Meeting at its Annual General Assembly on 14 May 2007 in Istanbul, Turkey, the International Press Institute’s membership unanimously adopted a resolution expressing its growing concern over the progressive curtailment of press freedom in Russia.

The government of President Putin has announced plans to license Internet web sites under a new, amalgamated control body created in March to oversee print and broadcast press.

There is mounting pressure on non-political professional organizations, like Internews and other NGOs, providing training and technical assistance to journalists.

As Russia prepares for its presidential elections next year, it is essential that full freedom of the press be restored to report on the issues facing the nation. A presidential election held without a free press will be seen by the world as having been conducted in unfair conditions.

The dramatic assassination of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya on 7 Oct. 2006 was no isolated event. Impunity for the assassinations of journalists is widespread. A study that included data provided by the Glasnost Defense Foundation, the Committee for Journalists in Extreme Situations of Moscow and the Committee to Protect Journalists of New York showed that there were 212 violent deaths of journalists and media staff recorded from 1993 through 2006. Hardly any of them have led to official prosecutions.

The IPI called upon Russian authorities to demonstrate the political will to launch vigorous investigations into the killings of journalists and to prosecute the perpetrators.

The IPI also calls upon the Russian authorities to cease their arbitrary actions against the press and related media organizations. Russia’s future and its image as a democracy are at stake.