Wendy Sloan is an Associate Professor, Main Lecturer and Journalism Study at London Metropolitan University. He is the author of Kremlin Media Wars: Censorship and Control the Invasion of Ukraine.
Sloan began her career in 1988 as a reporter for Time magazine, a worker in New York and later in Vienna. He then secured a scholarship to write about Moscow News, a Soviet newspaper in favor of Glasnost, and became the first US member of the Soviet journalists’ Union.
She spent seven years in the former Soviet Union, covering the coup that led to its dismantling for the Associated Press before it started writing for Western newspapers.
As a foreign correspondent for The Daily Telegraph and Christian Science Monitor, he covered the war in Chechnya, the riots in Georgia and the wider turmoil in the post -Soviet area, traveling extensively to the area.
In 1995, Sloan moved to London, a working in the Daily Telegraph International Department and writing for many magazines before going to the academia in 2010.
You were in Moscow covering the collapse of the Soviet Union. What can you tell us about that period?
“At that time I was working for the Associated Press, the largest news agency in the world. I remember going to work one day and telling us that Michael Gorbachev was sick. This was the official party line, and then they started playing all kinds of music, such as the Swan Lake, on the state channels. We understood that something was happening. Then we realized that it was a coup. It was an incredible experience to cover such an important historical event, to cover the story itself. “
If you look back on that period, could you imagine that Russia would be ruled by a man for 25 years?
“Yes, because in the past Russia was ruled by a leader. Stalin ruled Russia or the Soviet Union for a long time. I think the Russians are used to having what they call a “powerful leader”. There were many people who were nostalgic for Stalin’s days. Putin took advantage of this nostalgia. We were very excited to take power and somewhat excited when Jelcin took over. But I didn’t expect the situation to end up with Putin. However, if we look at Russia’s history in this century, it is not so amazing. “
What were the critical factors that allowed Putin to so effectively consolidate his power?
“There is censorship in Russia, though they say they have officially banned it. Today, the media is controlled by the Kremlin. This was not always the case. On Gorbachev and Gelcin, the media was influenced by both the Kremlin and commercial interests. However, Putin destroyed all this. From the invasion of Ukraine, the situation has deteriorated, with laws such as the “false news law”, which forbids one to call war “war” or to say or write anything that could defame the Russian army. But even before that, it imposed laws that threatened the independence of the media. It made it illegal to promote anything positive for LGBTQIA+ people. It gradually began to limit human freedoms until we reached the point where we are today.
But I think as soon as you get control of the media, you have control of almost everything, isn’t it? Now many people are receiving their information from abroad through the use of VPN. Many media have left Russia and now belong to what we call “exile media”. Some have left for a long time, such as Meduza, settled in Latvia in 2014. Others, such as the Moscow Times, who were declared a “foreign agent” and later “unwanted organization”, were forced to relocate and now have the headquarters in the Netherlands and Armenia. However, they continue to broadcast both in Russian and English or to publish their newspapers in both languages for audiences that can read them through Russia.
But one can only have trouble even for it. And now, Roskomnadzor, the media that suppresses the media, is constantly blocking various websites so that ordinary Russians do not even have access through their VPNs. Cannot have access to specific things. It’s difficult. Social media still offers a picture of what is happening outside Russia. And encrypted social media, such as Telegram, are quite popular.
At some point, the Ukrainians used the Telegram to persuade Russian soldiers to surrender – and some did. But I believe that the tentacles of those who are happening in Russia are far from far away. Even if you leave Russia, you may be worried about what will happen if you post something against Putin. You worry about what can happen to your friends and family who are still in Russia, as they can accept threats.
Therefore, it is not so easy to cut. And many people choose self -censorship to survive. I don’t think we are able to condemn them for it, unless we are in their own place. “
After 25 years, how do you think history will judge Putin’s rule?
“We cannot be sure how it will be judged until its regime is over. It is difficult to predict how it will end. Is there a real prospect of political change as long as Putin is in power? I would say no. But I can’t say it for sure. One thing I have learned about Russia is that you can never predict what will happen. “
Do you think Putin did wrong when he invaded Ukraine, or was he always part of a wider strategy?
“I would hop that he was doing the wrong calculation. I think he was hoping that he could quickly understand the territories he wanted and that the invasion would end almost as fast as it started. I doubt if he believed that the war would last so long. And the propaganda machine inside the country helped him maintain his attitude. “
If you could ask a question to Vladimir Putin and get a honest answer, what would it be?
“Do you really do this for the good of the Russian people or just to become more powerful personally?”
If you had to choose only one adjective to characterize Putin’s status and his 25 -year -old presidency, who would be and why?
“It would be oppressive. It is an oppressive regime that is becoming increasingly oppressive. And my heart hurts for all the Ukrainians who have been killed, as well as for the young Russian men who have been forced to participate in the war and killed, and for their mothers, their husbands, their comrades. “
Who could be Putin’s successor?
“The list is long: half, Sobianin, Medvedev … but it could surprise us all by doing what Trump wants to do – that is, he has one of his children as a successor, maintaining power within the family. This seems to be something that dictators around the world are used to doing. Putin has two daughters who could be his successors if he prepares them properly. “
Do you think his daughter could be the next president of Russia?
“I doubt it, but it’s fun to speculate. Katerina Vladimirovna Tijonova, his second daughter, is a former acrobatic athlete, which would be of particular interest. Or someone else could appear in the background. “
