Vladimir Putin accused of using Soviet-style propaganda strategy to control Russian media
Russian president Vladimir Putin has been accused of resorting to Soviet-style propaganda to manipulate and control the media.
Mr Putin may not be doing the dirty work himself, but those who have suffered are under no illusion about who is pulling the strings.
Once popular independent Rain TV has seen its audience shrink as broadcasters abandon the station.
"We know that somebody with great power and with state authority has done this, otherwise, all major cable operators wouldn't follow his ... 'advice'," Mikhail Zygar, a producer with TV Rain, told the ABC's 7.30 program.
Rain TV's problems started in January with a debate broadcast on the 70th anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad.
The question: should Leningrad have been surrendered to save millions of lives?
The siege of Leningrad is a cornerstone of Soviet victory in World War II and in today's Russia there is no room for unpatriotic mistakes.
The broadcast caused outrage and the channel was condemned by politicians. Despite an apology from TV Rain, major cable and satellite TV operators began to pull the plug.
The station's audience fell from 20 million to just 2 million, as broadcasters abandoned the channel.
"The owners of all those companies, operators, told us privately that that's not their wish," Mr Zygar said.
"They were asked to do it by phone call, by someone from the Kremlin."
TV Rain was once a fresh, and popular, voice in the Russian media. But powerful figures wanted it silenced.
Events are portrayed as 'evil against good'
Masha Lipman, a Russia analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said what happened to TV Rain is part of a 15-year long strategy by Mr Putin to control the media.
"The Kremlin, president Putin, did not rely on the use of force, did not rely on oppression, it was a cleverly manipulated operation," she said.
"It was more about property and the redistribution of media assets, than it was about harassing journalists or editors."
The recent events in Ukraine have also seen the return of old-style Soviet propaganda.
The bloodless annexation of Crimea boosted Mr Putin's popularity and provoked a frenzy of nationalism.
That support carried through to Mr Putin's engagement with the West over Ukraine's civil war and the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
"These events were portrayed as black and white, as evil against good," Ms Lipman said.
"It may be heavy-handed but propaganda only works when it falls on fertile ground – and the ground was certainly fertile.
"Do they see that sometimes television is not telling the truth? Maybe. But somehow they don't mind.
"He wants control over his country, the institutions, the people, his elites. He is very averse and suspicious of any independent, autonomous players."
Today's propaganda is 'thrilling'
The only difference with the modern day propaganda is that it is entertaining, something even Mr Zygar acknowledges.
"Now it's passionate, now they have fire in their eyes, now they have hatred," he said.
"That's why it's much more popular and interesting for the average viewer. It's become exciting - thrilling, but horrible.
"Sometimes there is a feeling free speech is not needed, that propaganda, one-sided propaganda, is so popular that everyone's happy with it."
It is not just the old media, either.
The Kremlin has also targeted bloggers and those operating on the internet.
Investigative journalist Andrey Soldatov has experienced first-hand the crackdown on bloggers in Russia, described by human rights advocates as draconian.
Anyone with more than 3,000 followers needs to register, and give up the right to anonymity.
"There is a special line in this law that's usually forgotten but is very important: you need to have blogs based in Russia, to provide access to the Russian secret services," Soldatov said.
"So, it's not just about censorship, it's about surveillance."
Soldatov said as someone with a higher-profile in a big city he can fight back, but he fears for those speaking out elsewhere.
"We've already got plenty of examples of regional bloggers pressured by local authorities, local law enforcement agencies, local security services for posting critical things online," he said.
