RUSSIA: Editor of Russian Forbes magazine resigns as its German publisher bars article on Russia's richest woman

The editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine in Russia submitted his resignation on Friday (December 1) after the magazine's German publisher blocked its December issue over a planned cover story on the wealth of Yelena Baturina, Russia's richest woman. A statement on the Web site of Axel Springer Russia said the decision to pull the edition at the last minute had been taken because the article had infringed journalistic ethics. The words "I am guaranteed protection", attributed to Baturina in pre-publishing advertising, were misleading and did not accurately match what she had said in her interview, it said. "From the stand point of the publishing leadership ... the principles of journalistic ethics were not observed," Axel Springer Russia said on its Web site www.axelspringer.ru Baturina, 43, wife of powerful Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, has amassed a fortune through her company Inteko, which has interests in several sectors including construction and petrochemicals. Her fortune is put at $1.1 billion -- making her Russia's richest woman. Editor-in-chief Maksim Kashulinsky said the publishers had caved in to pressure from Baturina's camp. "The December edition should have carried the article on Yelena Baturina, the wife of the Moscow mayor, and the only billionaire woman in Russia. The edition was sent to the publishing house, but because Inteka threatened legal action, the publishers (Axel Springer) decided not to publish the article, and replace it with another one," he told Reuters in Moscow on Friday. "I have handed in my resignation, because the publisher's interfrence in the editorial process in unacceptable. And also the interfrence by subjects of any article in the editorial process is unacceptable, and it represents censorship that is prohibited by media laws; and I cannot agree with such action," added Kashulinsky. He said Forbes editorial had demanded from Axel Springer that the December issue "be published in its original form" -- and he did not rule out a possible change of heart by the German publishers. The influential daily Kommersant said the disputed article had said that Baturina, who married Luzhkov 15 years ago, had organised her business interests in such a way that there would be little change to her income when Luzhkov stands down as mayor at the end of next year. The article had published details of Batunrina's property holdings, showing how much she earned from rental income, Kommersant said. Kommersant said Axel Springer's decision to block publication followed a meeting between a senior company executive and an Inteko representative.

ITN Source | December 2, 2006

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