Three letters

The editor -in -chief of Echo of Moscow Alexei Venediktov denied the information that he asked Vladimir Putin to meet to discuss the fate of the radio station. On Sunday, RBC reported that Venediktov wrote a letter to Putin "On Freedom of Speech, about attempts to influence the editorial policy and independence of" radio station. According to the publication, Venediktov at the end of January specially went to Brussels for the Russia-Es summit to chat with Putin, but he was refused a personal meeting. “I did not ask the president about a meeting in Brussels, so I could not be refused,” Venediktov wrote on Twitter. He did not refute the information about the letter to Putin.

Venediktov accused the editor -in -chief of RBC and one of the authors of publication by Elizabeth Ossetian that she deliberately distorted the information received from him by phone. According to Venediktov, RBC "included in the campaign" Against "Echo of Moscow" along with the TV channel "Russia 1". “The trash is lying like VGTRK,” Venediktov wrote . “You will laugh - Lifenews behaves much more professional and more solid than RBC in our topic,” added the editor -in -chief of Echo. He said that he was stopping personal communication with Ossetian and would no longer invite her to the program "Special Opinion".

Venediktov’s contract with the radio station expires in mid -March, a group of Echo employees nominated his candidacy for the next five -year term. According to the charter of the radio station, the chief editor chooses a journalistic team, after which it is approved by the Board of Directors. Together with Venediktov, the Council includes an independent director, general director of Gazprom-Media Mikhail Lesin and two more representatives of the holding, who owns 66 percent of the shares of Echo of Moscow. Gazprom-Media can nominate its candidate for the post of chief editor, but cannot change the charter of the radio station.

On February 18, Ekaterina Pavlova, who previously held the post of deputy chairman of the Russian Voice of Russia, was appointed general director of the Echo of Moskvy, was appointed general director of the Echo of Moscow. Prior to this, the permanent general director of the radio station was one of its founders Yuri Fedutinov. The husband of the new leader Alexei Pavlov works as deputy head of the press service and information of the president.

Venediktov made it clear that he and Lesin had a personal conflict.