RFE/RL

On June 27, media workers across Uzbekistan (presumably) celebrated a day named in their honor. The 19th iteration of Mass Media Workers’ Day was noted in a speech by Uzbek President Islam Karimov, where he cautioned the nation’s journalists not to “succumb to euphoria and get overexcited” about Uzbekistan’s many achievements…[read more]

Have a silly dictator story? Follow us on Twitter @sillydictators

RFE/RL reported earlier this week on the Kremlin’s move to restructure Ekho Moskvy, the nation’s most liberal radio station, after it criticized Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Since then, Putin has had a starring role in several controversial power plays.

# The Power Vertical by Brian Whitmore looks at Putin’s next move to control the media narrative by reining in independent voices, as the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office announced today that the independent online television station Dozhd TV was under investigation to determine who financed the channel’s live broadcasts of massive anti-Kremlin demonstrations in December.

# A funny thing happened when Vladimir Putin’s election campaign applied for permission from Moscow authorities to hold a mass rally on the capital’s main downtown thoroughfare. The mayor’s office balked.

# Creative film and theater directors are casting Putin as their leading man. One viral video with a caged Putin has racked up nearly 3.5 million views, while a Moscow theater troupe creates a monstrous hybrid named “Berlusputin”.

# And finally, the Toys For Democracy movement toddles on.

For additional news on Russia follow Radio Svoboda online (also in Russian) and The Power Vertical on Twitter. 

The move was criticized by journalists and characterized by some as an effort by the Afghan authorities to placate the Taliban amid reported peace negotiations involving Afghan and U.S. officials with the Islamist group.

Nasrin, a newscaster at Kabul’s Ariana Television Network, told @RadioAzadi that female presenters already faced a lot of family and societal pressure because of their high-profile jobs…[READ MORE]

Caption: An Afghan man watches an Indian soap opera at his TV shop in Kabul. The Afghan culture minister said that female newsreaders should appear different from actresses in movies and soap operas.

In addition to this report from Golnaz Esfandiari, Radio Farda web editor Fred Petrossians covers the threats over at Global Voices.