Russian President against infringement upon freedom of speech in the country

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke against restrictions in the activity of mass media, which might lead to the freedom of speech being infringed upon in the country. He said this Friday in Ryazan at a session with heads of Russia's Central federal district regions.

On the agenda was the issue of the role of the media, including e-media. A regional governor said Russian e-media didn't meet the national interests but were in the power of advertisers.

Answering this remark, Vladimir Putin noted that the weaker the state's economic potential, particularly as concerns mass media, the more the influence of advertisers is. "Of course, the issue of the mass media's role is to be discussed and addressed, but with no infringements upon the freedom of speech," the Russian president stressed.