From the USSR to the Russian Federation: Press Under Control

The case of journalist Alsu Kurmasheva highlights the persistence of restrictions on criticism and press freedom.

“In the U.S.S.R. there is no place for organizations that are not official.
Nor is there room in any publication to express ideas whose dissemination is not pleasing to the government.
Just as there is no possibility for anyone to issue, on their own initiative, even a leaflet expressing them.
It is true that letters from readers are often published, with complaints or criticism directed against the management of this or that organization, against the administration of some establishment; and occasionally editorial articles attack certain officials who are held responsible for particular administrative shortcomings.
We already know what it means there for such criticism to be made public. […] Rank-and-file officials serve as the scapegoats of public criticism.
But what never happens is that, beyond the individuals chosen as targets, criticism reaches—even deliberately—the measures issued by higher authorities, the decisions of ministers, the decrees of the Soviet, much less the political or administrative line of the moment, the actions of the State itself or—of course not—the nature of the regime,” wrote Dr. Emilio Frugoni in 1948.
It is worth remembering that Frugoni (1880–1969) served as ambassador to the Soviet Union during the presidency of Dr. Juan José de Amézaga (1881–1956).
From that privileged position, he became very familiar with the reality of Russian communism and, although from his socialist perspective not everything was grounds for censure, neither did he spare criticism.
It may reasonably be argued that this situation of a muzzled press was inherent to the totalitarian system that ruled Soviet Russia.
What is the current state of freedom in a country that formally abandoned the communist system on December 26, 1991, transforming itself into the Russian Federation?
Let us consider an example. The rich collection of Spanish proverbs includes one that fits the case perfectly: “a single button is enough as a sample.” That is, there is no need to show everything, since the rest can easily be inferred from something as small as a button.
The prisoner exchange between the West and Russia that we discussed in previous articles included journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
Why was she a prisoner?
The woman, who holds dual Russian-American citizenship, was serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence, accused of spreading false information about the Russian armed forces.
It should not be overlooked that the journalist was on the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a media outlet detested by the Russian government, which forced it into exile.
In addition, Kurmasheva had worked as an editor on a book titled “Saying No to War.” It is true that it did not refer to war in general, but rather to the one sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Given that background, it is reasonable to ask whether traveling to Russia was advisable.
The explanation is easy to understand: she had gone to see her elderly mother, who was ill in Kazan, a city located about eight hundred kilometers from Moscow.
That happened in May 2023. After visiting her mother, Kurmasheva was at Kazan airport preparing to fly to Prague when she was detained by Russian border authorities.
They confiscated her passports, laptop, and cell phone.
She was accused of failing to declare her U.S. citizenship and was fined.
At the same time, criminal proceedings were opened against her for failing to declare her status as a “foreign agent.” The charge of spreading false information was later added, and she was convicted in a secret trial in July 2024.
She remained in pretrial detention throughout the proceedings.
Facing a long and unjust imprisonment, she benefited from the prisoner exchange the month after her conviction.
She spent ten months behind bars.
Others were not so fortunate.

Press freedom
Control of criticism
Alsu Kurmasheva case

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