[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 27, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1842]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MORE DISTURBING SIGNS OF RESTRICTIONS ON FREEDOM OF THE PRESS IN RUSSIA

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 1995

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call to the attention of my 
colleagues the silencing of another powerful Russian voice: that of 
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, viewed by many as the national conscience of 
Russia. My colleagues may have heard the report by Anne Garrells 
yesterday morning on National Public Radio.
  The Nobel Laureate and world-renowned author was given a hero's 
welcome last year after his return to Russia from long years of exile 
in the United States. Since then he has shared with Russian television 
audiences his strong views on the course of Russia's post-cold war 
development, often voicing sharp criticism of government actions. ORT, 
the largest Russian television network and the only channel to reach 
the entire area of Russia and the former Soviet Union, recently 
announced that it had dropped Solzhenitsyn from its fall lineup.
  ORT claims it canceled Solzhenitsyn's show due to low ratings, but 
Solzhenitsyn's supporters believe it is actually a case of censorship. 
They assert that with the approach of parliamentary elections in 
December, the Russian Government wanted an end to the weekly drubbing 
it has been receiving from Solzhenitsyn.
  The reasons for the show's cancellation may be debatable, but there 
is a pattern of recurring government interference with independent 
media and government efforts to intimidate the media in general that 
make the cancellation worrisome. In House Concurrent Resolution 95, 
legislation introduced by Representative Gilman and myself, we draw 
attention to several incidents that raise serious questions about 
freedom of the press in Russia, including: The Russian Prosecutor 
General's filing of criminal charges against a satirical show that 
pokes fun at public figures, the Russian Government's failure to solve 
the murders of television journalist Vladimir Listeyev and reporter 
Dmitri Kholodov, and the possible involvement of Presidential security 
forces in the assault on the offices of the MOST Group, which owns 
independent television station NTV.
  The development of a democratic Russia is very much in our national 
interest, and nothing is more crucial to the maintenance of a 
pluralistic society than a free and unfettered press. I am deeply 
concerned that the Russian Government may be trying to restrict, 
through tactics of censorship and intimidation, including bodily harm, 
the right of individual journalists to report objectively on domestic 
and foreign news and the right of private entrepreneurs to establish, 
operate, and maintain independent media outlets.
  Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the legislative 
branch and officials in the executive branch to raise the United States 
commitment to freedom of the press with Russian Government leaders at 
every opportunity.

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