The signboard of Kommersant Publishing House. In an effort to protect goodwill, Kommersant intends to file a complaint against FinansGroup CEO Oleg Shvartsman, who has refuted his own interview that Kommersant published November 30.
Photo: Mikhail Pochuev
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Shvartsman’s Interview to Be Heard in the Court
In an effort to protect goodwill, Kommersant Publishing House intends to file a complaint against FinansGroup CEO Oleg Shvartsman, who has refuted his own interview that Kommersant published November 30. Shvartsman publicly contended yesterday that the interview, where he had shed light on his methods of conducting the business based on the so-called velvet re-privatization of private companies in favor of the siloviki bloc of Russia’s leadership, suffered from “the literary correction.” The businessman blamed on Kommersant the publication of paid and invited articles and urged the author “to drink poison.”
Oleg Shvartsman broke the four-day silence yesterday, December 4, 2007. In an interview aired by Echo Moskvy broadcaster, Shvartsman bluntly denied his words and accused the author of distorting the meaning by literary correction. “Any material could be presented in quite different contexts,” Shvartsman said. “Sometimes, it is possible to alternate these contexts with each other, changing the content, the essence, the fullness of meaning, pulling out the names, surnames, the essence of given information.”
Maxim Kvasha, who wrote the scandalous article, was clearly astonished by abrupt denial and its reasons. “Mr Shvartsman was interviewed November 9 in the United States. Back from the business trip and after making a printed text out of the audio-decoding, I went to Mr Shvartsman past Wednesday to initial the interview. He read the interview with deliberation, made correction and inked each page of the text.” Anticipating the future response, the journalist asked Shvartsman whether he was ready for it. He wouldn’t deny his words, the businessman promised.
“Shvartsman entered the studio five seconds before the air. He was smiling tensely,” said Sergei Buntman, first deputy editor-in-chief of Echo Moskvy. Exactly Buntman interviewed the businessman yesterday. “From the spot, he abruptly set to the refutation. The feeling was he came with the speech that was well thought-out and prepared in advance".
Kommersant attempted to find the reasons that prompted Mr Shvartsman to deny his own words all of a sudden. Shvartsman said he needed some time for consulting. “I’m not alone in this world. For consulting with my colleagues. With colleagues involved in the process described in the interview.”
Of interest is that Shvartsman also refuted the comments of his own wife, Olga Heifetz, released via The New York Times web on the day when Kommersant published the interview. Then, Mrs Heifetz told reporters that her husband was at the president’s administration in time of the call and he couldn’t be reached for any intercourse in the nearest future.
“I have had no consultations with the administration,” Shvartsman made clear to Kommersant. “President’s administration has nothing to do with this issue.” Heifetz didn't comment either. “Don’t call me, I won’t comment on anything,” she said.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 05, 2007
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