"The Government Has Stacked Up A Lot of Debts to the Press" Books and Media,Moscow News, No. 11 March 27 - April 1 1997

That's what President Boris Yeltsin told the nation in his recent radio address. Later the same day he invited the media elite to the Kremlin to bestow awards on journalists nominated by the Academy of the Free Press. The Academy considered the work of more than ten print journalists before deciding on Otto Latsis, a columnist at Izvestia. The choice was appropriate since, as it turned out, Yeltsin claims to be a regular reader of Latsis, who at different times has both praised and criticized the president. It's been a long time since Yeltsin last had such an open meeting with the press. Some 40 editors, publishers and heads of Russian broadcasting companies were invited. The strong attendance can be attributed not only to Yeltsin's presence, but to the recently created academy. Judging by the response, journalists were supportive of this attempt to unite the print media. In pursuing a policy of objectivity, the academy has forbidden the editors-in-chief of its founding publications from being nominated for an award.

This year's award winners include:

Best photo-journalist: Yuri Feklistov (Ogonyok)
Best reporter: Valery Yakov (Izvestia)
Best investigative reporter: Alexander Bekker (Segodnya), for his expose of the Russian metallurgical industry
Professional integrity and courage: Alexander Zhilin (Moscow News)
Personal Style: Yuri Rost (Moscow News)
Personal Statement: Igor Kots, for publishing a list of those killed in the Chechen War in Komsomolskaya Pravda
Work craft: Kronid Lyubarsky (Novoye Vremya) posthumously