Russian News Editor Timchenko Fired in Ukraine Row
The chief editor of popular Russian news website Lenta.ru has lost her job over an interview it published with a far-right Ukrainian nationalist.
Galina Timchenko was fired after the state media regulator issued the website with a warning for publishing material of an "extremist nature".
She will be replaced by Alexei Goreslavsky, who until recently headed a staunchly pro-Kremlin website.
Her departure comes after several recent attacks on independent media
The decision to dismiss Ms Timchenko was made by Lenta.ru's owner Alexander Mamut. It was immediately criticised by the website's editorial staff who complained of direct pressure being placed on them and a "dramatic decline" in the scope for free journalism in Russia.
"The dismissal of an independent chief editor and the appointment of a person who can be controlled from outside, including directly from offices in the Kremlin - that is already a violation of the media law," read the statement signed by 69 Lenta staff on the website's front page.
SNIP
Media regulator Roskomnadzor cited an interview published two days earlier with a leading member of the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist group, Right Sector, referring to a hyperlink in the text that led to its leader, Dmitriy Yarosh.
It said the material contained statements inciting ethnic hatred. A Moscow court issued an arrest warrant for Mr Yarosh on Wednesday on charges of inciting terrorism.
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