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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, June 24, 2003

Major Russian TV Station Shut Down

Russian government shut down the country's last large independent television station Sunday, forcing off the air a team of journalists at the center of a debate over Russian media freedom.


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Russian government shut down the country's last large independent television station Sunday, forcing off the air a team of journalists at the center of a debate over Russian media freedom.

TVS, created from the ashes of two other television stations that came into conflict with state-connected companies, was yanked off the air early Sunday. It was replaced with a new state-run sports channel. Some employees learned the station had been closed while listening to the radio on their way to work.

Coming ahead of December's parliamentary elections and next year's presidential vote, the demise of TVS gives the government overwhelming influence over what goes out on the nation's airwaves - again raising questions about a free press under President Vladimir Putin.

The Ministry of Press cited "the financial, personnel and management crisis" at TVS as the reason for "this not simple decision which became impossible to postpone," according to a statement obtained by Ekho Moskvy radio and read on-air. The ministry said the decision was taken in part to "protect the rights of viewers." No one could be reached for comment at the ministry.

The closure was not unexpected - debt-ridden TVS had been dropped earlier this month by Moscow's main cable company over unpaid bills, depriving it of its largest viewer market.

TVS news director, Yevgeny Kiselyov, had warned Friday that the end might be imminent.

Source: Agencies


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