On 13 February in Moscow in the center of international trade there took place a ball of the press, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Union of journalists of Russia. There were around a thousand people from various regions of the country. I even ran into old buddies from Vladivostok, who said to me: «There are many among us who think that you’re living beyond the border». In a way they’re right: Moscow – this is the “abroad” of Russia.
Of famous journalists I saw at the ball Genrikh Borovik, Alexey Simonov, Pavel Gusev, Dmitry Muratov, Yuri Rost, Vitaly Cheyshev, Alexander Minkin… Of the very famous – former Boris Yeltsin bodyguard Korzhakov,
Of course, one can imagine what efforts it’s costing Bogdanov andhis colleagues in such a time to preserve the Union, which, in thewords of the chairman himself, «is striving to preserve the besttraditions of Russian journalistics – morality, social responsiveness,patriotism». In such a time, when you need to (I quote Bogdanov onceagain) «draw up a clearly-defined system for the legal, material, andmoral protection of journalists», like it or not you’ve got to contentyourself with the fact that they’re still allowing you to gather at aball, and not behind barbed wire, in the lokalka of a strict-regimezone.
Happy holiday, colleagues!
Upper photo: At the journalists’ union 90th anniversary ball (photo by Grigory Pasko)
Lower photo: «Putinka» – the official beverage of the press ball? (photo by Grigory Pasko)