TV chief says opposition leader doesn't appear in news broadcasts because his agenda deviates from the Kremlin's

Evgeny Bekasov, the chief editor of the television channel Rossiya 24, told a radio station today that opposition leader Alexey Navalny rarely appears on the air because his politics deviate from the agenda set down by the Kremlin.

“Navalny tries to create his own agenda—one that doesn't correspond to the agenda of the country or the agenda dictated today by the government's executive branch. For this reason, he doesn't appear in our news,” Bekasov said.

Rossiya 24's chief editor added that he is ready to show Navalny on air, if his political party (which officials have refused to register) fields candidates for office in parliament, or if Navalny himself runs for president (which can't happen because of his criminal convictions that many foreign observers believe to be politically motivated). 

“I wouldn't say that there's some list of people out there—a blacklist or some stoplist. Yes, there is a certain understanding about what people you can work with on certain subjects. There's a logic to it. It's not some heavy-headed ban, no. And I wouldn't want to see such a thing,” Bekasov said.

Alexey Navalny heads the Anti-Corruption Foundation. On December 1, his group published a major investigation alleging the one of the sons of Attorney General Yuri Chaika has business ties to known mobsters. While Vladimir Putin did address the issue at an annual press conference in December, Russian network TV news channels have ignored the story.