Andrey Shmarov has stepped down from his post as editor-in-chief of the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti, the paper announced on May 19.
The decision on Shmarov’s resignation was made by mutual agreement. Irina Kazmina, who previously served as deputy director for editorial development at Business News Media JSC, has been appointed as Vedomosti’s acting chief editor.
Andrey Shmarov was appointed as Vedomosti’s acting editor-in-chief in the spring of 2020. The newspaper quickly spiralled into a crisis, as the staff accused Shmarov of censoring articles after publication and interfering with the newspaper’s reporting. When Shmarov was officially approved as editor-in-chief, it led to an exodus of staff, including five deputy chief editors.
The deputy chief editors who left Vedomosti established the independent news outlet VTimes in July 2020. On May 14, 2021, the Russian authorities designated VTimes as a “foreign agent.”
Read more about Andrey Shmarov and Vedomosti
- ‘Frankly, this is a catastrophe’ Outgoing ‘Vedomosti’ editor explains how his newspaper fell from grace
- The Kremlin’s man at ‘Vedomosti’? Sources say the controversial new chief editor at a top business newspaper was handpicked by the Putin administration
- ‘Conspiring with these people’ How Rosneft trapped one of Russia’s top business newspapers and left the nominal owner with $15.1 million in profits. A joint investigation.