Russian media empire crumbles

Sevodnya has carried articles critical of the Kremlin

The remnants of the former media empire owned by Russian tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky have suffered another blow with the closure of the Sevodnya newspaper and the sacking of journalists at Itogi magazine.

The moves came just days after Mr Gusinsky's Media-Most group lost control of the country's only independent national television channel, NTV.

Vladimir Gusinsky: Fighting extradition

Gazprom-Media - the gas company media subsidiary that took over NTV - joined forces with the Sem Dnei publishing company to take over Sevodnya, and the paper's chief editor Mikhail Berger was dismissed.

Sergei Parkhomenko, the editor of top news magazine Itogi, which is published jointly with the US journal Newsweek, said he had been fired and all the editorial staff had been locked out of their offices.

Mr Berger has cried foul, saying Sevodnya is being punished for its persistent criticism of the Kremlin.

His liberal broadsheet has been critical of President Vladimir Putin and consistently highlighted the failings of the Russian military in Chechnya.

Loss-making operation

The BBC's Rob Parsons in Moscow says the rapid loss in quick succession of NTV, Itogi and Sevodnya strengthens the argument of those who believe the attack on Mr Gusinsky's media empire is part of a wider campaign to stifle independent media in Russia.

But Gazprom says the changes are dictated by the companies' financial troubles.

The head of Sem Dnei, Dmitri Biryukov, said the paper had been losing money.

A lawyer told journalists they were being sacked because of staff cuts.

NTV team ousted

Sevodnya's fate had been uncertain ever since the state-dominated gas company Gazprom acquired enough shares in the newspaper's publishing house to exert control.

The NTV takeover triggered public protests

Dissident journalists at NTV resigned at the weekend after being ousted from their offices by a new management team installed by Gazprom.

The journalists say Gazprom was acting on behalf of the Kremlin, to bring a television station often critical of the authorities under political control.

Russian authorities have since brought charges of tax evasion against Yelena Mitlikina, a television executive at TNT - a channel being used by the rebel journalists from NTV.

Like NTV before its takeover on 3 April, TNT also belongs to the media magnate Vladimir Gusinsky, who is currently fighting extradition from Spain to Russia on corruption charges.

Ten days ago Mr Gusinsky held talks in Spain with his former rival and fellow Russian exile, Boris Berezovsky, on a merger between TNT and Mr Berezovsky's TV6 station.

NTV's former general director, Yevgeny Kiselyov, says he has accepted an offer to become acting head of TV6.