April 14, 2001
At 4:00 a.m., 40 plainclothes men stormed the NTV television company's offices, replacing security and clearing the way for new management. Control of the largest independent television channel was transferred to the state.
The first call that showed society the direction Russia's future development could take. But society failed to heed this call.
(TV presenter Mikhail Osokin)
The NTV television company was founded in 1993 by an oligarch Vladimir Gusinsky and in 8 years it turned into the largest holding company, Media-Most (it included several television channels, print media, and the radio station Echo of Moscow).
In 1999 they began to actively criticize Yeltsin, and then the one who replaced him Putin. NTV journalists conducted independent investigations into the explosions of residential buildings in Moscow и Volgodonsk, They asked questions about "Ryazan sugar," talked about corruption cases involving high-ranking officials, and the government's mistakes during the Second Chechen War. The Kremlin was particularly displeased by the satirical program "Dolls," which portrayed Putin as an ugly dwarf.
The authorities want us to powder their noses, to turn us into a service department, removing stains from their dirty uniforms. We don't know how to do that.
(NTV correspondent Ilya Zimin, April 8, 2001)
The violent pressure on NTV began in the spring of 2000: searches were conducted at the media holding's offices, and criminal cases were opened for illegal disclosure of information and violation of privacy. After several days spent in pretrial detention, Vladimir Gusinsky fled the country. A few months later, Gazprom acquired a 25% stake in the media holding, and tax authorities initiated bankruptcy proceedings.
Well-known politicians and actors spoke out in defense of the television company. In March 2001, a rally attended by 20 people took place on Pushkin Square.
But we know that this is not a fight against corruption, but a fight against freedom of speech.
(Grigory Yavlinsky)
On April 3, a shareholders' meeting was held at Gazprom's headquarters to elect new NTV executives. Most of the television company's journalists called the procedure illegal, and along with the CEO Evgeny Kiselev A civil disobedience action was declared. A red circle and the word "Protest" were added to the familiar NTV logo.
The protest was supported by journalists from other regions. Meanwhile, a rift developed within NTV's staff, with some employees resigning.
On the night of April 13-14, new management arrived on the eighth floor of the Ostankino television center, where NTV studios were located.
The last newscast featuring the old news crew aired at 8:00 a.m. The 10:00 a.m. newscast was now being prepared by the "new" news crew. A few hours later, NTV announced it was ceasing production of key news and analytical programs that had angered the authorities. The channel's logo was replaced with its normal one, replacing the protest logo.
If this situation continues for a long time, then the concept of information security, the essence of which is to place television channels under state control, will be implemented in full, and talking about freedom of speech in our country will be simply blasphemy.
(State Duma deputy Boris Nemtsov)
On the same day, most of the employees resigned from NTV. Among them Svetlana Sorokina, Mikhail Osokin, Marianna Maksimovskaya, Pavel Lobkov, Viktor Shenderovich. Many left for the TV6 channel, which was headed by Yevgeny Kiselyov (but in January 2002 this channel was closed by the authorities).
The country will be nothing without NTV—everyone will just talk and then forget. And in 30 years, when their children read about this story in textbooks, they'll say, "Oh, what's wrong, Dad? Oh, what's wrong, Mom?" And they'll be incredibly embarrassed. But it will be too late. <> Viewers should have freedom of choice and freedom of speech, and it's not up to President Putin to decide that.
(Vladimir Solovyov, April 2001)
