Russians rally against govt pressure on independent media

Several dozen Russians have gathered in Moscow to protest the crackdown by Russian authorities on independent media

MOSCOW -- Several dozen Russians gathered in the center of Moscow on Saturday to protest Russian authorities' recent crackdown on independent media. The small rally was organized by several opposition candidates in Russia's Sept. 19 parliamentary election and officially billed as a meeting between candidates and voters in order to avoid detentions and accusations of staging an unauthorized rally. In their speeches, the candidates condemned the recent designation of several independent media outlets, including Russia's top independent TV channel Dozhd and popular news site Meduza, as “foreign agents.” The label carries strong pejorative connotations that can discredit the recipient and implies additional government scrutiny. “Our authorities want to completely wipe out the media sphere. The labeling now of Dozhd, Meduza and other media as ‘foreign agents’ are steps toward establishing a dictatorship that was described by Orwell, with the main slogan being: ‘Ignorance is power,’” said activist Nikolai Kavkazsky, who is running for parliament on the ticket of the liberal Yabloko party.