Russian Media Analyst on Putin’s Media Crackdown and Ukraine’s Wartime Unity
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentOn Friday the Russian parliament passed a bill to crack down on the country’s last remaining independent media outlets in the wake of last week’s invasion of Ukraine and the blowback that the government has received for its actions. In order to stifle critical cover, the government is introducing sentences of up to 15 years in prison for intentionally spreading “fake” information about military action.Ahead of the vote, Variety spoke to Boston-based Russian media analyst Vasily Gatov, who is a Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication, about how President Vladimir V. Putin has been dismantling Russia’s free press.