Allergy to a publication,
or why relations between the journalists and some chiefs are deteriorated

Elena TRIBULEVA, Vecherniy Brest" (The Evening Brest) Newspaper, No 102, December 22, 2006

I have a familiar chairman of Village Soviet. He is an energetic, thrifty and unusual man. It is pleasant to address to him with a business in every respect. He quickly and completely gives overall required information and will invariably invite to drink a cup of tea. "Elena, why don't you manage to get to us in any way", my interlocutor reproachfully says. "We would spend some time to talk about life..."

It would be nothing uncommon in this relation to the journalist from "The Evening Brest" if to be unaware of the fact that fife years ago the newspaper and the author of these text contributed to get fired this man from a post of chairman of a collective farm. It seems to me that Petr Petrovich achieved results much better to manage a Village Soviet than earlier to be a head of the collective farm. A hand of the owner is felt to be strong in the territory of "his" inhabited localities while the administrative center coterminous with the city of Brest has grown prettier beyond recognition for the last years. However, the forced migration into a city for the man who always lived in a village and loved it beyond selflessness has become a tragedy. I have appreciated it much later, after I learned that Petr Petrovich could not solve a problem concerning his accommodation at a new work place for a very long time. In short, after all happened another man if he was Petr could begin to consider a reporter the most malicious enemy and to dream of revenge for years. My hero had enough courage to acknowledge that the publication was based on indisputable facts and to try to continue the life and work in the way avoiding the last mistakes. Such the position can cause of respect.

I recollect about Petr Petrovich every time when I face opposite examples. Alas, they are more numerous. Once I called up one of the enterprises of a neighboring district center regarding absolutely neutral thing - to specify some figures. And I hear the voice of a chief as cold as it seems a telephone receiver will become covered by hoarfrost. I feverishly try to recollect what our newspaper has done a bad turn to this man. Indeed! He is one of the participants of a criminal action for poaching. A local huntsman has nearly caught three officials red-handed at a place of the crime but he couldn't carry it on legal proceedings. No one of the heroes of that publication lost their post-armchairs and counterclaimed the newspaper on honour and dignity protection because the whole of the written was confirmed by the eyewitnesses.

You see many years have passed while the man bears a grudge. Although he didn't throw a telephone receiver but he either hasn't given information which the journalist wanted to get. This is a kind of small-minded revenge, in the manner of mice doing against the Leopold cat (animated cartoon film's personage).

Relations with the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" have even more dramatic progress. Since a new chief subordinated directly to the Property Management Department of the President was appointed, the representatives writing positive publications for the state mass-medias are only allowed to visit Pushcha. The entrance for "The Evening Brest" is forbidden there after it has published a number of articles, in which it was cast doubt on correctness of the policy provided in the Reserve.

There are a lot of sane people in the Park like at any other enterprise. Thanks to them we are not the last to learn local news and we have an opportunity to inform our readers about the events. But if we need to get contact with someone of the administrative board, even with the best intentions, the situation turns to theatre of absurdity.

This autumn I, at last, have decided to realize my old dream, namely to write about a man who makes stuffed animals. The friends from Pushcha have kept dinning over stories about a local taxidermist to my ears. He is a man of declining years but is still working in a taxidermy workshop of the National Park. There is a great demand for his works from museums and private collectors. I find a phone number of my future hero. The man was obviously pleasant for the fact that he becomes an object of interest of the press ("The Evening Brest"? Ooh, yes, I know-know..."), and we agree about a meeting. To make sure I enlist the support of a head of the workshop. "Yes, please", he says, "come, this man is really deserving to get under press attention..."

Then I with the press-photographer came to the village of Kamenyuki. A woman on duty at a National Park's entrance checkpoint turned out to be a classmate of our editor. An important person whom she calls to inform about the arrival of the journalists is an acquaintance of me. He is a former head of the Kamenetz District Office of Internal Affairs whom our newspaper seemingly had nothing to hurt his feelings. We also explained to him the purpose of the visit. The deputy on ideology (this is the present post of our acquaintance) like the woman cannot accept the decision independently and called "Him". A firm instruction followed from there – do not allow entrance! To smooth awkwardness, we were offered to meet the taxidermist in a neutral territory, for example, at his home, especially because he has just gone to have dinner. The kind woman at the checkpoint even called to his home "Dmitrievich, the manager of the workshop has permitted to you not to be in a hurry to get a job, be waiting for the journalists".

The meeting in the workshop at a job place, being surrounded by the exhibits made by the master, surely, would be much more interesting and we could get a perfect material. However, we cannot break through the checkpoint to take by force! We therefore went to a Dmitrievich's home and found only his respectable wife in the court yard. Due to her alert retorts it became clear that our taxidermist was already called from the administration of the National Park and was urgently recommended "no interviews to give". The grandfather therefore has run away from us through rear yard expecting to be employed in the Park for a little time more...

We do not argue – it is much more pleasant to read about himself in a newspaper that you are a great master and a very clever man, that the people are ready to pray for you, than to have the reputation at reporters' suggestion for petty tyrant or untalented chief. Alas, the last persons are also numerous in our life. Otherwise, we would already build a strong and prospering country, if not communism. The fact is that someone can swallow the first irritation got from an unflattering publication and try to make certain self-conclusions, while someone keeps offence by years. And if there are no other arguments, he simply orders "not to allow entrance any more" for the journalists. This is very modern and "in the line" with a national law on press. And the main is this is to do the business "good".

It is time, perhaps to take the Petr Petrovich's invitation for a cup of tea and to heal own wounds by balm...


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