RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Oct 24, 2017
William Roberto Ramalho de Miranda
TODAY: Ekho Moskvy journalist stabbed at work, many blame state television and combative political climate; Kaspersky Lab seeks to regain trust; Deripaska prepares London IPO for EN+; 100th anniversary of Russian Revolution.
Tatyana Felgenhauer, the deputy editor of the independent radio station Ekho Moskvy, was stabbed in the neck during work by an intruder who had been obsessed with her. She is in critical condition but expected to pull through. Boris Grits has been arrested on charges of attempted murder; Russian news sources say he was acting on “personal motives”. Just two weeks ago, Felgenhauer was recently featured in a state television report accusing Ekho Moskvy of undermining Russia with “informational weapons”, and another channel portrayed a liberal female journalist having her throat slit in a drama. Yulia Latynina, a former colleague at the radio station left Russia last month following a series of attacks on her and her family. The Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers blames state television partly for the attack; others see it as part of an increasingly polarised and violent political climate. Felgenhauer herself complained about conditions for journalists in Russia in a recording that aired on state television earlier this month. The New York Times lists a number of unsolved attacks on journalists.
Kaspersky Lab, the cybersecurity firm, is launching a global transparency initiative aimed at winning back trust and customers, following allegations this year that its software was used for Russian spying. Oleg Deripaska is gearing up for the first London IPO of a Russian business since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Deripaska will list his aluminium and hydropower business EN+, with shares currently being priced at a total value of $7-8.5 billion; the IPO itself is expected to raise $1.5 billion, which the company will use to reduce its debts. The IPO coincides with what Bloomberg calls the comeback of “London-grad”. Russia has accused US-led forces of wiping Syria’s Raqqa “off the face of the earth”.
Deputy Foreign Minister Alexey Meshkov has been replaced. This month marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution; the FT spoke to a high school graduate, an executive, and an aristocrat about their views on its legacy.
PHOTO: Journalist Tatiana Felgenhauer © Alamy
