Yevgenia Albats
Encyclopedia
Dr. Yevgenia Markovna Albats is a Russian investigative journalist, political scientist, writer and radio host. As of year 2011, she workes as a chief editor of The New Times
magazine.
military reconnaissance
team during World War II
, residing in German-occupied Ukraine
. In 1943 he was wounded and discharged from the Army. Afterward he worked as an engineer
at a scientific institution, designing radiolocation
systems for the Soviet Army. Albats' mother, Yelena Izmaylovskaya, was an actress and a radio news host. Albats' elder sister, Tatyana Komarova, is a television host/anchor.
Yevgenia Albats graduated from the Department of Journalism of Moscow State University
in 1980. One of her classmates and friends was Anna Politkovskaya
, who would become an investigative journalist and was assassinated in 2006.
and particle physics
for the Izvestia
newspaper's Sunday supplement,
Nedelya
. From 1986 - 1992 she worked for the Moscow News
. In 1996-2006 she worked for Izvestia (led the weekly column We and Our Children) and Novaya Gazeta
.
She received the Golden Pen Award from the Russian Union of Journalists for exposing poor conditions in maternity wards in 1989.
Albats was fired from the newspaper Izvestia
in 1997 after she had completed a major article exposing alleged illegal activities by the FSB
. She was restored to her position by a court decision on 15 March 1997.
In 2007 Albats became a deputy Chief Editor of The New Times
magazine. On January 16, 2009 she replaced Irena Lisnevskaya as the Chief Editor of the magazine.
's Nieman Foundation for Journalism
in 1993 (Fellowship at the Nieman Foundation).
In 2004 Albats was awarded a Ph.D in political science from Harvard University
. She works at the radio station Echo of Moscow
and writes for the Moscow Times.
In 1992 Albats was appointed a member of a governmental commission to examine KGB
involvement in Soviet coup attempt of 1991
. As a member of this commission she interviewed KGB officers. Albats described her findings in The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia - Past, Present, and Future in 1994. KGB chairman Vadim Bakatin
gave Albats the number of KGB officers as 180,000 in a post-1991 interview. Using the "rule of thumb", "four non-ranking KGB employees for every officer", Albats estimated that the number of KGB employees in Russia in 1992 approached 700,000, "one [political police agent] for every 297 citizens of Russia", as opposed to "one Chekist for every 428 Soviet citizens."
Albats described the KGB
as a leading political force rather than a security organization. She wrote that KGB directors Lavrenty Beria, Yuri Andropov
and Vladimir Kryuchkov
manipulated Communist Party leaders. She asserted that FSB
, the successor of KGB, became a totalitarian party. Journalist John Barron
, retired KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin
and the highest-ranking known Soviet bloc defector, Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa
reportedly shared Albats's point of view.
In 1992 Albats published an article in Izvestia
quoting documents from KGB archives that David Karr
was "a competent KGB source" who "submitted information to the KGB on the technical capabilities of the United States and other capitalist countries". She cited KGB correspondence about payments to Rajiv Gandhi
and his family, which had been arranged by Viktor Chebrikov
, which claims that KGB chief Viktor Chebrikov
sought in writing an
"authorization to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Rajiv Gandhi
, namely Sonia Gandhi
, Rahul Gandhi and Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi" from the CPSU in December 1985. Albats learned that the KGB employed the future Russian Patriarch Alexius II
as an agent under a nick Drozdov. KGB defector Vasili Mitrokhin
and dissident priest Gleb Yakunin
who had access to KGB archives reported the same.
Albats published a book, The Jewish question, in 1995.
. In February 2007 she held a talk with Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the Moscow-based Centre for the Study of Elites. Kryshtanovskaya said that FSB members and other "silovik
s" took key positions in the Russian government, Parliament and business. These members share their military background and nationalistic
views. She noted that most FSB members remain in the "acting reserve" even when they formally leave the organization. All "acting reserve" members receive an FSB salary, follow FSB instructions, and remain above the law because their organization protects them, according to Kryshtanovskaya.
In 2006, Albats criticized Anna Arutunyan who had written an article in the Moscow News
about the murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya
. Arutunyan wrote that Politkovskaya became an activist and that her articles contained "inaccuracies".
Online columnists Yelena Kalashnikova and Oleg Kashin
found "boorishness" in Albats's criticism.
.
Articles by Albats
Articles, talks by Albats in Russian
Articles about Albats
The New Times (Russia)
The New Times, or Novoye Vremya , is a Russian language magazine in Russia established in 1943 in the Soviet Union. It is a small, liberal, independent Russian weekly news magazine, publishing for Russia and Armenia. During the Soviet times it followed the official line...
magazine.
Early life and education
Albats' father, Mark Yevgenyevich Albats, was a member of a GRUGRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
military reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
team during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, residing in German-occupied Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. In 1943 he was wounded and discharged from the Army. Afterward he worked as an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
at a scientific institution, designing radiolocation
Radiolocation
Radiolocating is the process of finding the location of something through the use of radio waves. It generally refers to passive uses, particularly radar—as well as detecting buried cables, water mains, and other public utilities. It is similar to radionavigation, but radiolocation usually...
systems for the Soviet Army. Albats' mother, Yelena Izmaylovskaya, was an actress and a radio news host. Albats' elder sister, Tatyana Komarova, is a television host/anchor.
Yevgenia Albats graduated from the Department of Journalism of Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
in 1980. One of her classmates and friends was Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, author, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
, who would become an investigative journalist and was assassinated in 2006.
Journalism career
Albats started her professional work as a science observer writing about astrophysicsAstrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
and particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
for the Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
newspaper's Sunday supplement,
Nedelya
Nedelya
Nedelya was a Russian liberal-Narodnik political and literary newspaper. It appeared in St. Petersburg from 1866 to 1901....
. From 1986 - 1992 she worked for the Moscow News
Moscow News
The Moscow News, which began publication in 1930, is Russia’s oldest English-language publication newspaper. Many of its feature articles used to be translated from the now defunct Russian Moskovskiye Novosti.-History:...
. In 1996-2006 she worked for Izvestia (led the weekly column We and Our Children) and Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta is a Russian newspaper well known in the country for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs....
.
She received the Golden Pen Award from the Russian Union of Journalists for exposing poor conditions in maternity wards in 1989.
Albats was fired from the newspaper Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
in 1997 after she had completed a major article exposing alleged illegal activities by the FSB
FSB (Russia)
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet Committee of State Security . Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and...
. She was restored to her position by a court decision on 15 March 1997.
In 2007 Albats became a deputy Chief Editor of The New Times
The New Times (Russia)
The New Times, or Novoye Vremya , is a Russian language magazine in Russia established in 1943 in the Soviet Union. It is a small, liberal, independent Russian weekly news magazine, publishing for Russia and Armenia. During the Soviet times it followed the official line...
magazine. On January 16, 2009 she replaced Irena Lisnevskaya as the Chief Editor of the magazine.
Political activities
From 1993 to 2000, she was a member of the Clemency Commission at the Executive Office of the President of the Russian Federation.Research and works
Albats was a Fellow at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Nieman Foundation for Journalism
Nieman Foundation for Journalism
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University is the primary journalism institution at Harvard. It was founded in 1938 as the result of a $1 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of The Milwaukee Journal...
in 1993 (Fellowship at the Nieman Foundation).
In 2004 Albats was awarded a Ph.D in political science from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. She works at the radio station Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow is a Russian radio station based in Moscow, broadcasting in many Russian cities, in some of the former-Soviet republics , and via the Internet, which some observers describe as "the last bastion of free media in Russia"...
and writes for the Moscow Times.
In 1992 Albats was appointed a member of a governmental commission to examine KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
involvement in Soviet coup attempt of 1991
Soviet coup attempt of 1991
The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , also known as the August Putsch or August Coup , was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev...
. As a member of this commission she interviewed KGB officers. Albats described her findings in The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia - Past, Present, and Future in 1994. KGB chairman Vadim Bakatin
Vadim Bakatin
Vadim Viktorovich Bakatin was a Soviet politician who served as the last chairman of the KGB in 1991. He is the last surviving former chairman of this organization...
gave Albats the number of KGB officers as 180,000 in a post-1991 interview. Using the "rule of thumb", "four non-ranking KGB employees for every officer", Albats estimated that the number of KGB employees in Russia in 1992 approached 700,000, "one [political police agent] for every 297 citizens of Russia", as opposed to "one Chekist for every 428 Soviet citizens."
Albats described the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
as a leading political force rather than a security organization. She wrote that KGB directors Lavrenty Beria, Yuri Andropov
Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
and Vladimir Kryuchkov
Vladimir Kryuchkov
Vladimir Alexandrovich Kryuchkov was a former Soviet politician and Communist Party member, having been in the organization from 1944 until he was dismissed in 1991...
manipulated Communist Party leaders. She asserted that FSB
FSB (Russia)
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet Committee of State Security . Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and...
, the successor of KGB, became a totalitarian party. Journalist John Barron
John Barron (journalist)
John Daniel Barron was a conservative American journalist and investigative writer. He is best remembered as the author of several books dealing with specifics of Soviet espionage.-Early years:...
, retired KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin
Oleg Kalugin
Oleg Danilovich Kalugin , is a former KGB general. He was a longtime head of KGB operations in the United States and later a critic of the agency.-Early life and the KGB career:...
and the highest-ranking known Soviet bloc defector, Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa
Ion Mihai Pacepa
Ion Mihai Pacepa is the highest-ranking intelligence official ever to have defected from the former Eastern Bloc. He is now a United States citizen, a writer, and a columnist....
reportedly shared Albats's point of view.
In 1992 Albats published an article in Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
quoting documents from KGB archives that David Karr
David Karr
David Harold Karr, born David Katz was a controversial American journalist, businessman, and Communist....
was "a competent KGB source" who "submitted information to the KGB on the technical capabilities of the United States and other capitalist countries". She cited KGB correspondence about payments to Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
and his family, which had been arranged by Viktor Chebrikov
Viktor Chebrikov
Viktor Mikhailovich Chebrikov ) was a Soviet Union public official and security administrator and head of the KGB from December 1982 to October 1988....
, which claims that KGB chief Viktor Chebrikov
Viktor Chebrikov
Viktor Mikhailovich Chebrikov ) was a Soviet Union public official and security administrator and head of the KGB from December 1982 to October 1988....
sought in writing an
"authorization to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
, namely Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...
, Rahul Gandhi and Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi" from the CPSU in December 1985. Albats learned that the KGB employed the future Russian Patriarch Alexius II
Patriarch Alexius II
Patriarch Alexy II was the 15th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church....
as an agent under a nick Drozdov. KGB defector Vasili Mitrokhin
Vasili Mitrokhin
Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin was a Major and senior archivist for the Soviet Union's foreign intelligence service, the First Chief Directorate of the KGB, and co-author with Christopher Andrew of The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West, a massive account of Soviet intelligence...
and dissident priest Gleb Yakunin
Gleb Yakunin
Gleb Pavlovich Yakunin is Russian priest and dissident who fought for the freedom of conscience in the Soviet Union. He was member of Moscow Helsinki Group, and he was elected to Russian Parliaments from 1990 to 1999.-Life:...
who had access to KGB archives reported the same.
Albats published a book, The Jewish question, in 1995.
Talk shows
As of 2009 Albats hosted a radio talk program at Echo of MoscowEcho of Moscow
Echo of Moscow is a Russian radio station based in Moscow, broadcasting in many Russian cities, in some of the former-Soviet republics , and via the Internet, which some observers describe as "the last bastion of free media in Russia"...
. In February 2007 she held a talk with Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the Moscow-based Centre for the Study of Elites. Kryshtanovskaya said that FSB members and other "silovik
Silovik
Silovik is a Russian word for politicians from the security or military services, often the officers of the former KGB, the FSB, the Federal Narcotics Control Service and military or other security services who came into power...
s" took key positions in the Russian government, Parliament and business. These members share their military background and nationalistic
Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism is a term referring to a Russian form of nationalism. Russian nationalism has a long history dating from the days of Muscovy to Russian Empire, and continued in some form in the Soviet Union. It is closely related to Pan-Slavism...
views. She noted that most FSB members remain in the "acting reserve" even when they formally leave the organization. All "acting reserve" members receive an FSB salary, follow FSB instructions, and remain above the law because their organization protects them, according to Kryshtanovskaya.
In 2006, Albats criticized Anna Arutunyan who had written an article in the Moscow News
Moscow News
The Moscow News, which began publication in 1930, is Russia’s oldest English-language publication newspaper. Many of its feature articles used to be translated from the now defunct Russian Moskovskiye Novosti.-History:...
about the murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, author, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
. Arutunyan wrote that Politkovskaya became an activist and that her articles contained "inaccuracies".
Online columnists Yelena Kalashnikova and Oleg Kashin
Oleg Kashin
Oleg Kashin is a former seaman and a prominent Russian journalist.-Career:Kashin graduated from the Baltic State Fishing Fleet Academy with a degree in sea navigation in 2001. While studying, he wrote for Komsomolskaya Pravda in Kaliningrad where he expressed rather sharp views...
found "boorishness" in Albats's criticism.
Family and Personal life
Albats was married to journalist, writer and science popularizer Yaroslav GolovanovYaroslav Golovanov
Yaroslav Kirillovich Golovanov was a Russian journalist, writer and science popularizer. He covered space exploration by the Soviet Union from its beginnings.Golovanov's father was director of a theatre . His mother was an actress....
.
External links
Works- Bureaucrats and Russian Transition: Politics of Accommodation, Harvard University PressHarvard University PressHarvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
, 2004. - The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia - Past, Present, and Future, Yevgenia Albats and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. 1994. ISBN 0-374-18104-7.
Articles by Albats
- Interview with Albats by PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. - Reporting Stories in Russia That No One Will Publish, 23 April 2000, Nieman ReportsNieman FellowshipThe Nieman Fellowship is an award given to mid-career journalists by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. This award allows winners time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills....
. - The Day Democracy Died in Russia, The Center for Public Integrity, 17 April 2001.
- The Chechen War Comes Home, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, 26 October 2002. - Wielding the KGB's Tools, The Moscow TimesThe Moscow TimesThe Moscow Times is an English-language daily newspaper published in Moscow, Russia since 1992. The circulation in 2008 stood at 35,000 copies and the newspaper is typically given out for free at places English-language "expats" attend, including hotels, cafés and restaurants, as well as by...
, 31 May 2004. - The Kremlin Shows Its True Face, The Moscow TimesThe Moscow TimesThe Moscow Times is an English-language daily newspaper published in Moscow, Russia since 1992. The circulation in 2008 stood at 35,000 copies and the newspaper is typically given out for free at places English-language "expats" attend, including hotels, cafés and restaurants, as well as by...
, 2 August 2004. - In Putin's Kremlin, It's All About Control, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, 12 December 2004. - The Shakedown State, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, 2005.
- Seven Questions: Russia’s Cloaks and Daggers, Foreign PolicyForeign PolicyForeign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
, November 2006. - Interview with Y. Albats in English and German, "Kontakt - Report", April 2007.
Articles, talks by Albats in Russian
- Higher School of Economics.
- Personal column at Echo of MoscowEcho of MoscowEcho of Moscow is a Russian radio station based in Moscow, broadcasting in many Russian cities, in some of the former-Soviet republics , and via the Internet, which some observers describe as "the last bastion of free media in Russia"...
. - Personal column in the online magazine YeZh.
- Personal blog.
Articles about Albats
- Who is next?, Publius Pundit.
- Moscow Liberals Hold Demonstration, Charles Gurin, Jamestown Foundation.