From Russia With News

A new censorship scandal rocks the media. And Russia's dirty oil crisis

Episode Summary

— The entire politics desk of the Kommersant business newspaper, 11 people in total, handed in their resignations this week. The mass departure was a protest against a decision by the editor in chief and the oligarch owner to fire two journalists for a scoop in April. We speak with one of the Kommersant reporters who was fired for the scoop, and to Russian journalist Alexei Kovalev about how this latest incident fits into the worsening media landscape in Russia. — On April 25, Russia halted oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline to Eastern Europe and Germany because the deliveries had been contaminated with organic chloride, leading to frictions between Russia, Belarus and the West. We speak to Bloomberg reporter Jake Rudnitsky to discuss the fallout.

Episode Notes

From Russia With News is hosted by Jonathan Brown and produced by Pjotr Sauer. The episode was recorded and edited at CM Records Studio in central Moscow.

Go Deeper:

Russian Journalists Quit En Masse as Censorship Scandal Hits
How One Village on the Volga Sowed Chaos in Europe’s Oil Market
This week's Meanwhile: Climber Who Shut Down Eiffel Tower Was Russian – Reports