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In fact, the firing has apparently to do with a post by Plyuschev on Twitter, where he commented on the death of the son of Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov on the 3rd of November. Remembering that Ivanov’s son killed a 68-year-old retiree with his car several years ago, the journalist wondered whether his death was “proof of the existence of God/higher justice”.
However, Ekho Moskvy’s editor-in-chief Alexei Venediktov stated that the decision has no force for him and that he would ignore the Gazprom Media ruling. According to the radio station’s statute, only the editor-in-chief can dismiss the editorial staff and therefore, he said, “Alexander Plyuschev remains a journalist of Ekho Moskvy”.
It is not the first time when the radio station is under pressure. It suffered several attacks during President Vladimir Putin’s rule and, recently, it got a Government warning for “information justifying war crimes” for a talk show hosted by Plyuschev. The situation is uncertain: because of his defiance, Venediktov himself could be fired by Lesin, and the Ekho Moskvy’s independence and future are both in danger.
Photo: http://www.sptimes.ru