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Sergey Markov
// director of the Institute of Political Studies
I think the main reason for the dispute is political, connected with the fact that Kommersant is controlled by Boris Berezovsky. Therefore, Alfa Bank is probably trying to curry favor with the St. Petersburg chekists by attacking the most powerful information weapon of Boris Berezovsky's empire. I think Alfa Bank is also trying to do this because it senses dark clouds gathering over it. And judging from the bank's present position, it won't be able to disperse these clouds. It must be said that payment of such enormous sums is unjust, because the media should not have to pay fines that practically destroy them as a form of business. It is in Russia's interests to have opposition media, including those controlled by political defectors. Russia's information space is too narrow; therefore, it seems to me that eliminating Kommersant's oppositional character would ultimately hit everyone, and this would be a step backwards. I absolutely disagree with Boris Berezovsky's political position, but I believe that this sort of position has the right to be expressed. The threat posed to Russia by a lack of political pluralism is far greater than the threat to Russia posed by Boris Berezovsky.
Speaking about the conduct of the Russian media in general, I would say that as a whole they should be much more conscientious, especially leading media. And there is a problem of social responsibility in the media. Therefore, the dispute between Alfa Bank and Kommersant is not a purely political order. But in my view, politics still dominates in it. I believe that these events, unfortunately, depend less on who is right and who is to blame than on the alignment of forces within the Kremlin group. If victory goes to supporters of the idea that Russia should not go too far towards curtailing media pluralism, then Kommersant will win. But if those who think that such opposition should be eliminated at any cost, then Kommersant will have a hard time of it. Since our judicial system is not, strictly speaking, independent but depends to a great extent on the distribution of political forces, judicial decisions unfortunately depend mainly on this.
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