Posted on 01/22/2002 10:13:13 AM PST by Rightwing Canuck
Russian authorities today (Tuesday) literally pulled the plug on the independent station TV6, the only broadcaster in Moscow providing an alternative to government-operated or -controlled news programming. Today's Los Angeles Times quoted Igor M. Klyamkin, director of the Russian Institute of Sociological Analysis, as saying, "The Kremlin is preparing for the next presidential election, and it wants all four federal channels singing the same tune of loyalty and approval" of President Vladimir Putin. The Times reported that the channel was shut off just after midnight in the middle of a program. "First the screen went blank. That was followed by a test pattern, and then it went blank for good," the newspaper said. News anchor Svetlana Sorokina later told the Times: "I am sitting here looking at the black screen, and I know the worst has happened, but it is still hard to believe and even harder to accept."
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