Tom Lantos: “having just returned from Russia, I can testify that the Mafia permeates all aspects of Russian society, but when Mafia…”

“having just returned from Russia, I can testify that the Mafia permeates all aspects of Russian society, but when Mafia tactics are used by the government, we are dealing with a new threat. I call my colleagues' attention to a lead editorial in today's Washington Post. ``Russian President Vladimir Putin, who proclaimed his devotion to a free press during a recent visit to the United States, in fact seems determined to destroy Russia's independent media, the growth of which constituted one of the important successes of the post-Soviet era. His latest target is NTV, Russia's only independent television network. He is attacking it with a veneer of legality, but the underlying tactics of threats, imprisonments and political prosecution are not subtle.'' Mr. Putin better change his course. He cannot be accepted by the civilized world if he destroys one of the important achievements of the Yeltsin era--a free press. A free press is our last guarantee that Russia will develop in a democratic direction.”