Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Change Oracle Logo
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Renewables
    • Nuclear Power
    • Fossil Fuels
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Renewables
    • Nuclear Power
    • Fossil Fuels
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
Change Oracle Logo
No Result
View All Result
Home Other

The Death of Mikhail Beketov and Environmental Journalism

by Richard Matthews
April 12, 2013
in Other
0
Mikhail Beketov, was killed for reporting on environmental destruction and corruption in the Moscow suburb of Khimki. Like so many other environmental journalists he was silenced for reporting the truth. His investigative journalism earned the ire of those whom he had accused of malfeasance. A savage beating five years ago left him severely brain damaged and unable to speak, it also forced doctors to amputate one of his legs and several fingers. Prior to the attack, Beketov received numerous death threats, his car was set on fire and his dog was killed and left on his doorstep.

The 55 year old Beketov died on Tuesday of wounds attributable to the attack in 2008. He is but one of many Russian reporters slain for their journalistic efforts. Anna Politkovskaya was killed for reporting on Chechnya and Ivan Safronov met his demise due to his reporting on Russian military affairs.

Like a number of other reporters in Russia and around the world, Beketov was killed for his environmental journalism. On September 17, 2009, Reporters Without Borders/Reporters Sans Frontières released a report entitled “The dangers for journalists who expose environmental issues.” The report, “highlights the indifference and even complicity of some governments and authorities that make little attempt to protect journalists who take risks to investigate attacks on the environment. The report looks at 13 cases of journalists and bloggers who have been killed, physically attacked, jailed, threatened or censored for reporting on the environment.”

Being a reporter in Russia is a particularly dangerous job. Estimates of the number of Russian journalists killed or disappeared range from several dozen to hundreds. According to an online database set up by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) there have been over three hundred deaths and disappearances since 1993.

A September 2009 report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) concluded that Russia is one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists and added that it remains among the worst at solving their murders.

Recent statements by President Vladimir Putin as well as raids on human rights organizations, indicate that civil society and freedom of expression are under threat in Russia. Since Putin returned as President in 2012, the Kremlin has passed a series of restrictive laws and provisions. The New York Times reports that Russia has even begun censoring the Internet inside its borders.

In Beketov’s case he was reporting on the building of a road between Moscow and St Petersburg. The construction of this road led to the destruction of a massive oak forest. Beketov accused politicians, including the Khimki’s mayor, Vladimir Strelchenko, of corruption. There is even some evidence linking one of Putin’s wealthy friends to the project.

Before his death Beketov reportedly said “if anything ever happens to me, look inside the Khimki administration.” However, some believe the culpability goes right to the top of Russian society.  As one women explained at Beketov’s funeral, “The journalist profession is the scariest – it is deadly dangerous,” she told the crowd. “A government that doesn’t need truth is a bandit government. They are not going to look for the killers. The killers are in the Kremlin.”

The murder of yet another journalist underscores the dire need for a free press that addresses ecological issues. The importance of journalists to the cause of environmental justice cannot be overstated. Journalists are the canaries in the coal mine, they alert the wider world to environmental concerns that we may not notice otherwise.

It is critical that we defend environmental journalists with the same ardor we exhibit for the defense of the environment.  A header in the IFJ website reads, “There can be no press freedom if journalists exist in conditions of corruption, poverty or fear”

Whether in Cambodia, Brazil or Russia, environmental issues do not respect national borders. Therefore, the fate of environmental journalists anywhere should be the concern of people everywhere.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Articles
The Persecution of Environmentalists
Cambodian Environmentalist Murdered
Who Bombed Judi Bari? (Video Trailer)
Environmental Problems and Activists Struggling Against Abuse (Video)
Another Amazon Environmentalist Killed (Video)
Environmentalists Murdered for Protecting the Amazon (Video)
Murder of Two Environmentalists in the Amazon (Video)
Environmental Advocacy Through Citizen Journalism

ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Building Resilience to Supply Chain Disruptions due to Climate Change

Next Post

Is Sustainability Still Possible?

Related Posts

Seasons Greetings from the Green Market Oracle

by Richard Matthews
December 24, 2021
0

American Courts are Defending Democracy and the Environment

by Richard Matthews
December 14, 2020
0

Despite unprecedented challenges, America's legal system has held. In recent weeks the courts have repeatedly defended democracy and in the last four years they have overturned a wide range of environmental...

Environmental Plebiscites: Municipal Referendums and State Ballot Initiatives

by Richard Matthews
November 12, 2020
0

The November 3rd election not only elected an environmentally responsible president it also gave Americans a chance to vote on environmental issues in five state ballots and two city referendums. Americans ...

Next Post

Is Sustainability Still Possible?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • SoundCloud

Subscribe to the Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Energy

Renewable Energy is Growing Rapidly but is it Enough to Stop Climate Change?

by Richard Matthews
January 31, 2023
0

Renewable energy continues to grow at a prodigious rate, but are the tremendous advances we are seeing enough to keep...

Read more
change oracle will explore the fundamental unworkability of capitalism

Confessions of a former capitalist: The journey that made me an advocate of systemic change

January 11, 2023

A Peace Pact with Nature Secured at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal (COP15)

December 29, 2022

Historic Progress on Climate Finance at COP27

December 19, 2022
3 decades of conference of the parties

Three Decades of UN Climate Change Conferences

December 12, 2022
  • About
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Business and Economics
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Social Change
  • Events
  • Other

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Supply Chains
  • Economics
  • Energy
    • Renewables
    • Nuclear Power
    • Fossil Fuels
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
    • Wildfires
  • Investing
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Technology
    • Buildings
    • Carbon Capture
    • Food
    • Transportation
  • Social Change
    • Education
    • Activism
    • Psychology

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In