Since it was first aired in December 1987, the editor-in-chief of the St. Petersburg current affairs programme "600 Seconds" has been Aleksandr Nevzorov (ITAR-TASS 5 Oct. 1993). The show has been banned or suspended four times since its inception, most recently on 5 October 1993 by the head of St. Petersburg television (ibid.). Nine days later the programme was banned by the Russian ministry of press and information, which also banned 17 newspapers, including Pravda and Sovietskaya Rossiya (Reuters 15 Oct. 1993; The Ottawa Citizen 15 Oct. 1993; Libération 15 Oct. 1993).

With respect to the current status of "600 Seconds," the most recent reports currently available to the DIRB are from November 1993. They indicate that "600 Seconds" remained off the air and that Nevzorov was getting ready to produce a new programme entitled "North," but it was not expected to air before 14 December 1993 (Pravda 6 Nov. 1993; Moskovskiye Novosti 14 Nov. 1993).

Reports since June 1992 have labelled Nevzorov as a right-wing, nationalist extremist (Izvestiya 15 Oct. 1993; Libération 15 Oct. 1993; Reuters 15 Oct. 1993; The Irish Times 26 Mar. 1993; The Times 3 Nov. 1992; The Guardian 5 June 1992). Nevzorov was a vocal supporter of the January 1991 armed Soviet government crack-down in Lithuania and Latvia (ITAR-TASS 5 Oct. 1993; Izvestiya 15 Oct. 1993). In November 1992, The Times reported that he was an adherent to Pamyat's goals and policies (3 Nov. 1992).

For details on the issues and events discussed above, as well as on a temporary suspension of "600 Seconds" in March and April 1993, please refer to the attachments.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

The Guardian. 5 June 1992. Michael Kustow. "Arte of the Possible." (NEXIS)

The Irish Times. 26 March 1993. Seamus Martin. "Poll Shows Yeltsin Gaining Support." (NEXIS)

ITAR-TASS [Moscow, in English]. 5 October 1993. "St. Petersburg TV Head Suspends '600 Seconds' Program." (FBIS-SOV-93-192-S 6 Oct. 1993, p. 29)

Izvestiya [Moscow, in Russian]. 15 October 1993. "Intellectuals Urge Banning of '600 Seconds'." (FBIS-SOV-93-201 20 Oct. 1993, p. 59)

Libération [Paris]. 15 October 1993. Bernard Cohen. "Russie: Boris Eltsine reprend l'information en main."

Moskovskiye Novosti [Moscow, in Russian]. 14 November 1993. "St. Petersburg TV Deputy Chief on Access to Air Time." (FBIS-SOV-93-217 12 Nov. 1993, p. 54)

The Ottawa Citizen. 15 October 1993. Mike Trickey. "Yeltsin Sticks With Ban on Opposition Media." (NEXIS)

Pravda [Moscow, in Russian]. 6 November 1993. "Nevzorov Expects '600 Seconds' To Be Back on Air." (FBIS-SOV-93-216 10 Nov. 1993, p. 47)

Reuters. 15 October 1993. John Morrison. "Sacked Editors Vow to Fight in Courts." (NEXIS)

Times [London]. 3 November 1992. Anne McElvoy. "Far Right Spreads Tentacles Through a Blighted Russia." (NEXIS)

Attachments

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. 25 March 1993. "World in Brief." (NEXIS)

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 2 April 1993. "Media Affairs; Aftermath of Dispute on Sacking of Aleksandr Nevzorov." (NEXIS)

The Guardian. 5 June 1992. Michael Kustow. "Arte of the Possible." (NEXIS)

The Irish Times. 10 April 1993. City Edition. Seamus Martin. "Campaign Begins With Attack on Yeltsin." (NEXIS)

. 26 March 1993. City Edition. Seamus Martin. "Poll Shows Yeltsin Gaining Support." (NEXIS)

ITAR-TASS [Moscow, in English]. 5 October 1993. "St. Petersburg TV Head Suspends '600 Seconds' Program." (FBIS-SOV-93-192-S 6 Oct. 1993, p. 29)

Izvestiya [Moscow, in Russian]. 15 October 1993. "Intellectuals Urge Banning of '600 Seconds' Program." (FBIS-SOV-93-201 20 Oct. 1993, pp. 59-60)

Libération [Paris]. 15 October 1993. Bernard Cohen. "Russie: Boris Eltsine reprend l'information en main."

Moskovskiye Novosti [Moscow, in Russian]. 14 November 1993. "St. Petersburg TV Deputy Chief on Access to Air Time." (FBIS-SOV-93-217 12 Nov. 1993, p. 54)

The Ottawa Citizen. 15 October 1993. Final Edition. Mike Trickey. "Yeltsin Sticks With Ban on Opposition Media." (NEXIS)

Pravda [Moscow, in Russian]. 6 November 1993. "Nevzorov Expects '600 Seconds' To Be Back on Air." (FBIS-SOV-93-216 10 Nov. 1993, p. 47)

Radio Rossii Network [Moscow, in Russian]. 3 April 1993. "Demonstrations Outside St. Petersburg TV Center Reported." (FBIS-SOV-93-063 5 Apr. 1993, p. 62)

Reuters. 15 October 1993. John Morrison. BC Cycle. "Sacked Editors Vow to Fight in Courts." (NEXIS)

Russian Press Digest. 17 April 1993. Yevgeny Solomenko. "When the Law Hides Itself Behind the Screen." (NEXIS)

The Times [London]. 3 November 1992. Anne McElvoy. "Far Right Spreads Tentacles Through a Blighted Russia." (NEXIS)