Russian editor fired after Vladimir Putin cursed in photo

The editor of a prominent Russian news magazine said he had been fired after the weekly printed a photograph featuring an obscene message addressed to Vladimir Putin as part of extensive reports on alleged fraud in a December 4 parliamentary election.

Maxim Kovalsky said on Tuesday he had been dismissed as editor of Kommersant-Vlast over the magazine's Monday edition, which included several articles examining alleged electoral violations favouring Prime Minister Putin's United Russia party.

The dismissal appeared to serve notice that Putin still holds vast influence over Russian media, despite mass protests against his rule and a decline in his ruling party's support at the election. "The reason is the issue about the election," Kovalsky said.

He said he believed the Kremlin had put pressure on Kommersant Publishing House owner Alisher Usmanov, a billionaire metals tycoon, and that he had no regrets about the publication.

"I acted absolutely consciously and believe I did the right thing," he said. A spokeswoman for Metalloinvest, a company owned by Usmanov, confirmed that Kovalsky and the head of the magazine's parent company Kommersant-Holding, Andrei Galiyev, had been fired.

Asked for comment, the spokeswoman sent a report on gazeta.ru, a news site also owned by Usmanov, that cited Usmanov as saying unspecified material that appeared in recent issues of Kommersant-Vlast had violated journalistic ethics.

"These materials border on petty hooliganism," the news site quoted Usmanov, a billionaire who is part-owner of the London soccer club Arsenal, as saying. It reported that he was considering suing Kovalsky. Kommersant Publishing House director Demyan Kudryavtsev said he had tendered his resignation because he felt responsible for the "unacceptable" publication, Interfax news agency reported.

It was not immediately clear whether his resignation had been accepted. The shakeup at Kommersant, whose publications include a leading daily by the same name, followed protests by tens of thousands of Russians over alleged election fraud in the biggest opposition rallies of Putin's 12-year rule.

Tens of thousands of Russians protested on Saturday over the parliamentary election they said was rigged in favour of United Russia, calling for the annulment of the official results and a new election.

Voters sharply reduced the ruling party's parliamentary majority but opponents say the official results were inflated. Alegations of fraud have spread on the Internet and in some newspapers, while they are largely ignored by state media. Monday's issue of Kommersant-Vlast had a large section on the election, including articles on alleged violations.

Alleged fraud
The cover featured a photograph of Putin and a headline with a play on United Russia's name that suggested ballot-stuffing, and the following subhead: "How the elections were falsified: eyewitness accounts."

A photograph on page 29 showed a ballot paper marked for the liberal Yabloko party and scrawled with the comment: "Putin, f*** off!".

The photo caption read: "A ballot filled out correctly, deemed invalid." Kommersant-Vlast deputy editor Veronika Kutsyllo said the magazine published the photograph because it was a document that she believed suggested irregularities.

She said she planned to resign. Kutsyllo said the ballot was cast in London, where Russian citizens were able to vote, and that it was a valid ballot because it was marked for one party.

Putin, president from 2000-2008 and now prime minister, will run for a new six-year term as president in a March 4 vote. Opinion polls show he remains Russia's most popular politician and is likely to win the presidency, but his approval ratings have fallen from previous highs and he was booed at a martial arts event last month.

He alienated many Russians in September by announcing he planned to swap jobs with President Dmitry Medvedev after the March presidential election, leaving many feeling disenfranchised and worried he could now rule until 2024.

Putin has long kept a tight grip on the traditional media, although state television showed footage of tens of thousands of people protesting in Moscow on Saturday against the alleged electoral fraud, without showing calls for him to step down.

(Writing by Steve Gutterman)