Journalist ordered to pay damages, retract line about Soviet Union’s disappearance

Reporters Without Borders condemns a Moscow court’s decision to rule against freelance journalist and former Soviet dissident Alexandre Podrabinek in a lawsuit by Second World War veteran Viktor Semenov, who claimed he was offended by an online article last September criticising government attempts to paint a rosy picture of the Soviet era. In its ruling, issued on 27 January, the court ordered Podrabinek to pay Semenov 1,000 roubles (23 euros) in damages and publicly retract a line in his article that said: “Your homeland is not Russia but the Soviet Union. Your country, thank God, has not existed for 18 years already.” “The legal phase of Podrabinek’s battle with reactionary groups nostalgic for the Soviet era has begun to produce its first results and they are very disturbing, especially as he reported today on radio Ekho Moskvy that members of his family have received threats,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Even if the amount is just symbolic, this damages award represents a major step backwards and shows that Russian society is still far from freeing itself of its demons. After being forced to go into hiding for weeks, Podrabinek is now the victim of a new form of harassment, this time through the courts.” The press freedom organisation added: “Demanding the retraction of this line from the article is not only ridiculous but also totally absurd. It is also a disturbing sign that taboos clearly have a long life in Russia.” Podrabinek, who also reports for Radio France Internationale from Moscow, has announced that he intends to appeal against the ruling and, for the appeal, it seems that he will have to assemble documents demonstrating that the Soviet Union has indeed ceased to exist. The process of disbanding the Soviet Union took place during December 1991 and was completed when Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as its president on 25 December and the Supreme Soviet met for the last time the following day to approve its dissolution. Podrabinek’s offending article, published online and entitled “Soviets against Anti-Soviet,” was prompted by the case of a Moscow restaurant called “Anti-Soviet” that was forced under pressure to change its name. The article triggered a wave of hate messages and angry protests that forced him into hiding for several weeks. Access previous releases about this case Read Alexandre Podrabinek’s blog