Recently, several major Russian publications have undergone a change of leadership at once. The reasons for the layoffs are called different, including quite ordinary ones - sooner or later, every leader leaves his post. However, many people are suspicious of such reshuffles, believing that this matter was not without pressure from the authorities.
High-profile layoffs in major Russian publications began to happen quite often. At the end of November 2011, Roman Badanin, deputy editor-in-chief of Gazeta.ru, resigned. In December of the same year, billionaire Alisher Usmanov fired Andrey Galiev, General Director of Kommersant-Holding, and Maxim Kovalsky, editor-in-chief of Kommersant-Vlast magazine. The deputy chief editor of the Izvestia newspaper, Vladislav Vdovin, resigned. Finally, on June 19, 2012, it became known that Aleksandr Malyutin, editor-in-chief of the Izvestia newspaper, had left his post.
This is not a complete list of high-profile layoffs that have occurred in federal publications. More editors and journalists have quit or were fired from regional publications. What is behind these layoffs? There is no need to look for the "hand of the Kremlin" in every dismissal; any journalist can quit for a variety of personal reasons that have nothing to do with or have little to do with editorial policy. The head of a newspaper or magazine can be fired for not good enough, in the opinion of the owners of the publication, the job. Unfortunately, in many cases, the political background of the layoffs is clearly visible.
Why were the heads of Kommersant dismissed? The immediate cause was the publication of a photograph of a ballot paper with an impartial inscription addressed to one of the presidential candidates. The photo was considered offensive, which resulted in the dismissal of Andrei Galiev and Maxim Kovalsky. However, it is hardly worth considering that the owner of "Kommersant" was too annoyed by the publications, and the photo finally overflowed his patience. The dismissed management worked well, as evidenced by the circulation of publications - they only grew, this should only make any businessman happy. But in Russia it has long been accustomed to believe that good relations with the authorities are more valuable than any income. Therefore, the dismissal of journalists can be perceived as a signal of loyalty: the owner of the publication demonstrated that the perpetrators were punished with all severity, and the authorities pretended to believe in the sincerity of his repentance.
An almost similar situation has developed with the dismissal of the deputy editor-in-chief of Gazeta.ru, Roman Badanin. The journalist refused to place paid advertisements for United Russia on the newspaper's website, after which he was forced to resign. It should be noted that Gazeta.ru also belongs to Alisher Usmanov. As for the departure of the deputy editor-in-chief of the Izvestia newspaper, Vladislav Vdovin, the reason for the dismissal, according to him, was disagreements with the leadership that had nothing to do with politics. A similar reason for the dismissal from the post of editor-in-chief of the Izvestia newspaper was named by Alexander Malyutin.
Do not think that decisions on the appointment and dismissal of journalists are made in the Kremlin, that would be too naive. Moreover, the president of the country and the prime minister themselves stand up for freedom of the press and have done a lot in this direction. The problem lies in the intractable habit of always and in everything to please the authorities, inherent in many businessmen and high-ranking officials. Not wishing to incur the "wrath of the gods", they prefer to play it safe, which resulted in a series of high-profile layoffs during the pre-election and election campaigns.
