DATE=3/15/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA ELECT / MEDIA
NUMBER=5-45648
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=BELAYA KALITVA, RUSSIA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russia's presidential race is shaping up as an
almost certain victory for Acting President Vladimir
Putin. Even though the former K-G-B spy has announced
he will not campaign, he still dominates the state-run
television channels that most Russians depend on for
news. On a trip through the rural southern Russian
countryside, Correspondent Peter Heinlein found voters
ready to support Mr. Putin, even though they know
little about him.
TEXT: /// SFX OF TELEVISION IN BACKGROUND ///
Televisions are turned on in Russia's small towns and
villages. T-V is one of the few ways of keeping in
touch with the outside world. Newspapers are rare in
these far-flung regions.
Invariably, the T-V sets are tuned to one of the two
state-run channels. For most people, it is all they
can receive. Russia's main independent station, N-T-
V, is only available in about half the country.
Journalist Alexander Yevreinov covers events in
southern Russia for the Moscow newspaper "Vremya M-N".
He says government-controlled television stations have
a near monopoly on news about this month's
presidential election.
/// YEVREINOV ACT ///
People get their information about the
candidates not from local media, but from the
national T-V channels. And in this sense, Mr.
Putin gets an unfair advantage.
/// END ACT // SFX OF PUTIN ON T-V, THEN FADE.///
Vladimir Putin was practically unknown to Russians
seven-months ago when he was appointed Prime Minister.
Today, he is a regular presence on television. His
11-opponents for the presidency, by contrast, must
depend almost entirely on the few minutes of free
airtime granted by the state to get their message to
potential voters.
The publicity mismatch is so one-sided that Mr. Putin
can afford the luxury of refusing the free T-V time.
Mr. Putin went a step further, saying he would not
have any campaign ads at all.
/// PUTIN ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE.// OPT ///
Commercials are the worst. They are just
advertisements. I believe that during the
election campaign, it is inappropriate to be
engaged in finding out which one is more
important, feminine hygiene products or
chocolate bars. So, I will not do it.
/// END VOICEOVER // END OPT ///
Rather than irritating potential voters, Mr. Putin's
anti-publicity stand has proven highly popular.
Anatoly Andreevich, a retired military pilot living in
Belaya Kalitva nearly one-thousand-kilometers south of
Moscow, brushed aside suggestions Mr. Putin's position
gives him an unfair advantage.
/// ANDREEVICH ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE. ///
One thing I like about Mr. Putin is that he
refused to advertise himself before the
elections. He said `I do not need it. I need
to work.'
/// END ACT ///
// OPT // Thirty-seven year old Valery Vyborov is an
automobile mechanic in Belaya Kalitva. He, too,
admits that everything he knows about Vladimir Putin
he has learned from the state-run T-V. And he says he
likes what he sees.
// VYBOROV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE...//
I can only judge by his actions. He is a former
K-G-B man, and they do not hire just anyone. He
has a strong will, and he seems fair and honest.
Russia needs someone like that at the moment.
/// END ACT // END OPT ///
But there are others who see danger signs in the
media's one-sided coverage. Department store manager
Lyudmilla Sudarkina is one. She says what is
happening now, when the state media builds up one
candidate and ridicules others, brings back disturbing
memories of the tactics used in the old days to
discredit people, such as Soviet dissident Andrei
Sakharov.
/// SUDARKINA ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN.///
I remember everyone was laughing at Sakharov.
Everyone thought he was crazy. But later we
were told he was great. When we finally found
out Sakharov was right, my husband and I were
horrified. We could not believe it. Now it is
happening again. We are confused and we do not
know which line is correct.
/// END ACT ///
/// OPT /// In Belaya Kalitva, and all through the
Russian heartland where state-T-V dominates, Vladimir
Putin's non-campaign is catching on. In a nation once
skeptical, even cynical, of the state-run media, there
is a willingness to believe Mr. Putin can lead them
out of their misery, and re-establish Russia's
greatness. /// END OPT ///
Journalist Alexander Yevreinov says he finds it ironic
that people who fought hard for the principle of press
freedom now stand idly by while it seems to slip away.
/// 2nd YEVREINOV ACT ///
The time of Gorbachev was a golden age for the
Soviet mass media, the Glasnost era. Of course,
there is much less freedom now.
/// END ACT // SFX OF TV IN BACKGROUND, THEN UNDER
TO.///
Mr. Yevreinov says he only hopes there is not a
further tightening of media controls after Mr. Putin
is elected. But the candidate has revealed little
about his plans. When asked recently if he would make
drastic changes after the election, Mr. Putin bluntly
replied - I will not tell you. (SIGNED)
NEB/PFH/GE/RAE
15-Mar-2000 09:48 AM EDT (15-Mar-2000 1448 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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