Gazprom-Media faces lawsuit over Ekho Moskvy closure and damages

The former editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy, Alexey Demokratov, who has been labeled a foreign agent in the Russian Federation, has filed a civil lawsuit against Gazprom-Medias management over the shutdown of the radio station. This development is reported by Vedomosti, citing court records from arbitration cases. The claim concerns a substantial sum, with the reported amount set at 1.1 billion rubles, directed at four current and one former members of the ZAO Ekho Moskvy board of directors. Demokratov’s side asserts that the closure caused significant financial damage, estimating losses from the shutdown at 893 million rubles and an additional 200 million rubles for the abandonment of associated trademarks. The dispute reflects broader tensions between independent media outlets and state-controlled entities, illustrating how ownership changes and regulatory actions can impact media operations and revenue streams. In the narrative around this case, it is noted that Demokratov had previously expressed a desire to reside in Russia, a detail that contextualizes the personal dimensions sometimes intertwined with legal and corporate processes in the media landscape. On March 1, 2022, Roskomnadzor restricted access to Ekho Moskvy’s resources due to what authorities described as the targeted placement on a systematic basis of information about a military operation in Ukraine. In the wake of this restriction, the newsroom’s board decided to liquidate the radio station. The broader policy context included earlier discussions in the State Duma about measures that could limit foreign financing for media agencies, a factor that has often shaped institutional responses to perceived foreign influence.