Russian authorities restrict free press

"The economic crisis has hit hard in a country which is the world's largest energy producer and exporter. This has meant tighter conditions for the media and it seems difficult to have a meaningful public debate on Russian social conditions," says a new report from the Nordic Journalist Center.

35,000 registered newspapers, almost 1,000 radio stations and more than 1,000 television channels indicate a huge press coverage of Dimitrij Medvedev's and Vladimir Putin's new Russia. However, the free independent press is still a relative concept. Russian television is dominated by channels which are either directly owned by the state, or owned by companies with close ties to those with political power.