Moscow
The Russian government tried to block some of the region’s most respected journalists from reporting on the school hostage tragedy in Beslan last week. Two top Georgian reporters were arrested when they reached Beslan; they were held until the shooting had stopped and more than 350 lives were lost. Andrei Babitsky, a reporter with U.S.-funded Radio Liberty, was detained at the Moscow airport, and was released only after U.S. protests. Babitsky had been held by Russian forces once before, after he reported on the Russian onslaught in Chechnya, and was freed after two months of arbitrary detention and beatings. And Raf Shakirov, the respected editor of Moscow’s Izvestiya, was forced to resign after publishing a full-page photo spread of the schoolyard victims. Izvestiya was one of the first papers to dispute the government’s assertion that only 300 hostages were being held by Chechen separatists. The actual number turned out to be more than 1,200.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘Congratulations on your house, but maybe try a greyhound instead’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How climate change poses a national security threatThe explainer A global problem causing more global problems
-
The 5 best TV shows about the mobThe Week Recommends From the show that launched TV’s golden age to a Batman spin-off, viewers can’t get enough of these magnificent mobsters
