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In a country that's suppose to be undergoing democratic reforms,
Russia is missing out on one of the most important freedoms—freedom
of the press. And those who dare to practice professional journalism
face severe retaliation. In a ranking of countries by Reporters
Sans Frontiers, Russia was the second most dangerous place to
be a journalist after Colombia in South America.
One woman who could not be intimidated was Larisa Yudina. Larisa
was born in Elista, Russia, a city located northwest of the Caspian
Sea.
She attended college at Moscow State University, where she graduated
with a journalism degree. After college, she worked as a correspondent
for a newspaper titled Molodyozh Kalmykii. She then became a correspondent
for Sovietskaya Kalmykia Segodnya (Soviet Kalmykia Today).
This was the oldest newspaper in Kalmykia and served the regional
committee of the Communist Party. Larisa earned the respect of
colleagues who elected her editor-in-chief of the newspaper in
1991.
That was the same year as the break up of the Soviet Union. Kalmykia
had been a region settled in the early 17th century by nomadic
Buddhist people known as Kalmucks. After the break up of the Soviet
Union, it became a republic in 1992 and subsequently part of the
Russian Federation.
The Chess City
A president was elected of the Kalmykia Republic in 1993 named
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. His personal devotion to chess was forced
on the entire region. He made learning chess part of the required
curriculum in schools. He is supposedly building a chess city,
which has been modeled after the Olympic Villages in the west.
He was the driving force in the Chess Olympiad being held in Kalmykia
in 1998.
In addition to being president, he is also head of the International
Chess Federation (Fide). It has previously been stated that Fide
would have gone bankrupt had it not been for Ilyumzhinov.
The Opposition Newspaper
As editor of the "Soviet Kalmykia Today," Larisa worked
at the only newspaper in that region which was not government
controlled or subsidized. Wanting to uphold professional journalism
standards, she knew the most important service she could offer
was as a watchdog of the current administration.
Whenever possible, Larisa would show the correlation between
the region's poverty and the president's growing coffers. When
only in his 30s, Ilyumzhinov already owned seven Rolls Royces.
This is in a country which primarily exists on raising sheep and
federal funds from Moscow.
The Liberal Yabloko Party
In addition to her journalism side, Larisa had a political side.
She served as co-chairperson in the local politics of the Yabloko
party. This has been described as the most Western-style political
party available in Russia. In the late 1990s, the Yabloko party
provided funding to print some of the editions of her newspaper.
The more outspoken she became the more difficult life became
for her and the newspaper. According to the Yabloko party, printers
in the republic had been forbidden to print the newspaper. As
a result, Larisa would have approximately 4,000 copies printed
in the city of Volzhsky, near Volgograd. That was the amount that
would fit in the trunk of a car.
The newspaper was evicted from its office space, and all of its
property confiscated by the government. Every time, they leased
new space, the landlord would be forced to evict them after a
short time. In 1997, the staff and office moved six times.
In a story published in the internet edition of The (London)
Times, a reporter wrote about Larisa, "Only real courage
could keep a defenceless woman in her fifties fighting for the
truth in this remote place."
Larisa's Last Article
In 1998, Larisa wrote a story about how psychiatric hospitals
in Russia abuse their power. The leader of an advocacy group for
invalids' rights had been placed in a mental hospital for five
days because she lead a hunger strike. The women held a hunger
strike because they were protesting not having enough money to
feed their children.
Research was also being done at the same time by Larisa on a
future article about the embezzlement of budgetary funds into
offshore companies.
On 7 June 1998, Larisa met with a source who was suppose to provide
needed information for the story on embezzlement. She did not
return. Her body was found the next day. She had been repeatedly
stabbed, and her body was left in a pond in Elista—the same city
as her birthplace.
In Check
As of November 1999, there were four men who had already been
charged with Larisa's murder, and three of them received sentences.
Two of the men convicted had worked closely with the president
and received 21 years each in prison. A third man received six
years for harboring criminals. And the fourth man received leniency
because he aided in the investigation and made a full confession.
To Larisa's husband, Gennadi Yudin, justice was never complete.
He wanted the person who ordered the murder charged and prosecuted,
not just the persons following orders. Unfortunately, the case
is officially closed, and there appears little hope that the "king"
will be placed in checkmate.
The Paper Goes On
Larisa's husband and two other journalists continue to publish
the "Soviet Kalmykia Today." They receive foreign financial
support, and it is printed twice a month. Other Russian newspapers
outside the Kalmykia republic have provided assistance; however,
at least one has received pressure from Ilyumzhinov because of
the assistance.
Human Rights Violations
Basic human rights are increasingly being violated in the Russian
Federation, according to a 1999 report by the International Helsinki
Federation for Human Rights. In addition to Larisa's death in
1998, other journalists were also murdered, imprisoned, beaten,
harassed or censored. Republics of the Russian Federation operate
without any regard to federal laws and with little enforcement
from Moscow.
If the Russian people are ever able to experience true democratic
reforms, they will need real freedom of the press—where the truth
can be printed without the journalist being murdered.
Reprinted with permission.
Copyright Susan Vollmer.
See the original at
http://www.fallenmartyrs.com/russia.htm
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