En la reunión Putin-Berlusconi de la que hablé ayer, una periodista rusa preguntó si era verdad. Mientras que Putin decía que no toleraría ninguna intromisión en la vida privada de las personas, Berlusconi hacía como que disparaba con un fusil a la periodista.
Pues bien, ya ha actuado: su compañero del KGB y dueño del periódico, Alexander Lebedev, ha cerrado el periódico, aduciendo "razones comerciales porque no encontraban publicidad".
AdelaideNow... Paper closes after revealing Putin bride scandal:
"THE Russian newspaper that first published claims president Vladimir Putin had secretly divorced and planned to marry a gymnast has been shut down."El periódico ruso que primero publicó las afirmaciones de que el presidente Vladimir Putin se había divorciado secretamente y había planeado casarse con una gimnasta ha sido cerrado.
The Billionaire owner of the newspaper, Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB agent, pulled the plug on Moscow Korrespondent hours after the Russian president issued an angry denial of the report about former Olympic gymnast and nude model Alina Kabaeva, a member of parliament who is 31 years his junior.
The UK's Daily Mail reports that the paper's editor, Grigoriy Nekhoroshev, resigned in protest and claimed the article was well sourced.
Before being suspended, the paper issued an apology, yet deputy editor Igor Dudinsky declared: 'We stand by our story.'"
El propietario del periódico, el billonario, Alexander Lebedev, un anterior agente de la KGB, ha terminado con el periódico Moscow Korrespondent, horas después de que Putin negara muy enfadado la información sobre la gimnasta olímpica y modelo de desnudos Alina Kabaeva, además de miembro del parlamento, que es 31 años más joven.
El Daily Mail acaba de informar de que el editor del periódico, Grigory Nekhoroshev, dimitió en protesta y afirmó que el artículo estaba basado en muy buenas fuentes.
Antes de ser suspendido, el periódico publicó una disculpa, aunque el editor sustituto Igor Dudinsky declaró que "seguían manteniendo su historia".
Financial Times dice que los dueños dijeron que se cerraba por razones comerciales, lo que no se ha creído nadie, si no que han visto en ello el largo brazo del Kremlim.
The publishers insisted the suspension was a purely commercial decision. But Russian journalism experts warned it showed the extent to which the media had been cowed by the Kremlin.Although the paper had published an apology on Thursday, within hours of Mr Putin’s press conference its editor resigned and the publisher halted publication.
Artyom Artyomov, general director of National Media Company, the paper’s publisher, told the Financial Times this weekend the decision was not political.
“There was no pressure [from the authorities] at all,” he said. “I have suspended publication of the newspaper, but because of financial circumstances. It is quite possible that the newspaper will start publishing again but in a new format and with a new editor.”
Mr Artyomov said that the paper, ultimately owned by Alexander Lebedev, a billionaire tycoon, was not meeting advertising targets and had not fulfilled its original concept of being a Russian version of the Daily Mail, the British tabloid.
But Oleg Panfilov, head of Russia’s Centre for Journalism in Extreme Situations, said the case showed the “crisis in relations” between the press and officials.
“The paper acted like any tabloid in England, France, Germany or wherever,” he said. “But the fear that journalists and editors have of the authorities here is so great that they needed to close the paper. I think it is not a suspension but closure.”
Mr Artyomov dismissed as rumours reports that the paper was raided by officers of the FSB, successor to the KGB.
Lo más interesante es que se ha negado que haya habido incluso una redada por parte de la FSB, la sucesora del KGB.
Rumors of a romance between Putin, 55, and Alina Kabaeva, 24, who is also an MP in his party, have been circulating in Moscow for months, but until last week no one had dared to print them.
The paper admitted there was no factual basis for its claim that Putin had already divorced Ludmilla, 50, his wife of 24 years, and would marry Kabaeva in June, shortly after stepping down as president and becoming prime minister. It cited information from a party planner who claimed to be bidding to organize the lavish reception.
(...)“Our director came to the newsroom and told us we were being shut down,” said Nekhoroshev, who sounded shaken. “As far as the story is concerned I’ve full faith in my correspondents.”
Kabaeva, who is famed for her “extreme natural flexibility," had threatened to sue. Her high profile as a sporting pin-up has been enhanced by photographs showing her wearing nothing but furs, but she has spoken of her strong political ambitions.
El periódico admitió que no había ninguna base fáctica para basar su información de que Putin se había divorciado de Ludmilla (50 años y su esposa desde hace 24) y se iba a casar con Kabaeva, después de dejar la Presidencia y empezar el desempeño del puesto de Primer Ministro. Citaba información de un organizador de fiestas que afirmaba que estaba pujando por organizar la recepción.
“Nuestro director vino a la oficina de redacción y nos dijo que nos cerraban", dijo Nekhoroshev, que parecía estremecido. "En cuanto a lo que se refiere a la historia, tengo completa fe en mis corresponsales.” Kabaeva,que es famosa por su "extrema flexibilidad natural", ha amenazado con demandar al periódico. Su alto perfil como una pin-up del deporte ha crecido por sus fotos en las que aparecía vestida con sólo unas pieles, pero al mismo tiempo siempre ha hablado de sus fuertes ambiciones políticas.
Mientras han pasado desapercibidas las negociaciones de Putin con Ghadaffi:
President Vladimir Putin plans to oversee the signing of deals worth more than $10 billion on a trip to Libya aimed at grabbing a slice of a market opening up to the world after years of sanctions, his spokesman said.
Putin shook hands with with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in front of his former central Tripoli home, which has been kept in ruins since it was bombed by U.S. aircraft in 1986.
El Presidente Vladimir Putin planea supervisar la firma de varios negocios por valor de 10.000 millones de dólares que tienen por objeto capturar una parte del mercado del país que se está abriendo ahora después de años de sanciones, dijo el portavoz.
Putin estrechó las manos con el líder libio Gadhafi ante su anterior casa de Trípoli, que ha sido mantenido en ruinas desde que fuera bombardeada por aviones americanos en 1986.
Ni tampoco se ha hablado de las negociaciones con Il Ligoniere Berlusconi "ambos antiguos amigos y aliados":
President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi on Friday rekindled ties by talking up a possible new bid by Aeroflot for troubled airline Alitalia and hinted that a gas deal between Gazprom and Italy's Eni involving Libya could be in the cards.
El Presidente Vladimir Putin y el primer Ministro italiano recién elegido Berlusconi reiniciaron sus relaciones hablando de una nueva oferta por Aeroflot para la aerolínea Alitalia y sugirieron que un negocio de gas entre Gazprom y la italiana Eni que implicara a Libia podría estar fraguándose.