Editors Quit Top Independent Russia Newspaper Amid Crackdown
- Billionaire Prokhorov’s RBC daily investigated Putin family
- Journalists’ union chief says political pressure to blame
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Accelerating a squeeze on media freedom in Russia, the three top editors left billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s RBC, whose flagship newspaper has published investigative reports into President Vladimir Putin’s daughter and son-in-law.
Elizaveta Osetinskaya, editor-in-chief of the RBC media group, Maxim Solyus, editor of the RBC newspaper, and Roman Badanin, editor of the RBC newswire, have all stepped down, the company said on its website on Friday. The Kremlin had signaled to the RBC owner repeatedly that it didn’t like some of its coverage, two people familiar with the matter said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied any pressure was put on the group. A spokesman at Prokhorov’s Onexim holding company, Andrey Belyak, declined to comment.