Главная » 2009»Сентябрь»10 » Lebedev Evening Standard or can Kremlin and Europe be fooled?
Lebedev Evening Standard or can Kremlin and Europe be fooled?
09:43
So «according to British news channel Sky News, on Wednesday the well-know Russian businessman Alexandr Lebedev acquired the largest London evening newspaper Evening Standard, The price of the deal remains confidential. However, according to preliminary information, Levedev might have paid a symbolic ₤ 1.00 for Evening Standard suffering annual losses of ₤10 mn. Until today the Evening Standard belonged to Daily Mail Publishing Group», ITAR-Tass reports. http://vz.ru/news/2009/1/21/248712.htmlFor obvious reasons many people apart from Londoners want to know what a Russian businessman and an «entry-level politician», as A. Levedev calls himself, needs this unprofitable though still one of the leading British mass media sources at the time of financial crisis for ?In an interview for the British newpaper Guardian Mr. А. Levedev himself explained:«From my point of view this [acquisition of Evening Standard] has nothing to do with making money. There are many other possibilities for that [making money]. This is a good way to spend money». http://www.dailyonline.ru/m/1650/At his last press-conference he added:«The acquisition of Evening Standard— is a social mission…»; «My objective is to provide them with funds, though they can work undisturbed…»«want to help the newspaper survive and become profitable…».Everything is seemingly clear and understandable, it is just an ordinary Russian businessman at the time of financial crisis concerned with the viability of British and European free mass media! He made up his mind to help and even sold his private jet and real estate in Italy for this purpose. http://tagsnews.ru/incidents/2009-01-22/38361813/So why all these questions? But Europe is still in doubt… Is it possibly right feeling this way?Based exclusively on quotations of Alexandr Evgenievich own words, let us find out what reasons do we have not to believe him.1. At the same press-conference Alexandr Evgenievich admitted, that for him:«… business motives are absolutely secondary in this case».http://www.alebedev.ru/daytheme/index.php?daytheme=7015This means that there are totally different objects he pursues in relation to Evening Standard, so how can we believe what he said before:«My objective is to provide them with funds, though they can work undisturbed…»» http://www.alebedev.ru/daytheme/index.php?daytheme=7015.Obviously, and as literally appears from his words, all this is not about simply providing funds, not the business as such is primary but another non-economic objective. 2. Let us move on. Being asked – «Are you going to interfere with the Evening Standard policy?» Levedev explained, that he «would not interfere with the editorial process of Evening Standard». http://www.dailyonline.ru/m/1650/.But now in order to achieve his non-economic objective Mr. Alexandr Levedev, being a decent person, as he sees it, makes a quite opposite proposition, namely:«to set up an editorial board including political celebrities like Chirac, Gorbachev and Blair…».To this British journalists observed straight away that «this proposal does not agree with the promises to abstain from interfering with the editorial policy » and «contradicts the format of Evening Standard that initially was and has to remain a local London newspaper, and not a "forum for discussing international matters». http://www.inopressa.ru/article/23Jan2009/guardian/kgb.html.The question whether this interpretation of honesty by the anglophile Levedev really conforms with British conceptions and culture remains unanswered, since no additional public comments have appeared in the English press yet. It went into hiding awaiting the answer from the hero of the occasion.The reaction followed and Mr. Levedev making (as if) a backward step declared:«it seemed to me that I have already displayed the relationship standard with journalists by example of «Novaya Gazeta». On rear occasions, when I have something to say — I write a short note to the editorial board».http://www.alebedev.ru/daytheme/index.php?daytheme=7015It means that Mr. А. Levedev seriously believes that not only Russians but foreigner as well can be gradually convinced that he – Levedev - will only «write small notes to the editorial board while spending millions of dollars and, moreover, wasting his time»?Who is supposed to believe that?3. Further on, trying to prove his unselfishness, А. Levedev declares without disdain:«I am ready to sell the NRC shares to corporation’s employees and journalists at a very low, symbolic price of 1 Rouble so that you help me make the company transparent» and later on bluntly says, that «…NRC costs in the order of € 2 bn ».http://www.alebedev.ru/daytheme/index.php?daytheme=7015This means, that А. Levedev also seriously believes, that the people would believe in his readiness to make, per se, a present worth € 2 bn for the sake of common cause?How did he manage to make these € 2 bn with such attitude?And how should a man displaying an almost fanatic readiness to sacrifice € 2 bn can help interfering with the editorial policy?But this man seems rather unlikely to be fanatic when you hear him elaborating on his words:«so every subsidiary corporation, either an airline or a potato grower, can submit an income and expense report during the day. And the shareholders themselves will control them, to prevent a deliberate expenses increase ».http://www.alebedev.ru/daytheme/index.php?daytheme=7015Now we can see another Levedev in front of us, the one worrying and caring for the interests of shareholders, that have to be protected from the «deliberate expenses increase ».Well, how is a man counting every penny is supposed to sell NRC shares worth € 2 bn for 1 Rouble?4. And, destroying the faith in unselfishness of А. Levedev for good, he almost vows that: «By the way, I did not receive any money from the corporation’s operations, all my income is from bank dividends».http://www.alebedev.ru/daytheme/index.php?daytheme=7015I have almost no doubts in technical aspects of this formulation, since I actually know people whose cars, houses, cottages and yachts - all property they use - formally belong to their companies and almost nothing is seemingly owned by them. At that the companies drag out a miserable existence showing a zero or even a negative balance (a minimum profit at best).I do not know, whether Mr. Levedev does even better, but he openly declares that he has pumped € 2 bn into a company that produces nothing in return. Well, he does not use the word «nothing», rather saying – « I did not receive any money». So, formally, the question is still open as to what he received instead of money.5. And here comes the zest of Mr. А. Levedev statement.In his speech he points out that the level of corruption, namely within the Government of the RF, led, understandably, by Vladimir Putin, is simply incredible, here a quote of his words at the press-conference on January 23, 2009 :«That is why no one of top and medium level businessmen in Russia ever comments on the operation of the Government. Believe me — it leaves a lot to be desired. As to the level of corruption there - it is simply incredible».At the same press-conference the same person, i.e. Mr. А. Levedev declares that we «should support Putin and Medvedev » in order – can you believe it – to fight the «worst trend of Russian burocracy — the corruption».By saying that Mr. А. Levedev claims that all citizens of Russia should support the Government of Vladimir Putin in its fight against said corruption, within which, as Mr. А. Levedev puts it, «the level of corruption is simply incredible ».There is no point in arguing whether А. Levedev is right or wrong since such contradictions can only be called delirious.6. Numerous statements of Mr. А. Levedev reveal similar contradictions. Thus, in a newspaper financed by him he declares that due to the crisis he is no longer a USD billionaire and requests to be removed from the Forbes published list. A week later he admits that the «NRC costs in the order of € 2bn» or more than $ 2,6bn. http://www.alebedev.ru/daytheme/index.php?daytheme=7015Hereto one should add the value of his ОАО «Gazprom» shares. «His web-site announces that Mr. Levedev holds 'substantial Gazprom stocks', but talking to The Time newspaper in person he stated that it was a question of less than one percent of such shares. 'They cost hundreds of millions when the capitalization of "Gazprom" amounted to $300 bn so I do not know how much they cost by now».http://www.inosmi.ru/translation/246893.htmlOnce again it is obvious that Levedev as a man dreaming of an on-line-media empire cannot but know how much one ОАО «Gazprom» share costs by now. One only needs to visit any stock exchange site to learn the results of the latest exchange trading. Thus, the price per ОАО «Gazprom» share on January 23, 2009 was 101,49 Roubles.http://phnet.ru/quotes/graph.asp?id=3378Considering 0,75 % (less than one percent in his own word, no exact figure available) of the chartered capital, even at the current market-rate the value of 23 673 512 900 shares totals approximately $ 560 mn. Eventually we come to figure in excess of $ 3,16 bn (2,6 + 0,56).Was the Russian Forbes really wrong by evaluating his fortune at $3.1 billion, if, based on a personal statements of Mr. Levedev, even now his assets worth at least $3.2 billion can be reported? http://vz.ru/economy/2008/10/13/218447.htmlAnd why does a businessman entered into prestigious Russian Forbes top list want to be removed from it? http://news.yandex.ru/people/lebedev_aleksandr.htmlIs it that he wants to appear before the Kremlin as a poor journalist or, as he calls himself, – an «entry-level politician»! I doubt it, since according to Mr. Levedev's article published in his «Novaya Gazeta», such actions must have «caused extensive damage» in 2005 causing the General Prosecutor Office of the RF to proceed with prosecution against his company in a «trumped-up case». He must have had a similar experience in 1999 when the same «Novaya Gazeta» announced «the existence of a curtain videotape showing a man looking like the General Prosecutor having fun with girls looking like prostitutes». http://www.compromat.ru/main/skuratov/poh.htmBut will he be able to avoid the watchful eye of the Kremlin by such methods? Hardly so.But now there is a different matter to be considered:Dropping the former KGB captain’s past, what is the actual objective of today’s ambitious, contradictory and daring politician Alexandr Levedev? Strengthening of freedom of speech in Russia? It is unlikely, after all before the financial crisis and at present he did and still does own billions but he never made any moves to acquire a TV channel or to establish of a full-blooded media group. Consequently, "the champion of truth" simply does not want to broadcast across Russia by means of his own mass media. His actions pursue a different direction and different objects.As to his uncertain membership in the «Just Russia» party, its leader (Mironov) announced that: « I do not know anything about Alexandr Levedev’s situation. As Alexandr Levedev publicly declared , he not even happens to be a member of our party. That is what he said».http://www.nr2.ru/nn/175412.htmlThat is why in our case the question about his objectives can not be easily answered.To answer this question one has first to understand real tasks of «Novaya Gazeta» - the biggest yet media-creation of Mr. Levedev – I am not going to reproduce here in full my article «Novaya Gazeta. Truth, Half-truth, Lie» but point out its main conclusion only:« By embedding outright lies and half-truth in completely true and relevant information, this newspaper currently openly propagates the policy of «democratic extremism» - presenting extreme radical and extremist political and philosophic views of Russia with a dressing of democratic ideas. In the opinion of «Novaya Gazeta» Russia is a country «without society» (2009., No. 2, p. 17), «without philosophy» (2009, No. 4, p. 21), with a population suffering from «hereditary moronism» (2009, No. 4, p. 21), where even today children are taught «to think of the Motherland first and of themselves second» (200., No. 2, p. 15). All quotes originate from this paper».http://www.journalist-pro.com/2009/02/01/novaja_gazeta_pravda_polupravda_lozh.htmlIn view of such policy actually exercised by «Novaya Gazeta» we can confidently draw a conclusion about real objectives and final targets of Mr. Levedev intending:- to impart new and by far bigger strength to the «democratic extremism» of his «Novaya Gazeta»,- to make it happen at the expense of Evening Standard new capabilities,- and to spread the whole set of his ideas using an on-line media scheme invented by him, - for the purpose of his personal (but specific and unique!) political positioning within the echelons of power and political elite both of Russia and Europe.And all this will be performed on a plausible pretext:«Such international media-structure will emerge in response to increasingly negative impact of the State on our life».http://www.alebedev.ru/daytheme/index.php?daytheme=7015P.S. I want to conclude this article with a line I once came across in the newspaper «Nezavisimaya Gazeta»: «Alexandr Levedev’s periodical has published a filthy stuff and it will not come unexpected, if the former captain of foreign intelligence or something of the kind will find himself in a bind… His «sneezing nose» communicating infection can easily become a «nose to smash»… http://www.ng.ru/editorial/2008-04-21/2_red.html and not only in a «street fight manner» at home as «Nezavisimaya Gazeta» suggests: but also in a British manner abroad.
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