English-language newspaper in Russia shut down

Posted by Martin Stabe on 19 June 2008 at 10:33
Tags: Journalism

The Exile, a Moscow-based, free English-language newspaper has shut down after it came under scrutiny from a media regulator and investors withdrew support.

The closure of the paper, known for its pranks and criticism of both Russian and western officials and journalists, is is a sign of the homogenisation of Russia’s media, the Wall Street Journal suggests.

Michael McFaul, a Stanford political scientist who was occasionally criticised by the paper, told the WSJ that the paper had run into difficulty running some of its articles because Russia has broadened the definition of “extremist literature” to include criticism of public officials.

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