DATE=5/30/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / MEDIA
NUMBER=5-46404
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: An independent Russian television station has
temporarily removed a puppet depicting President
Vladimir Putin from a political satire program.
Station officials say they made the move after being
pressured by the Kremlin. VOA Moscow correspondent
Peter Heinlein reports Russia's government is
increasingly using intimidation and threats in an
attempt to silence opposition voices.
TEXT: ///sound of puppets talking, fades ///
"Kukly", or "Puppets," has for years been one of
Russia's most popular television shows. It is a
staple of the privately owned N-T-V's Sunday night
schedule, a political satire that has millions of
Russians laughing at their leaders.
/// opt /// But top Kremlin officials are not always
amused. In 1995, Russia's prosecutor-general launched
a criminal investigation after a "Kukly" episode
portrayed former President Boris Yeltsin as a drunken
tramp. The charges were eventually dropped, Mr.
Yeltsin fired the prosecutor, and the program
flourished.
But President Vladimir Putin's Kremlin appears to be
more sensitive to "Kukly's" barbs.
/// end opt ///
Last Sunday night, N-T-V anchorman Evgeny Kiselyov
introduced the program with an announcement that the
puppet showing President Putin would not appear. He
called the move an experiment prompted by government
pressure.
///Kiselyov act in Russian, then fade under///
He says, "the management of N-T-V and its parent
company, Media-Most, were given conditions under which
the authorities would leave us alone. Foremost is
that President Putin should not be the hero of
"Kukly."
But what viewers saw next was an episode in which the
Putin puppet was not shown, but was referred to
throughout as an invisible god on a mountaintop,
striking terror into his underlings.
A controversial Kremlin insider - depicted as Moses -
was shown coming down from the mountain with messages
from the master.
///Puppets talking, then under///
The Moses puppet says, "I was told that you cannot see
him, and must not use his name in vain". A second
puppet asks, "What can we call him?" And Moses
replies, "Only Gospod Bog, or G-B for short."
"Gospod Bog" is a phrase commonly used in Russian to
refer to god, but everyone in the audience understood
the connection between G-B and Mr. Putin's past with
the Soviet K-G-B.
Kukly's creator Viktor Shenderovich, who wrote
Sunday's script, told VOA he hopes the program sends a
message to the Kremlin that pressuring N-T-V will not
work.
///Shenderovich act in Russian, then fade to.///
He says "we made a joke, and let the authorities know
that first of all we are not so afraid of them, and
second that it's not necessary to have the Putin
puppet to speak about him and his power."
/// opt /// Still, Mr. Shenderovich says he is
concerned about what he sees as the growing influence
of the secret police under the former K-G-B agent who
is now running the Kremlin.
///Shenderovich act in Russian, fade under///
He says, "We will see if Mr. Putin understands that
the state is not `G-B", and it is impossible to rule
Russia the way he ran the K-G-B."
Mr. Shenderovich says he finds comfort in knowing that
even though security services have taken power in the
Kremlin, it would be impossible in today's Russia to
lock up dissenters and send them to asylums.
/// end opt ///
But despite such bravado, officials of the Media-Most
group warn that the Kremlin's list of "conditions" is
only the latest in a disturbing chain of events
pointing to a clampdown on press freedom. Three weeks
ago, heavily armed and masked tax police staged a raid
on the company's headquarters.
Authorities said the raid was part of an investigation
into illegal wiretapping. N-T-V called it an attempt
at intimidation.
Nevertheless, the Putin puppet is expected to be back
at the center of "Kukly" next Sunday. Mr.
Shenderovich promises a sketch based on Mr. Putin's
summit meeting with President Clinton. (Signed)
NEB/PFH/GE/KBK
30-May-2000 14:54 PM EDT (30-May-2000 1854 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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