Authors

Ilya Yablokov¹;  ¹ The University of Sheffield, UK

Discussion

Right from the start of his presidency in 2000, Putin singled out the media and reigned in against the biggest media tycoons. However, this did not relieve him from having to grapple with all the remaining big egos who were running the country’s major media outlets. While it soon became clear who had the last word, it was less clear how to navigate this minefield. Producing content to the Kremlin’s liking obviously helped, but it is only part of the story. Some outspoken regime critics outlived Kremlin-loyal media moguls for years. For most media makers, sheer obedience was not an option in any case. A certain autonomy was essential to keep operations going; after all, they had brands to promote, images to maintain, audiences to satisfy and financial targets to meet. Under these circumstances, they quickly learned to walk the tightrope of compliance and escape. This was something they all aspired to and respected in others. They even had a word for it: adekvatnost, best translated into English as ‘a feel for the game’.

 

In this paper I will discuss two iconic Russian media professionals: Dmitry Muratov, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Aram Gabrelyanov, once the king of tabloids in Putin's Russia. The life tracks of these media entrepreneurs illustrate the skills that the successful media tycoon should possess in the authoritarian environment and teach us lessons of failure and/or survival in this toxic environment.