Kyrgyzstan declares outlets Kloop and Temirov Live ‘extremist’ in unprecedented crackdown Babar Azam's form slump: Inside the psychological battle and classical crisis of Pakistan's cricket maestro New York Times opens 2025 fellowship for emerging journalists CPJ slams Turkey’s seizure of TELE1, calls for journalist’s release Alfred Friendly launches 2026 fellowship for exiled journalists in America Harvard invites applications for 2026 Nieman Journalism Fellowships IFJ, global unions urge ASEAN to reject Myanmar junta’s planned sham election Justice denied: Mother of slain journalist Arshad Sharif dies awaiting accountability CNN's Christiane Amanpour reveals recurrence of ovarian cancer PSL's decline: From cricket's bright promise to bureaucratic mediocrity and franchise crisis
Journalism Pakistan
Journalism Pakistan

Russia expels US journalist critical of Putin

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published 11 years ago

Join our WhatsApp channel

Russia expels US journalist critical of Putin

Russia had barred a US journalist who is critical of President Vladimir Putin for five years, a move that could upset relations with the United States and has echoes of the Cold War.

 

Moscow's treatment of David Satter could fuel concern about freedom of speech before the Winter Olympics in Sochi next month, although Putin has tried to appease critics by freeing former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and members of the Pussy Riot protest group in the run-up to the Games.

 

The Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Satter, author of three books on Russia and the Soviet Union, had been prevented from returning to Russia last month after grossly violating visa regulations.

 

"As some of you know, I've been expelled from Russia," Satter wrote on Twitter.

 

Dismissing the Foreign Ministry's version of events, he said: "It's the first explanation for my expulsion which anyone has received in nearly three weeks. It is also false."

 

Such expulsions have been rare since the end of the Cold War and collapse of the communist Soviet Union in 1991. But the ministry dismissed suggestions by Western media that the move against Satter was politically motivated as "tendentious".

 

A former Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times, Satter was back in the Russian capital last year and advising Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a broadcaster funded by the U.S. government.

 

In one of his books, "Darkness at Dawn", Satter accused the Federal Security Service (FSB), a successor of the Soviet-era KGB, of being responsible for bombings of Russian apartment buildings in 1999 which killed more than 300 people.

 

The FSB, which was headed by Putin before he became prime minister and then president, has denied the charge. Russian authorities blamed the attacks on separatists from Chechnya in the volatile North Caucasus. The crimes were never solved.

 

The Foreign Ministry, which handles media accreditation for foreign journalists, said Satter had failed to report to the federal migration service as required when he last arrived in Russia on November 21.

 

"In fact, from November 22 to November 26 this U.S. citizen stayed on Russian territory illegally," the ministry said, and a Moscow court had ruled on November 29 that he should be expelled. A court spokeswoman confirmed the ruling. - Reuters

Explore Further

Independent and unbroken: JournalismPakistan.com turns 16

Independent and unbroken: JournalismPakistan.com turns 16

 October 24, 2025: JournalismPakistan.com celebrates 16 years of independent reporting and media insight. Founded in 2009, the platform has weathered censorship, cyberattacks, and financial pressures to remain a trusted space for all who love and follow the media.

Newsroom
Kyrgyzstan declares outlets Kloop and Temirov Live ‘extremist’ in unprecedented crackdown

Kyrgyzstan declares outlets Kloop and Temirov Live ‘extremist’ in unprecedented crackdown

 October 29, 2025 In a historic first, a Bishkek court declares Kloop, Temirov Live, and their founders extremist, marking Kyrgyzstan’s sharpest assault on press freedom under President Japarov.


Babar Azam's form slump: Inside the psychological battle and classical crisis of Pakistan's cricket maestro

Babar Azam's form slump: Inside the psychological battle and classical crisis of Pakistan's cricket maestro

 October 29, 2025 Babar Azam's form slump reveals a psychological battle between classical artistry and modern cricket demands. Inside the mind of Pakistan's maestro, struggling to rediscover flow.


 New York Times opens 2025 fellowship for emerging journalists

New York Times opens 2025 fellowship for emerging journalists

 October 29, 2025 The New York Times is accepting applications for its 2025 fellowship, a one-year journalism training program for emerging reporters, editors, and visual journalists. Deadline: November 19, 2025.


CPJ slams Turkey’s seizure of TELE1, calls for journalist’s release

CPJ slams Turkey’s seizure of TELE1, calls for journalist’s release

 October 29, 2025 CPJ calls on Turkey to release journalist Merdan Yanardag and return control of TELE1, after his arrest on espionage charges and state media takeover.


Alfred Friendly launches 2026 fellowship for exiled journalists in America

Alfred Friendly launches 2026 fellowship for exiled journalists in America

 October 29, 2025 Alfred Friendly Press Partners invites exiled journalists in the US to apply for its 2026 four-week fellowship offering training, support, and a $2,000 stipend.