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Spectator
2 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Putin's stranglehold on the Russian press
Since Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, the Russian press has been slowly, methodically strangled, which has forced existential choices on newspaper and TV journalists. Twenty-one have been killed – beaten, poisoned or gunned down. Others, such as Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, highly regarded investigative reporters, have been forced into exile. Yet others, like the 'dear friends' of this book's title, have chosen a different path – to cleave ever closer to the regime. The authors tell the fascinating story of those choices and allow us a glimpse of why they were taken. In 2000, Soldatov and Borogan were employed by the political department of the newspaper Izvestiya, where they made new friends – slightly older and more experienced journalists, whom they envied for their access to people in power and admired for their intelligence and bohemian glamour. This group's ideas about Russia seemed a bit 'retro': Petya Akopov envisaged the country as a spiritual power, in contrast to the West's moral decadence; Zhenya Baranov had pan-Slav leanings; while their patron, Evgeny Krutikov, was obsessed with the secret services. But at the time these views appeared eccentric, provocative and certainly harmless. At first, Izvestiya was free enough to allow some criticism of government policy; but after barely six months, Soldatov and Borogan were squeezed out by increasing demands to toe the Putinist line. As they arrived at the office to clear their desks, they noticed a new employee – a nondescript, secretive man with no media experience. Just ten years after the 1991 putsch, the security services were back on the editorial floor. Moving from publication to publication, the pair found ways to get into print for most of the next decade. In the unlikely pages of Versia, the offshoot of an unscrupulous tabloid called Sovershchenno Sekretno (Completely Secret), they published an exposé of the official account of the Nord-Ost crisis, in which hundreds of hostages trapped in a theatre by Chechen suicide bombers were gassed by the security services. The FSB responded by harassing them and the paper for months, and this set a pattern. Subsequent employers crumpled under pressure from above. Each time the pair published a too-truthful report they'd be out on the street again. For some years, interestingly, the principle that the press should act as a check on state power still held true among their 'dear friends' from Izvestiya days, who helped them get articles printed. And for a while both Akopov and Krutikov were even happy to cooperate with Soldatov and Borogan on the website they'd set up, providing analysis and comment on Russia's security and intelligence services. In 2008, the authors' efforts to investigate the murder of their colleague Anna Politkovskaya got them sacked from their final paper. Bravely, they clung on in Moscow, writing books for PublicAffairs, their New York publisher, that were later translated into Russian. 'It felt as if we and our friends had discovered some sort of arrangement whereby we could coexist with the country's political regime.' One day, the liberals hoped, Putin would be gone and things would return to 'normal'. Their Izvestiya friends, meanwhile, had gone a different route, straight to the heart of the regime. By 2014, Baranov was a presenter for Channel 1, the Kremlin propaganda channel, pushing a narrative of Nazis in Ukraine and Nato aggression, while his wife crossed the barely discernible line between state and press to become deputy minister of culture the following year. Akopov is now known as the author of a triumphalist essay, published in February 2022: 'Putin has resolved the Ukrainian question.' It was swiftly removed from the internet when the Ukrainians stopped the Russian army outside Kyiv. All three are subject to sanctions. Why did these intelligent, well-travelled people agree to be the mouthpieces for state misinformation? Basically it was their only option if they wanted to stay in Russia and work as journalists. Financial need and family and health pressures weighed on them, as on anyone, and general lawlessness and corruption in Russia encourage conformity in all but the bravest. The emotional hangover of the Soviet Union is also considerable – nostalgia for the USSR's former status, the certainties of their childhood and family trauma working themselves out in complicated ways. Perhaps even more significant is another Soviet legacy – a profound cynicism that reasserted itself, as powerfully as ever, once Putin's direction was clear. Many of the propagandists are connected to Soviet dynasties such as the Mikhalkovs, who seem quite comfortable with telling lies in return for success and comfort. Trying to gauge the views of ordinary Muscovites, Soldatov and Borodan noted a collective determination to enjoy this rare moment of Russian prosperity without rocking the boat. Their interviewees often clammed up, snapping: 'We just want to trust our security services!' Yet almost before people had noticed, the Russia they knew had been transformed 'from a highly globalised and aspirational society to a dismal walled-in fortress'. In a flash, the moment when they could have chosen another future had passed.
Hamilton Spectator
02-05-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
What happens when you microwave plastic? Here's what the science says
Microwaves have come a long way since they were first introduced into homes as a quick and easy way to prep a meal, and so has our understanding of them. Microwaves create electromagnetic radiation. 'In the microwave, we expose food to these electromagnetic waves,' said Dmitriy Soldatov, professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Guelph. The electromagnetic waves 'induce rotation of water molecules,' said Soldatov, meaning water molecules start to move, and push other molecules around. This, said Soldatov, will make other molecules also start moving. 'Basically, that's what heat is,' he said. Electromagnetic waves do not affect other molecules aside from water, said Soldatov, 'This is very smart because any food will have some water molecules in it,' he said. Here's what that could mean for your food. If you flip your dishware upside down, you might find a note that says the material is microwave safe. When it comes to claims that certain materials are in fact microwave safe, it's important to understand when manufacturers deem something 'microwave safe,' to begin with, said Soldatov, since it only means the material can be used in a microwave without it melting, decomposing or becoming deformed. 'It does not mean it cannot leach any chemicals into food,' he said. BPA-free plastic, is safer, but still not the safest material. When deciding what is safest, 'we should look at what could cause toxicity,' said Soldatov. In general, plastics are pretty safe, he said, 'but it really depends on the plastic.' 'Plastic is a polymer. When soft polymer molecules start moving, heated, they themselves would not typically produce any toxicity,' said Soldatov. What could produce toxicity, he said, is if there are some 'bad chemicals in those plastics,' adding those harmful chemicals, could leach into the food from the container. Once these chemicals get into food, they could interact with body physiological function, said Soldatov. In particular bisphenol A, — commonly referred to as BPA — a chemical used in producing certain plastics, has the potential to interact with the 'current system body,' which basically controls a lot of physiological functions, he said. If choosing to sous vide — vacuum sealing food in plastic bags, and cooking it immersed in water — Soldatov said to be extra vigilante you aren't using materials that can leach chemicals as things cook. 'Sous-vide implies longer cooking times, so one would have to be more careful in selecting suitable kitchenware,' said Soldatov. Instead of using plastic bags to sous-vide food, opt to use glass containers like canning jars, brand names like Pyrex, or any other heat-resistant glass. If you prefer to use a bag, consider switching over to a reusable silicone bag instead. Ziploc brand has branched out from solely BPA-free plastic to now offering silicone pouches and containers, made to be able to go from the freezer to the oven in temperatures up to 425°F or 218.3°C, according to a Ziploc spokesperson in an email to the Star. The silicone can also be washed in the dishwasher and reused, read the statement. If you want to stick with using plastics to sous-vide, be sure to use BPA-free plastics. 'Glass or silicon will be even better,' Soldatov said. If you are making the shift to only microwaving your food in alternatives to plastic, make sure you are eliminating all other sources of plastic from the microwave, too. Microwaving food underneath plastic, if not BPA-free, can also leach chemicals into your food. If you use a microwave plate cover meant to keep the inside of your microwave safe from splashes and easier to clean, consider using a heat-resistant glass or silicone sheet, instead. 'I would say that glass in any scenario, would be absolutely the safest,' said Soldatov, 'If somebody is very concerned ... use glass without any problems,' he said.
