Russia's 12 Myths About the U.S. Media

This weekend, I had been invited by Boris Nemtsov from the Union of Right Forces and Alexei Venediktov from Ekho Moskvy to participate in a conference on freedom of the press in Russia, also co-sponsored by Gazprom-Media. When Venediktov informed me this week that he and his associates were withdrawing from this conference to protest the recent Gazprom takeover of the radio, I decided to do the same. Here are excerpts of what I would have said. All the myths stated below are actual statements that Russians -- senior governmental officials or opposition journalists -- either have said to me personally or wrote in the press. These are assertions Russians have made to me in responding to my criticism of their press.