from our correspondent
LONDON – A multiple attack on press freedom was launched in London courts by Russian oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin’s regime. To be sued for defamation is the former journalist of theFinancial TimesCatherine Belton, ora a Reuters, author of the book Putin’s men, the definitive reconstruction of the rise to power of the current Kremlin leader and the malign nature of his regime. Harper Collins was also sued with her, the publishing house that published the volume in Great Britain (published in Italy with La Nave di Teseo).
Roman Abramovich is promoting the lawsuits, the celebrated owner of the Chelsea football team; banker Mikhail Fridman and his business partner Piotr Aven; real estate tycoon Shalva Chigirinsky; and Rosneft itself, the Kremlin-controlled oil giant. These are the richest men in Russia, oligarchs close to the inner circle of the government. On the other hand, in that country, it is not possible to do business without being in the graces of power, as evidenced by the case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, stripped of his assets and forced into exile for having opposed Putin’s wishes.
And in the book there Belton accuses Abramovich of having bought Chelsea on Putin’s direct order: statement that triggered the complaint. However, the oligarchs in question deny that theirs is a coordinated action and claim that they have not had contact with each other: however, it is striking that this offensive takes place at the same time as the Kremlin is showing itself increasingly aggressive towards its critics, as shown by the case of entry into Russia denied to the President of the European Parliament, the Italian David Sassoli. And this is a phase in which Putin is testing the West’s resistance and reaction capacity, as he did with the recent massive deployment of military forces on the border with Ukraine.
London is good ground to see how far you can go to muzzle annoying people: Defamation laws are particularly stringent in Great Britain. And it is in London that many Russian tycoons, large and small, have chosen to reside: there they can count on an army of bankers, accountants, lawyers and public relations professionals ready to take care of their business, clean up their image and defend their interests in court , if needed. A “city within a city” that gave rise to the epithet of “Londongrad” and whose dark side was told in the book (and TV series) McMafia.
But no wonder that now the big target is the volume of Catherine Belton: she has long been a correspondent from Moscow for the Financial Timesand is perhaps the greatest living authority on Putinism. His book details the rise of the Kremlin leader from the very beginning, from his years in the ranks of the KGB: and it is documented how the fearsome secret services have taken over Russia and its wealth, giving life to an authentic “kleptocracy” of which Putin is only the facade. A regime that now he is intent on undermining the foundations of the West: maybe even trying to silence critics by dragging them into a courtroom.
May 2, 2021 (change May 2, 2021 | 21:40)
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