Controlled by Moscow, the occupation authorities of the Crimea intend to demand from American publications to tell "the truth" about the situation on the annexed peninsula. Such an initiative completely fits into the logic of the de facto Russian campaign to limit freedom of speech for foreign publications working in the country, "writes Sergei Stelmakh in a column on" Crimea. Realities ".

Vice Speaker of the Kremlin-controlled Crimean Parliament Yefim Fix said that it is necessary to take receipts from American journalists in case of their arrival on the annexed peninsula. "We are open, if the American media want Prikerimsky consensus" hut in the Crimea. We'll lead them to all places to see how the Crimeans live happily, but we'll take a receipt from them for writing only the truth about the Crimea, "Fix told Russian journalists. As he said, the American editions and television channels yet did not apply for accreditation. If this happens, then the leadership of the republican parliament "will act within the framework of all-Russian decisions," said the vice-speaker.

Some users of social networks took the statement of Yefim Fix as an unsuccessful joke. What can be "receipts" and what are the criteria for "truthfulness" in question? Foreign editions, as a rule, respect the norms of international law, on the basis of which the Crimea de jure is a Ukrainian territory. Correspondents can legally enter the peninsula only through Ukrainian checkpoints on the administrative border with the Kherson region. As a consequence, foreign journalists are infrequent visitors in the republic. Most of the journalists or those whom the Russian authorities call it, get to the Crimea with the assistance of the Kremlin leadership. For example, in the framework of press tours conducted to popularize the policy of the Russian authorities of the peninsula, creating an image of happy Crimeans, satisfied with the results of the "referendum" of 2014.

Authoritative foreign publications have little interest in "Potemkin villages". They often pay attention to violations of the rights of Crimeans, criminal cases for political reasons, pressure on journalists. They are also interested in the topic of Western sanctions, the attempts of the Russian authorities to circumvent the economic restrictions and security issues in the Black Sea basin. The creation of a powerful military group by Russia in Crimea openly threatens NATO countries. Moscow and the Kremlin-run authorities of the peninsula treat such language as "lies" or "political speculations".

"There is nothing ridiculous in the initiative of the Crimean vice-speaker. Mr. Fix, who recently took over this post, is known on the peninsula as an experienced hardware player who is sensitive to any fluctuations in the "general line" of the government. We are talking about the highest political leadership in Russia. This statement by Yefim Fix shows that in the Crimean "state council" they decided to "ride the wave": to join the state campaign on pressure on foreign publications working in Russia. Last Friday, the State Duma imposed a kind of sanctions against the American media, banning their correspondents from visiting the lower house of the Russian parliament.

Last month, President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing the authorities to assign the status of a foreign agent to foreign publications and television channels. Russian MPs and officials insist that these measures were allegedly taken in response to the deprivation of accreditation in the American Congress of Journalists of the Kremlin TV channel RT. The US authorities also demanded from the channel to register as a foreign agent. At the same time, the Russian leadership lost sight of some of the nuances. Washington had to take such a step. The US intelligence services came to the conclusion that the Kremlin used state media, trying to influence American voters during last year's presidential campaign.

Against this background, the Russian authorities require the American media to talk about the Crimea "only the truth". In fact, Mr. Fix implicitly acknowledged that all attempts by the Russian authorities of the peninsula to break through the "information blockade" and convince Western media of the legality of the "referendum" of 2014 were not crowned with success. Such demands on foreign journalists cast a shadow over the massive information campaign that the Kremlin deployed right after annexation.

On the peninsula, literally every month imported delegations of European Russophiles: deputies, public figures, politicians (usually extreme left or extreme right) and former officials. As an example, just a couple of days before this announcement, Mr. Fix reported on the visit to Crimea of ??a "delegation" from Italy. The ultimate goal of visitors was to promote the image of the "Russian" Crimea in their country and throughout Europe. For almost four years since the beginning of annexation, Moscow and the authorities of the peninsula under its control have not advanced one iota in this issue.

• Pressure on foreign journalists (this is how the US and the EU can perceive the initiative of Mr. Fix) - a harbinger of further tightening of nuts in the regional information space. This is not only about traditional media, but also social networks. It is worth recalling that the Russian Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea Dmitry Polonsky lamented the "excessive freedom of speech" on the peninsula, which allegedly prevents the authorities to raise the standard of living of Crimeans.

"I emphasize: there is probably no more such mass of media and such freedom of speech as in Russia in any country of the world. In my opinion, we even have excessive freedom of speech, which sometimes works to the detriment of the state and its citizens. I am not calling for toughening up some measures, but the harder and more decisive control over what is happening in social networks should be on the Internet, "the official said.. His words concerned public activists, journalists and bloggers who supported the arrival of Russia on the peninsula, but in every way criticized the local "team of winners".

Under the murmur of the presidential campaign in neighboring Russia, the Crimean "authorities" will try to liquidate the last islands of independent opinion in the republic.

Full control over regional television and print media did not give them the right result. In Crimea, there are still those who publicly oppose corruption, rising prices, a crisis in medicine and the social sphere. These people, like foreign journalists, can order to write about the actual authorities of the Crimea "only the truth".

Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Join also the TSN group. Blogs on facebook and follow the updates of the section!.