visit
Keep your mouth shut
How a small newspaper from Sakhalin experiences ramifications of reprinting an article by Grigory Yavlinsky
The weekly newspaper Visit was launched in 1993. The newspaper’s audience is only 27,000 people who live in the town of Kholmsk on Sakhalin Island.
The newspaper was created by bankers, but later the editors bought the paper out to make it independent.
Visit investigates corruption and unveils the issues the local folks have to grapple with. Politicians filed complaints against the newspaper to the court and to the prosecutor’s office. In 2017, water supply to the newspaper’s office was cut off and the authorities blocked access to the toilet for the editorial staff. Access to the toilet has not been restored, even when the newspaper won the respective case in court.
At the end of March, the newspaper reprinted an article by Grigory Yavlinsky, founder of the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko. In the article, Grigory Yavlinsky called upon Russia and Ukraine to start negotiations as soon as possible. Sergey Fedorov, who has been heading Visit since the 90s, assumed that no one would sanction the newspaper for this article, because there were no official ramifications when Yavlinsky’s article was posted on Yabloko’s website. And yet, Visit was charged for discrediting the military and fined 200,000 rubles.
Since February 24, the newspaper has announced that it would close several times, but it is still in business. The newspaper’s history counts more than 30 years, and it is painful for the staff to close the outlet down, especially when they feel readers' support.
The newspaper was created by bankers, but later the editors bought the paper out to make it independent.
Visit investigates corruption and unveils the issues the local folks have to grapple with. Politicians filed complaints against the newspaper to the court and to the prosecutor’s office. In 2017, water supply to the newspaper’s office was cut off and the authorities blocked access to the toilet for the editorial staff. Access to the toilet has not been restored, even when the newspaper won the respective case in court.
At the end of March, the newspaper reprinted an article by Grigory Yavlinsky, founder of the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko. In the article, Grigory Yavlinsky called upon Russia and Ukraine to start negotiations as soon as possible. Sergey Fedorov, who has been heading Visit since the 90s, assumed that no one would sanction the newspaper for this article, because there were no official ramifications when Yavlinsky’s article was posted on Yabloko’s website. And yet, Visit was charged for discrediting the military and fined 200,000 rubles.
Since February 24, the newspaper has announced that it would close several times, but it is still in business. The newspaper’s history counts more than 30 years, and it is painful for the staff to close the outlet down, especially when they feel readers' support.
Keep your mouth shut
How a small newspaper from Sakhalin experiences ramifications of reprinting an article by Grigory Yavlinsky
VISIT
The weekly newspaper Visit was launched in 1993. The newspaper’s audience is only 27,000 people who live in the town of Kholmsk on Sakhalin Island.
The newspaper was created by bankers, but later the editors bought the paper out to make it independent.
Visit investigates corruption and unveils the issues the local folks have to grapple with. Politicians filed complaints against the newspaper to the court and to the prosecutor’s office. In 2017, water supply to the newspaper’s office was cut off and the authorities blocked access to the toilet for the editorial staff. Access to the toilet has not been restored, even when the newspaper won the respective case in court.
At the end of March, the newspaper reprinted an article by Grigory Yavlinsky, founder of the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko. In the article, Grigory Yavlinsky called upon Russia and Ukraine to start negotiations as soon as possible. Sergey Fedorov, who has been heading Visit since the 90s, assumed that no one would sanction the newspaper for this article, because there were no official ramifications when Yavlinsky’s article was posted on Yabloko’s website. And yet, Visit was charged for discrediting the military and fined 200,000 rubles.
Since February 24, the newspaper has announced that it would close several times, but it is still in business. The newspaper’s history counts more than 30 years, and it is painful for the staff to close the outlet down, especially when they feel readers' support.
The newspaper was created by bankers, but later the editors bought the paper out to make it independent.
Visit investigates corruption and unveils the issues the local folks have to grapple with. Politicians filed complaints against the newspaper to the court and to the prosecutor’s office. In 2017, water supply to the newspaper’s office was cut off and the authorities blocked access to the toilet for the editorial staff. Access to the toilet has not been restored, even when the newspaper won the respective case in court.
At the end of March, the newspaper reprinted an article by Grigory Yavlinsky, founder of the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko. In the article, Grigory Yavlinsky called upon Russia and Ukraine to start negotiations as soon as possible. Sergey Fedorov, who has been heading Visit since the 90s, assumed that no one would sanction the newspaper for this article, because there were no official ramifications when Yavlinsky’s article was posted on Yabloko’s website. And yet, Visit was charged for discrediting the military and fined 200,000 rubles.
Since February 24, the newspaper has announced that it would close several times, but it is still in business. The newspaper’s history counts more than 30 years, and it is painful for the staff to close the outlet down, especially when they feel readers' support.
Sergey Fedorov
Before the war
— We have been publishing since 1993. The newspaper was launched by the founders of the Sakhalin Bank. When the bank went bankrupt, the editorial staff bought the newspaper out to become completely independent. This is when I joined the newspaper, and shortly after I was named its head.
We are a small A4 district newspaper. We began with 32 pages, which shrank to 24, and now the paper counts only 16 pages. We had a small following on Instagram and published new issues on our page. We also had a website, but it was hacked several times, and we were tired of restoring it, therefore it is no longer supported.
We mainly cover regional and urban topics. We have always been an avenue for the locals to complain about the outrage they faced. We published any information criticizing the local government uncensored and uncut, taking out only profanities.
We also engaged in investigative journalism and fought against corruption. The authorities didn’t like it, all these years we worked under pressure. The vice-governor complained about us to the prosecutor’s office and presented a heavy bundle of newspapers as evidence, but the prosecutor’s office found no grounds to hold us accountable.
We went through numerous audits. One day, the newspaper was fined 220,000 rubles for the fact that I, as the responsible officer, did not take training on occupational health and safety. The firefighters also fined us — I don’t remember why any more. The local office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service fined us for breaching the law on advertising. They received a tip from the local deputies, it was something related to alcohol advertising, we overlooked this one.
We were sued for the protection of honor and dignity. We, however, have not lost a single lawsuit, but it acted on our nerves.
One of our flagship investigations was about the former head of the regional office of the Pension Fund, Denis Mazur. We suspect that he bought a building in Kholmsk for 28 million rubles through a figurehead; by the way, our office was located in the same building. And then he leased the building to the Kholmsk office of the Pension Fund for 36 million rubles a year. According to the Investigative Committee, he "facilitated entering into lease agreements for this property for a total amount of more than 102 million rubles, which is 74 million rubles higher than the [building's] acquisition cost and 29 million rubles higher than the cost of the offices located in it, including the cost of refurbishment".
Denis Mazur was placed under arrest two years ago. When we locked horns with him, our office was disconnected from the grid, we lost heating and water supply, they even barricaded the toilet. We were able to somehow put an extension cord in the office, but since 2017 we have been working without water and facilities. All this time, we have been exchanging lawsuits, we lost two times. Recently, the court of appeal has recognized our right to water and facilities, but we still have no access.
We have never tried to apply for government funding or grants. There was only one time during the pandemic, when we applied to the biggest Russian public bank, Sberbank, for a payroll loan, but our request was denied without any explanation.
We are a small A4 district newspaper. We began with 32 pages, which shrank to 24, and now the paper counts only 16 pages. We had a small following on Instagram and published new issues on our page. We also had a website, but it was hacked several times, and we were tired of restoring it, therefore it is no longer supported.
We mainly cover regional and urban topics. We have always been an avenue for the locals to complain about the outrage they faced. We published any information criticizing the local government uncensored and uncut, taking out only profanities.
We also engaged in investigative journalism and fought against corruption. The authorities didn’t like it, all these years we worked under pressure. The vice-governor complained about us to the prosecutor’s office and presented a heavy bundle of newspapers as evidence, but the prosecutor’s office found no grounds to hold us accountable.
We went through numerous audits. One day, the newspaper was fined 220,000 rubles for the fact that I, as the responsible officer, did not take training on occupational health and safety. The firefighters also fined us — I don’t remember why any more. The local office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service fined us for breaching the law on advertising. They received a tip from the local deputies, it was something related to alcohol advertising, we overlooked this one.
We were sued for the protection of honor and dignity. We, however, have not lost a single lawsuit, but it acted on our nerves.
One of our flagship investigations was about the former head of the regional office of the Pension Fund, Denis Mazur. We suspect that he bought a building in Kholmsk for 28 million rubles through a figurehead; by the way, our office was located in the same building. And then he leased the building to the Kholmsk office of the Pension Fund for 36 million rubles a year. According to the Investigative Committee, he "facilitated entering into lease agreements for this property for a total amount of more than 102 million rubles, which is 74 million rubles higher than the [building's] acquisition cost and 29 million rubles higher than the cost of the offices located in it, including the cost of refurbishment".
Denis Mazur was placed under arrest two years ago. When we locked horns with him, our office was disconnected from the grid, we lost heating and water supply, they even barricaded the toilet. We were able to somehow put an extension cord in the office, but since 2017 we have been working without water and facilities. All this time, we have been exchanging lawsuits, we lost two times. Recently, the court of appeal has recognized our right to water and facilities, but we still have no access.
We have never tried to apply for government funding or grants. There was only one time during the pandemic, when we applied to the biggest Russian public bank, Sberbank, for a payroll loan, but our request was denied without any explanation.
Turning point
On February 24, I tossed and turned all night. We were shocked. It was like 1941 again. I couldn’t believe it.
A couple of editors were happy and tried to convince us that the "special operation" was the right decision. But most of the staff took it negatively.
We started looking for what we could publish without breaking the law, while making it clear for everyone that what was happening in Ukraine was wrong. We dug through a lot of materials, including by "foreign agent" media, and statements of various famous people. Everyone called a spade a spade, spoke directly, well, openly, but it was impossible to publish such statements.
Back then, we already understood that if we published anything about the "special operation", there would be ramifications. For example, we can’t publish anything by Alexander Nevzorov, as he uses blunt language. But we can’t rewrite his words either. Then we came across Grigory Yavlinsky’s article on Yabloko’s website. It looked to me like a piece by a man of culture.
It was quite benign: Grigory Yavlinsky only asked to start negotiations as soon as possible and to end the hostilities in order to save lives, so it was quite a humane approach. We understood that our self-censorship could give a green light to publish this article. Moreover, our reasoning was as follows: the article was published by an authorized officer of the party that was once part of the State Duma, the article was not banned, and Yabloko was not held accountable, so no consequences if we publish the article. And we did.
Then we received an e-mail from the prosecutor’s office. Administrative proceedings were initiated against us for publishing the article. The investigation took around one month. I requested an expert review to understand how we had discredited the military. After all, I was in charge of the in-house censorship and tried to prevent cases like that. Neither the court nor the prosecutor’s office could explain to me what was wrong.
A couple of editors were happy and tried to convince us that the "special operation" was the right decision. But most of the staff took it negatively.
We started looking for what we could publish without breaking the law, while making it clear for everyone that what was happening in Ukraine was wrong. We dug through a lot of materials, including by "foreign agent" media, and statements of various famous people. Everyone called a spade a spade, spoke directly, well, openly, but it was impossible to publish such statements.
Back then, we already understood that if we published anything about the "special operation", there would be ramifications. For example, we can’t publish anything by Alexander Nevzorov, as he uses blunt language. But we can’t rewrite his words either. Then we came across Grigory Yavlinsky’s article on Yabloko’s website. It looked to me like a piece by a man of culture.
It was quite benign: Grigory Yavlinsky only asked to start negotiations as soon as possible and to end the hostilities in order to save lives, so it was quite a humane approach. We understood that our self-censorship could give a green light to publish this article. Moreover, our reasoning was as follows: the article was published by an authorized officer of the party that was once part of the State Duma, the article was not banned, and Yabloko was not held accountable, so no consequences if we publish the article. And we did.
Then we received an e-mail from the prosecutor’s office. Administrative proceedings were initiated against us for publishing the article. The investigation took around one month. I requested an expert review to understand how we had discredited the military. After all, I was in charge of the in-house censorship and tried to prevent cases like that. Neither the court nor the prosecutor’s office could explain to me what was wrong.
Pressure
The fine of 200,000 rubles [that we had to pay as a result of the administrative case] was a significant amount for us, but it wouldn’t make us broke. The judges actually awarded the lowest possible fine, even below the threshold in accordance with the law. Of course, we could find the money and pay. But first of all, it would be a pity to pay for nothing, and in addition, I would lose one or two paychecks.
We published this article by Yavlinsky and learned that now you have to keep your mouth shut. And still you may be held accountable. We started to be more careful about all the materials we publish.
We can’t break the law: we have no money to pay the fines, and I have no intention to end up behind bars. I’m an old man, 63 years old, I can’t afford to take it to the streets, let law enforcement take away my posters and beat me with clubs. I do my job, and I understand that if I openly write about everything now, they will shut down the newspaper. It won’t make any sense.
But we have never published anything to support the Russian actions in Ukraine. We are still trying to show people what is really happening: the sanctions, the "special operation" and so on. But our hands are tied, and we are compelled to basically use the Aesopian language.
We published this article by Yavlinsky and learned that now you have to keep your mouth shut. And still you may be held accountable. We started to be more careful about all the materials we publish.
We can’t break the law: we have no money to pay the fines, and I have no intention to end up behind bars. I’m an old man, 63 years old, I can’t afford to take it to the streets, let law enforcement take away my posters and beat me with clubs. I do my job, and I understand that if I openly write about everything now, they will shut down the newspaper. It won’t make any sense.
But we have never published anything to support the Russian actions in Ukraine. We are still trying to show people what is really happening: the sanctions, the "special operation" and so on. But our hands are tied, and we are compelled to basically use the Aesopian language.
Future
After February 24, we set the date of closure several times. But I can’t let my 30 years of work go down the drain. People have come to our office to cheer us up and make donations. I couldn’t bring myself to call it quits. But the day will come when I will have to.
Somehow, It’s My City media from Yekaterinburg learned about our predicament. I gave them an interview, and they suggested crowdfunding. We raised around 100,000 rubles. We received more than one hundred donations, almost every donor wrote: we support you, hang tight.
I was told that a guy from Noglik (a village in northern Sakhalin) who raises awareness about our newspaper in Telegram chats was charged because he had an avatar saying "No to War" (the case of Mikhail Nekipelov, the project has access to the court’s decision). The court didn’t find him guilty. I’m happy that he doesn’t have to pay a fine, and I’m grateful that he was posting our link on Telegram.
Two weeks after, Yabloko launched a crowdfunding campaign on its website. We have already received around 15,000−20,000 rubles in donations. I was contacted by the press secretary of Mr. Yavlinsky who offered us assistance. If our fines are withdrawn, we will transfer the money we raised to people facing similar charges.
Of course, a newspaper is a business, we tried to make a profit to have a vacation abroad or to buy stuff. But at the same time, a newspaper is a political endeavor, which involves fighting. And many are tired of this fight. Especially when money is tight.
In 2014, many entrepreneurs went bankrupt in Kholmsk. The number of our advertising customers reduced by a half. The pandemic divided their number by two again. Today, what we earn is just enough to eat.
A lot of our readers are switching to online media. I’m not against progress, but it leaves no place for old-fashioned print media.
I have no regrets about publishing the article. We want people to know that not everyone thinks the same.
Somehow, It’s My City media from Yekaterinburg learned about our predicament. I gave them an interview, and they suggested crowdfunding. We raised around 100,000 rubles. We received more than one hundred donations, almost every donor wrote: we support you, hang tight.
I was told that a guy from Noglik (a village in northern Sakhalin) who raises awareness about our newspaper in Telegram chats was charged because he had an avatar saying "No to War" (the case of Mikhail Nekipelov, the project has access to the court’s decision). The court didn’t find him guilty. I’m happy that he doesn’t have to pay a fine, and I’m grateful that he was posting our link on Telegram.
Two weeks after, Yabloko launched a crowdfunding campaign on its website. We have already received around 15,000−20,000 rubles in donations. I was contacted by the press secretary of Mr. Yavlinsky who offered us assistance. If our fines are withdrawn, we will transfer the money we raised to people facing similar charges.
Of course, a newspaper is a business, we tried to make a profit to have a vacation abroad or to buy stuff. But at the same time, a newspaper is a political endeavor, which involves fighting. And many are tired of this fight. Especially when money is tight.
In 2014, many entrepreneurs went bankrupt in Kholmsk. The number of our advertising customers reduced by a half. The pandemic divided their number by two again. Today, what we earn is just enough to eat.
A lot of our readers are switching to online media. I’m not against progress, but it leaves no place for old-fashioned print media.
I have no regrets about publishing the article. We want people to know that not everyone thinks the same.