Putin's Control of Russia's News Media

Submitted by rhowell on Wed, 03/16/2022 - 14:45

Lucian Kim has covered Russia and Eastern Europe since 1996 for the Christian Science Monitor and other publications. He recently moved to Washington after five years as Moscow correspondent for National Public Radio, receiving a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Interviewed by longtime National Press Club member Irv Chapman, in this edition of Update-1 Kim traces how Vladimir Putin tightened the screws over time on Russia's news media as he faced critical coverage of popular discontent, notably over rigged elections a decade ago, and now has eliminated independent media entirely. And Kim says until last month, correspondents for foreign media could work freely, though sources dried up as Putin cracked down.