CPJ Update

A few minutes' poking around the Committee to Protect Journalists website shows some interesting statistics.

1 journalist was jailed in Russia in 2009.
3 journalists were killed in Russia in 2009.
52 journalists have been killed in Russia because of their work since 1992.
24 more journalists have been killed in Russia since 1992, with unknown motives.

Those four categories, for China:
24 jailed in 2009.
0 killed in 2009.
2 killed since 1992 for their work.
1 killed since 1992 with unknown motives.

So, congratulations China, on not killing lots of people. But you still put them in jail. Let's work on that.

Russia, you and I have had this talk already. On the positive side, one of those tags is no longer accurate, but that's the work of Colombia and the Philippines, not you, Russia. 30 cases of complete impunity? Why on earth do I love you so much, Russia?

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What's been going on in 2010?
Journalists are hiding and the police are raiding newspaper offices again.

Putin = Sketchier than Bush/Cheney

An excerpt from this article, by journalist Scott Anderson, which appears in this month's GQ. But not on their website, and not in any of the copies of GQ that end up in Russia.

"One of the odder footnotes to the whole affair was a statement that Gennady Seleznyov, the Speaker of the Duma, had made on the floor of Parliament on the morning of September 13, 01999. I have just received a report, he had announced to legislators. An apartment building in the city of Volgodonsk was blown up last night.

While Seleznyov got the basics right - an apartment building had indeed just been blown up - he had the wrong city; the blast that morning had been at 6/3 Kashirskoye Highway in Moscow. Which put the Speaker in kind of an awkward spot when an apartment building in Volgodonsk was blown up three days later. At least one Duma member found that puzzling.

Mr. Speaker, please explain, he had asked Seleznyov on the Parliament floor, how come you told us on Monday about the blast that occurred on Thursday?"

Again

headdesk

Russia Needs a Dark Knight

So, Gotham's got issues, and among the worst are the intense levels of corruption in the criminal justice system, which prevents people from acting independent of the controlling forces (in Gotham's case, organized crime). And due to his mysterious identity, Batman is able to fight the corruptive forces, and be a figure that is either trusted or blamed, depending on what people need at the time.

Can Gotham lend him to Russia for a while? They've got intense levels of corruption, and it appears that their criminal justice system isn't on the best road, now that controversial lawyers appear to be riding in the same boat as the journalists.

CPJ confirms that of 41 journalists killed for their work in 2008, two were killed in Russia (they also acknowledge two unconfirmed cases). 49 journalists have been killed in Russia since 1992.

Well, we're not even out of January, and one Новая Газета (Novaya Gazeta) journalist, Anastasia Baburova, has been killed already, in conjunction with the murder of Stanislav Markelov, a defense attorney known for representing anti-Kremlin parties (like journalists, Chechen civilians and suspected terrorists - the sort of people who otherwise would not have a fair trial), who was "shot dead in broad daylight in downtown Moscow on January 19" (RFE/RL "Are Russia's Lawyers in the Crosshairs?, 25/01/09). Way to kick off the new year.

I think part of the reason that I love Russia so much is that I love the spirit of their people. It is incredibly inspiring that even while Russia keeps killing it's journalists because of their work, Russian reporters keep on reporting.

Oh, Russia.

Sometimes I love you; and sometimes I really don't.

*headdesk*