgeny M. Primakov.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta Editor Vitaly Tretyakov said Khinstein’s work was suspicious because he regularly printed transcripts of tapped conversations between politicians and powerful oligarchs.

“But, in terms of public opinion, Khinstein may be viewed as a journalist persecuted for his professional activities, so it may create the impression that freedom of speech is encroached upon. Such practices are unacceptable,” Tretyakov said.

Khinstein knows he has not attracted much local sympathy but hopes that international human rights groups will pick up his cause, as they have Babitsky’s.

“Journalism has become one of the riskiest and most dangerous professions in Russia. And naturally, this bodes ill for democracy and for the freedom of the press in Russia,” he said.

“I think that what happened to Babitsky and me is just a trial balloon. The authorities want to check the public reaction to repressive actions taken against journalists. What will our society say--will the people swallow it or will they protest and revolt?”