Russia forces radio stations to drop US-funded shows

[(Alex)]

WASHINGTON: Russian regulators have been forcing scores of radio stations to drop reports from US-run Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE) to limit unwanted influence in local politics, the Washington Post said.
Russian officials said violations of Russian law on programming formats and licencing arrangement were the reason for the move, which began in September, but top executives at the US-run services said the Kremlin was behind the crackdown, the Post said on Friday.
“We focus primarily on domestic developments, and those are exactly the things the Kremlin has problems with,” said Jeffrey Trimble, acting president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Trimble and other radio operators said the VOA’s and RFE’s honest reporting that often challenges the political establishment rattles the Russian government, especially ahead of parliamentary elections in 2007 and presidential elections in 2008.
Trimble said Radio Liberty has gone from 30 affiliate stations in Russia in 2005 to only four, and VOA has seen its original 42 affiliates also whittled down to five.
The Washington Post said the affiliates still running the US radio services are mainly in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, where the Russian government is more tolerant of media diversity, while those in Russian provinces have dropped them.
“But elections are won and lost in the provinces,” a Radio Liberty manager told the daily. – AFP