Matvienko called the information from the article “an absolute fabrication”, because of which the entire political department of Kommersant quit.

Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko called the information from the Kommersant article “an absolute fabrication”, because of which two journalists were fired, and after them the entire political department left the publication, reports . Dozhd TV channel

“I don’t know who made up the whole story and who needs it. And why do respected publications like this get involved? This is an absolute fabrication, initially a fabrication,” Matvienko said.

Matvienko again said that she was not involved in the dismissal of the authors of the article and did not discuss this with anyone. At the same time, she admitted that she had a conversation with Kommersant shareholder Alisher Usmanov, but they spoke on general topics.

“Not only did they write an article, but as it turned out later, it is unclear where it was taken from, I also have to explain myself today based on the events taking place there,” said the speaker of the Federation Council.

This is the second time Matvienko has commented on the situation in Kommersant. “I never called anyone or pressed anyone. The journalist community knows this, media leaders know this, and they will help confirm it. It's not my style, it's pointless, it's useless. This is how hysterical people behave. I don’t consider myself one of them,” she said yesterday.

On May 20, Kommersant special correspondent Ivan Safronov and political department journalist Maxim Ivanov spoke about their dismissal due to an article about the possible resignation of Matvienko, with which the shareholder was dissatisfied. After this, 11 employees of the Kommersant political department, who did not agree with the dismissal of their colleagues, submitted their resignations.

Kommersant editor-in-chief Vladimir Zhelonkin explained the dismissal of Safronov and Ivanov by saying that they violated editorial standards, but he did not disclose details.

A former employee of the newspaper told the BBC that Matvienko made complaints to Usmanov because of this article. At the same time, Usmanov’s representative claimed that the oligarch learned about the dismissal of journalists from the press. Later, the head of the board of directors of Kommersant, Ivan Streshinsky, said that the dismissal occurred due to the fact that the article was considered ordered, and the journalists did not disclose the source of their information. Streshinsky insisted that Matvienko did not discuss this article with him.