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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=5/4/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIAN MEDIA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262016
BYLINE=BARRY WOOD
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Two young American journalists who put out an 
irreverent English language weekly newspaper in Moscow 
are worried about press freedom in Vladimir Putin's 
Russia. V-O-A's Barry Wood reports on the visit to 
Washington of the editors of the Moscow Exile.  
TEXT:  Matt Taibbi and Mark Ames are self-described 
pranksters and humorists who have been living in 
Russia for most of the past seven years. Together they 
edit the Exile, a mostly satirical but occasionally 
serious weekly with a circulation of 25 thousand. They 
have many more readers-mostly in America--on their 
Russian registered internet web-site. 
Speaking at Washington's respected Center for 
Strategic and International Studies, the two Americans 
say flawed aid policies seen as supportive of Russia's 
new ruling class of oligarchs have fueled rising anti-
Western sentiment. The two Americans have a low 
opinion of incoming President Vladimir Putin, whose 
allies-they believe- are using intimidation to extend 
their control over the Russian news media. Mr. Ames 
say independent journalists in Russia are like rabbits 
cornered by wolves.
            //Ames act//
      As we said, in our opinion, there is only really 
      one hard-hitting opposition press outlet left. 
      And that is Novaya Gazeta. I mean, N-T-B 
      (television) has been defanged, Moscovsky 
      Komsomolets and Sovershenno Secretno have been 
      defanged.
            //end act//
Mr. Taibbi believes his English-language newspaper has 
escaped intimidation because it is so small it hasn't 
been noticed in the Kremlin. 
Mr. Taibbi believes the International Monetary Fund 
has made the economic situation in Russia worse not 
better.
            //Taibbi act//
      One of our big criticisms has been, that the I-
      M-F, during the mid-1990s there was a lot of I-
      M-F money in town and a lot of it went to 
      American and European consultants who were 
      living on exhorbitant salaries and per diems. 
      And meanwhile these same people were giving 
      advice to the Russian government to lay off 
      thousands or even millions of people. This is 
      something that Russians did not miss. I mean 
      this was a very ugly thing. I mean to see 
      westerners coming in and making a lot of money 
      and then being told that they had to fire their 
      own people.
            //end act//
The two Americans describe a new Russia in which 
cynicism and criminality are rampant. They suggest 
that because the situation is so dire humor is an 
essential coping mechanism. (signed)
NEB/BDW/PT 
04-May-2000 20:14 PM EDT (05-May-2000 0014 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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