Meduza, 10.06.2016
The Pskovskaya Gubernia newspaper [Pskov Province], one of its founders is member of YABLOKO Federal Political Committee Lev Shlosberg, received a warning from Roskomnadzor [a state communications watchdog] for mentioning Pravy Sector (Right Sector) [a Ukrainian far right-wing group] without an explanation that this organisation was declared extremist in Russia and was banned by the court. The Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Denis Kamalyagin reported the information to Meduza.

Roskomnadzor found the breech in Kamalyagin’s coverage from the Donetsk Region. Pravy Sector was mentioned by a local resident in the direct sheep when she was telling about the firing. The article was published in 30 March, 2016.

The Editor-in-Chief stressed that Pravy Sector was mentioned in the negative context in the article. “It was the direct speech, therefore we did not mark it,” he said.

Kamalyagin promised to appeal against the warning in court. He noted that the limitation period for granting a warning in connection with an article expires within three weeks after its publication. Kamalyagin sees a connection between the actions of Roskomnadzor and a check which is being carried out in Pskovskaya Gubernia by the Ministry of Justice of the RF.

The notice which was forwarded to Pskovskaya Gubernia from Roskomnadzor runs that the breech was detected during the implementation of “the supervisory powers in the form of the unplanned systematic observation”. Kamalyagin was surprised by such a statement. “We do not quite understand on what grounds does an unplanned observation take place and how it can be systematic in that case,” the Editor-in-Chief told Meduza.

According to the Russian law, two warnings from Roskomnadzor within a year can be the grounds to take legal actions with the demand to unregister a mass media.

In late May Denis Kamalyagin told Meduza that an unplanned check of the Ministry of Justice would take place in Pskovskaya Gubernia. The formal grounds for the check have become an appeal by the Chief Federal Inspector in the Pskov Region Alexei Ustinov. According to Kamalyagin, the inspector acts on an appeal which states that the newspaper “violently and groundlessly criticizes” the President of Russia while at the same time claims for government grants.

Pskovskaya Gubernia investigated the circumstances around the death of Russian paratroopers who presumably were at war in Donbass as well as published articles on the possibility that Governor of the Pskov Region Alexander Turchak was involved in the attack on journalist Oleg Kashin.

YABLOKO member, former deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Pskov Region Lev Shlosberg is one of the founders of Pskovskaya Gubernia. Shlosberg was deprived of his mandate in September. He is going to participate in the parliamentary elections which will take place in September 16.