As Radio Free Europe reports, a piece in the new issue of GQ, “Vladimir Putin’s Dark Rise to Power,” will not be available online and was not included in the magazine’s Russian edition. The author, Scott Anderson, sits down for an intereview with RFE/RL:
RFE/RL: Did the editor in chief of American “GQ” tell you why he decided not to let people in Russia read your article? Anderson: No. I think it’s an important distinction between the editors at “GQ” and the higher, corporate structure of Conde Nast Publications. I never had any indication from my editors at “GQ” that they were unhappy with the article — certainly they seemed very excited about it — nor did I get any sense that they wanted to conceal the article at all. I think it was all a decision made at the Conde Nast corporate level. I know that in the memo, they never come out and specify what their concerns were, whether they’re legal concerns or political concerns or economic concerns. My personal feeling is that they were worried about reprisals against their Russian-language magazines in Russia, and this article could affect their publications there. (Editor’s note: On July 23, a Conde Nast lawyer sent an e-mail to several Conde Nast executives and editors at “GQ” that said, in part: “Conde Nast management has decided that the September issue of U.S. ‘GQ’ magazine containing Scott Anderson’s article, ‘Vladimir Putin’s Dark Rise to Power’ should not be distributed in Russia.”) RFE/RL: But they didn’t actually explain to you personally why they made that decision? Anderson: No, they didn’t. I don’t want to speak for them but…my personal feeling is that it probably had to do with economic concerns, that they were worried that if this would affect their ability to work in Russia with their magazines there.
Read the whole thing here.
