Russians do it better...

Vladimir Putin has become the hero of propaganda lovers everywhere with his latest attempt at preventing dissidents from getting one over him. In a move that will surely inspire generations of leaders for years to come, the balding Russian despot has managed to censor the TV appearances of anybody who dares to speak out against him in public.

The most recent revelation of such unscrupulous manipulation comes after it was claimed that a prominent political analyst named Mikhail Delyagin complained on a talk show about Vladimir's leadership skills. When the program was televised, however, Delyagin had been left on the cutting room floor. Unfortunately for him, this is because his name was on a stop-list of political opponents that the suits in the Kremlin have deemed to be unsuitable for broadcast.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Putin's control over television networks and other mainstream media outlets is his ability to pull the strings out in full view of the public. It's like the kids in front of a Punch and Judy show that can see somebody's hand up the puppets ass but still want to believe that the players are acting on their own instincts. The Russian people want to believe in Putin because they genuinely seem to like him, and for this reason he can get away with controlling things in whatever way he seems fit.

Other Russian players that have had the plugs pulled on their television dreams include one time Putin allies such as Mikhail Kasyanov, his former prime minister, and Andrei Illarionov, his former chief economic adviser, Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion and leader of the Other Russia opposition coalition, and even members of the Communist Party, the only remaining opposition party in Parliament.

Officials at the Kremlin have denied the existence of the stop-list, stating that those who oppose the views of the Kremlin don't appear on television because of the simple fact that they're not newsworthy.

Gordon Brown is reported to be working on a similar method of keeping David Cameron off of our screens...

Photo: Flickr

Written by Oli Anderson on 3 Jun 2008 2:32 PM. Permalink