Gorbachev to the rescue

Vladimir Putin just acquired an interesting opponent in his war against free speech and human rights when Mikhail Gorbachev and a Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev bought a 49% stake in the only major Russian newspaper that's openly criticizing Putin's dictatorship.

Novaya Gazeta is a newspaper whose staff consists largely of journalists fired from other media outlets by Putin and his cronies because of the journalists' critical coverage of Putin's dictatorship.

The newspaper has gained a powerul ally in Mikhail Gorbachev. It's unlikely the Putin dictatorship dare meddle with the newspaper that has him as a financial backer.

I've written about the Russian human rights violations before:
The IHF issues a stinging report on human rights situation in the Republic of Mari El
Mari-El activists still persecuted in Russia
The people of Mari being systematically persecuted by Russians

-TPP