| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 俄羅斯研究所 === 94 === The main purpose of this study is to explore, through the Kremlin politics approach, the orientation of Russia’s policy on media under Vladimir Putin. In this study, the author argues that Putin’s media reforms constitute an indispensable link for the consolidation of his power.
It is hypothesized in this study that the driving forces behind the rise and fall of Russia’s media empire are the efforts by Boris Yel’tsin and Vladimir Putin to consolidate their power respectively. Allying with the financial-industrial oligarchs, who had controlled Russian mess media, Yel’tsin strove for wiping out the conservative forces left by the Soviet regime in order to consolidate his power. On the contrary, Putin has sought to wipe out the oligarchs and restructure the media empire, in order to rally the popular support, to wipe out the “Family” forces left by Yel’tsin’s regime and replace them with a new ruling command of national security elite, and, consequently, to consolidate his own power.
The above-mentioned hypothesized proposition can be further developed into the following logically consequential sub-propositions:
First of all, in the wake of the “shock therapy” ruined by the conflict between the parliament and the Kremlin, the following privatization reforms orienting on the creation of big enterprises gave rise to the creation of financial-industrial groups. Consequently, the corruption committed by bureaucrats who preyed upon state-owned enterprises led to the expansion of oligarchs’ strength so as to establish influential enormous media empire. Thereafter, aiming at consolidating his power and winning the coming presidential election, Yel’tsin formed an alliance with the financial oligarchs and thus put the newly-established media empire on his orbit.
Secondly, after Putin was elected president in 2000, he strove for wiping out the financial oligarchs in order to accomplish the following three tasks: to renationalize the state properties in order to rally popular support; to wipe out Yeltsin’s power base; and, to take over and restructure media empire in order to consolidate his regime.
Key words: Kremlin politics approach, Oligarchy, Putin, Russia’s media
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