Vladimir
Putin often seems to make decisions as though he is playing the role of a
stereotypical Russian villain in a B-list Cold War spy film. Whether it is
casually threatening nuclear annihilation or jovially bantering about his
ability to have any political opponents killed, he seems to derive personal
enjoyment from inflating his cloak and dagger, ex KGB image. This image may be ideal for domestic
consumption, but it seems to work against Russia's interest on the world stage.
Earlier this month, a crew of BBC journalists who were investigating the deaths
of Russian servicemen alleged to be fighting in Ukraine were accosted in the
street and beaten. The crew's cameras and tapes were also destroyed.
While
there is no concrete proof that the "mugging" was sanctioned by the
Kremlin, it is hard to see this event as a coincidence. A Russian journalist and opposition leader
named Lev
Shlosberg
was attacked in a similar manner following the same story. The fact that a
second attack occurred rules out coincidence.
Attacking
journalists seems counterproductive from the point of view of the Kremlin. If
one wants a journalist to stop pursuing a certain line of evidence, the last
thing to do is attack him/her. A beaten reporter is the journalistic equivalent
of a neon sign telling prying eyes exactly where to look. Having ones tapes
destroyed represents a logistical setback, but nothing more; one can always buy
new tapes. If the attackers' goal was simply to scare the journalists off the
story, attacking them may have the opposite effect. Many young Western
journalists want to be seen as the next Edward R. Murrow, bravely risking life
and limb to get the tough story. Getting a solid beating in pursuit of a
controversial story is seen by this type of journalist as more of a merit badge
than a deterrent. If an older, more risk averse journalist in the group chooses
to abandon the story, there will doubtless be a younger journalist with a
bigger Murrow complex eager to take his/her place.
The
most vexing aspect of this story is that the Russians are aware of the Murrow
complex. There are people employed by the Russian government whose job it is to
analyze Western media. These analysts would certainly inform their superiors of
the Western journalistic tendency to perceive injury in the line of duty as a
badge of honor. Given the above suppositions, there are two potential
explanations for the beating of the BBC team. The less likely, but more
amusing, possibility is that Putin simply enjoys playing the role of a cartoon villain.
The more likely, but less amusing, possibility is that the decision to attack
the journalists was made by a lower level, local official who was either
unaware of or unconcerned with the downstream geopolitical consequences.
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