While the Kremlin quickly congratulated Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov for winning the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, Russia‘s relentless crackdown on independent media shows no sign of letting up.
A disclosure in the Pandora Papers leak of documents this week that an alleged former lover of President Vladimir Putin acquired a €3.6 million ($4.2 million) apartment in Monaco has added fuel to a belief within the Kremlin that there’s a Western campaign to tarnish his image, said two people close to the government. That’s likely to intensify pressure on independent reporting outlets.
"This was a direct attack on Putin,” said Alexander Ionov, a pro-Kremlin campaigner who has successfully pressed authorities to slap draconian restrictions on media outlets critical of the president. "We’re going to wage a relentless battle with them and the organizations that sponsor them from the U.S. and U.K.”