About some components of the participation of regional TV companies in the political life of the Omsk Irtysh region (1993-2000)

Novikov Mihail Sergeevich ORCID: 0000-0001-8010-2290 PhD in History Associate Professor; Department of History, Philosophy and Social Communications; Omsk State Technical University 644008, Russia, Omsk, Fizkulturnaya str., 5, sq. 42 bonid89@inbox.ru

Introduction.

The collapse of the USSR and the creation of a sovereign Russian statehood intensified political processes. In the new statehood, which recognizes political diversity and relies on electoral democracy, the mass media (mass media) have become a force capable of changing the attitudes of a potential voter to a particular political force. By 1993, the number of broadcasting and production television organizations operating in the Russian Federation (RF) approached one thousand ^{[1, p. 254]}.

According to researcher I.V. Lizunova, "Local non-state television companies, having arisen in the absolute majority of the territories and regions of Siberia and the Far East, have formed a unique and sometimes paradoxical symbiosis: entertainment programs of the federal channel are complemented by local information broadcasts (such as STS and Mir in Novosibirsk, TNT and Antenna-7 in Omsk, TV-2 and Ren-TV in Tomsk). It is not difficult to notice the presence of different ideological approaches in the selection of information in such duets (such as Ren-TV and its regional partner ORTRK Channel 12 in Omsk)"^[2].

Taking into account this circumstance, the purpose of the presented study is formulated – to identify the influence. regional TV companies on the political choice of the population. The study is implemented on the example of the subject of the Russian Federation – the Omsk region, in relation to the election campaigns of 1993-2000.

The materials and documents published in the information-analytical and historical-educational almanac "Disput" in 2000-2002 were of undoubted interest for the study. The materials of the Independent Socio-Research Analytical Center (NSIACenter) formed by the FATEX Commercial and Industrial Company and the materials of the information and Analytical (later information) committee were also used in the work. My note is M.S. Novikov) to the work of the Omsk region administration, stored in the fund P-9618 of the Historical Archive of the Omsk region (IAOO).

Analyzing the development of regional television in the Omsk region, the author turned to the memoirs of the General director of GTRK Irtysh, previously deputy director of the GTRK-Omsk Television Company, known in the region as Channel 12 E. I. Morenis Television with a human face. GTRK Irtysh celebrates its anniversary" posted on the Internet in 2020 ^[3]

Political journalism is of interest for the analysis of the interactions of regional television companies: a chronicle-documentary article by the political scientist of the STV-3 television company in 1995-1996 and 1998-1999 by S.V. Novikov – "How a man sued me who "... has no right to interfere in the activities of the media ..." ^[4]. As well as a brochure by L.A. Mutovkin's own VGTRK correspondents in the Omsk region – "Cracks on the pedestal" ^[5].

Using these materials, as well as materials from regional publications, reference books and Internet reference materials, the author, involving scientific research, identifies the stages of the creation of regional television, the influence of social and political processes on the position of editorial teams, identifies the political and power orientations of regional TV companies in the designated period and identifies the influence of regional TV companies on the political choice of the population.

The beginning of the journey.

If we turn to history, we can state that in the Omsk region, at the beginning of 1975, there were 3 TV stations in Omsk, Isilkul and Tara, as well as 2 low-power TV repeaters in Kalachinsk and Bolsherechye. 18 districts of the region were covered by television broadcasting, 6 of them completely. 74% of the population lived in the secure broadcasting area. The construction of radio relay lines and powerful relay stations in the districts of the region was carried out. By 1980, 90% of the region's population was covered by sustainable television broadcasting: in Omsk – 100%, in rural areas – 80% ^[2].

The beginning of the creation of regional television companies can be correctly attributed to 1992, when, during the transition to market relations and the rejection of the Soviet ideological system, the practice of creating non-state TV channels in the form of subsidiaries of state-owned studios was replaced by the issuance of broadcasting licenses. It was in the early 1990s that TV companies appeared in every rural area. The content of the broadcast was a combination of: the broadcast of films and entertainment programs of the channel, which is a network partner, and information and analytical materials of a local nature. Naturally, the ideological assessments of current events depended on the views of the head or even the studio staff. At the same time, it should be noted that the status of the regional government assumed the presence of its own, including television media, to address the population within the framework of the advertised "public relations", that is, "public relations" ^{[6, pp. 145-150]}.

Let's turn to the memoirs of the general director of GTRK Irtysh, E.I. Morenis, who writes literally the following: "[...] in the 1990s, all the floodgates opened, every journalist, as in life, began to show himself as much as possible. There are such game stand-ups that are simply out of place in the news today, bright clothes. [...]. Exclusivity and efficiency came to the fore. Everyone wants to surprise with an unusual twist and extracted information that will not be heard on other channels" ^[3].

It should be noted that according to the "Sociological and Socio-Psychological Center of the Russian Academy of Management", voters in 1993 learned about the events in the country through:

- central television – 78%;

- central newspapers – 34%;

- Russian radio – 31%;

- local newspapers – 31%;

- local television – 21%;

- local radio – 16% ^{[7, p. 18]}.

The data is not indisputable, but 21% of potential voters is an impressive figure. At the same time, according to the author of the analytical note "The results of the elections to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the referendum on the draft Constitution of the Russian Federation in the Omsk region", Chairman of the Committee on Information and analytical work of the Omsk Region administration G.N. Tatarinova - "Omsk television devoted a lot of airtime to electoral topics. However, his broadcasts were extremely featureless. TV channels were not used enough to attract people to the elections, to explain the voting mechanism. The standard prevailed in the preparation and conduct of TV debates" ^{[8, pp. 39-40]}.

The campaign for elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Omsk Region and the Omsk City Duma (later renamed the Omsk City Council. My note, M.S. Novikov) on March 20, 1994, was held practically without the participation of television companies, which, according to analysts of the National Research Center, was due to such factors as the confidence of some candidates of representatives of economic and business circles in winning without unnecessary expenses and the lack of funds for representatives of the opposition to pay for commercial advertising ^{[9, L. 6]}.

By the mid-1990s, the regional elite sought to gain relative independence through the election of heads of administrations and mayors. In addition, a conflict is brewing between two centers of power – the heads of regional administrations and the mayors of regional centers.

During this period, there is an active creation of the television media space, but, so far, not in the districts of the region, but in Omsk.

In 1994, TeleOmsk-AKME was established. The studio broadcast daily on TV channel 9 from 17:00 to 0:00 Omsk time in Omsk and nearby rural areas of the region. In parallel, the Astra TV and radio company, created in the same year, broadcast on the same channel for the rest of the time. At first, Astra rebroadcast NTV programs, and since 1995 began producing its own programs. Among the network partners of the TV companies at various times were 7TV, MTV Russia, DTV-Viasat, TVC, etc. These studios were under the full control of the Omsk Region Administration ^{[10, p. 68]}.

STV-3 TV company was established in 1995. On March fifth, the information program "Day" was broadcast on the third frequency channel. A.V. Kulinich, editor of the newspaper "Commercial News", who headed the regional television studio before the August 1991 coup, became the general director of the channel. The network partner was the TV channel "TV-6" ^{[11, L. 2-4]}. The Antenna-7 TV company went on the air in 1995. The broadcast was organized from a TV tower on Sibniiskhoz Street. The network partner in the study period was the NTV channel. The TV studio broadcast newscasts, author's programs and talk shows. The studio was politically oriented towards the Omsk City Hall ^{[12, p. 326]}.

It is noteworthy that NTV was a network partner of both the Astra TV company, which was under the control of the Omsk Region Administration, and the STV-3 TV company, which was guided by the Omsk City Hall. During the specified period, NTV itself was the conductor of the information policy of the Moscow group consisting of the leaders of trade and financial capital in the capital (Russian Credit, Inkombank, Menatep, Delovaya Rossiya, Technobank, Promradtehbank, Orbita, etc.), the Moscow Region Development Fund, JSC Organizing Committee, NIPEK Corporations, JSC "Mix", JSC "Moskovit". The group was headed by Yu.M. Luzhkov ^{[13, p. 85]}.

The value that determines the outcome.

In 1995, the election of the head of the region and the mayor of the regional center coincided with the elections of deputies to the State Duma of the Russian Federation

L.K. Polezhaev went to the elections of the governor of the Omsk region in 1995, distancing himself from Our government house – Russia (NDR). He declared support for Russian nationally oriented forces, such as the Russian National Movement (ROD). On the eve of the elections, ROD criticized the mayor of Omsk, V.P. Roshchupkin, for supporting totalitarian sects. Against this background, L.K. Polezhaev was a supporter of Orthodoxy. The image of the candidate for governor, a patriot and a business executive, was intended to be brought to the city electorate by the TV companies TeleOmsk-AKME and Astra. Accordingly, the mayor of Omsk could count on the TV channels STV-3 and Antenna-7. As a result of the elections, L.K. Polezhaev secured the support of 59.62% of the votes of the Omsk region, and V.P. Roshchupkin won 84% of the votes of the Omsk voters ^{[8, p. 53]}. The conclusion is unambiguous – the TV channels organized with the support of the administration could not change the "cool" attitude of the residents of Omsk to the head of the region and failed to damage the image of the mayor.

The Moscow trade and financial group has not achieved success. She lost the elections for which regional TV channels were launched locally, such as the already mentioned Astra and STV-3. Its supposed political representative, the Congress of Russian Communities (KRO), secured the support of only 2.1% of voters in the Omsk region, whereas the congress received 4.1% of support nationwide ^{[14, p. 9]}.

The elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the districts ended with a victory in 129 mixed districts of the left O.N. Smolin – 31.68%, and in 130 urban districts of the leader of the Russian People's Union (ROS) S.N. Baburin – 27.4% ^{[15, pp. 44-45]}.

In the campaign for the election of the President of the Russian Federation, Omsk TV channels acted as what is called a "united front". Even the STV-3 TV channel, which differs in the presentation of material in favor of the left forces, "allowed" the official candidate to give an interview to the popular presenter of the Reflection program E.I. Centareva. In the second round of elections in the Omsk region, Boris Yeltsin scored 46.25%, losing to G.A. Zyuganov, who secured the support of 47.51%. At the same time, Omsk gave Boris Yeltsin 52.71% of the votes of urban voters ^{[15, p.45; 16, p. 155]}. It seemed that Boris Yeltsin's victory in Omsk largely depended on regional, and in fact urban TV channels, and the defeat on the lack of such in rural areas.

Information wars.

The election results could not but affect the policy of the regional leadership regarding television. In the autumn of 1996, the Agava TV company was created, whose network partner is TV-3 Russia. Omsk programs were aired: "Overtime", "Morning with Agave", "NTA News", "Business People's Club", "Computer Courier", "Formula of Health", "Old Man". The TV channel's programs were watched by residents of Omsk and nearby areas ^[17].

Since 1997, in the administration of the Omsk region, based on the experience of creating TeleOmsk-AKME, attempts have been made to create a television company controlled by the authorities of the region. As a result, by the Resolution of the Head of the Administration (Governor) of the Omsk region dated 08.12 97 for No. 527-p "In order to further improve the structure of regional television broadcasting, improve information support for the population of the Omsk region and guided by Article 11 of the Law of the Omsk region "On the Management of State property of the Omsk region", the head of the region L.K. Polezhaev decided:

"1. Instruct the Omsk Region Property Fund (Ilyushenko V.T.) to co-found the open joint stock company Omsk Broadcasting Company with an authorized capital of 1.0 (one) billion rubles with the Omsk Region's share in the authorized capital of the joint stock company equal to 76 percent, and sign the founding agreement on the establishment of the open joint stock company Omsk Regional Broadcasting Company".

2. Instruct the Property Management Committee of the Omsk Region (A.R.Saraev) to coordinate the issue of participation in the open joint-stock company Omsk Broadcasting Company of the unitary state enterprise Omsk Regional Radiotelevision Transmitting Center with a share in the authorized capital equal to 24 percent of its value.

3. Transfer to the Financial Department of the Omsk Region Administration (A.P. Korotkov) 760 (seven hundred and sixty) million rubles to the temporary settlement account of the Omsk Broadcasting Company Open Joint Stock Company to pay for the share of the Omsk Region in the authorized capital of the company at the expense of Article 13 "Mass Media" of the Omsk Region Law "On the Regional Budget for 1997 a year."

4. The Financial Department of the Omsk Region Administration (A.P. Korotkov) should provide financing for the Omsk Broadcasting Company when forming the regional budget for 1988.

5. To assign control over the implementation of this resolution to the first Deputy Head of the Administration (Governor) of the Omsk region Golushko A.I." ^{[18, p. 53]}.

Already on December 10, 1997, a meeting of the founders of the Omsk Broadcasting Company Open Joint Stock Company was held, the agenda of which was indicated in Protocol No. 1:

- On the establishment of the Omsk Broadcasting Company Open Joint Stock Company and the signing of an agreement on the establishment of;

- Approval of the Charter of the Omsk Broadcasting Company Open Joint Stock Company;

- Election of the Board of Directors of the Company;

- Appointment of the General Director of the Company. I.I. Tutynin was appointed General Director of the Company ^{[18, pp. 55-56]}.

In early 1998, on January 14, by Resolution of the Department of Real Estate of the City Registration Chamber No. 55, a legal entity was registered – Open Joint Stock Company Omsk Broadcasting Company / abbreviated JSC ORTRK ^{[19, p.57]}. REN TV became the network partner of the joint-stock company ^{[12, p. 326]}. It was the first regional TV channel created in Siberia by the head of the regional administration, L.K. Polezhaev. Subsequently, he became known as the TV Company "GTRK-Omsk" ("Channel 12"). Soon his example was followed by the head of the Kemerovo region, A.G. Tuleyev ("CTC-Kuzbass"). Provincial companies appeared in the Novosibirsk Region (OTS) and in the Krasnoyarsk Territory ("Yenisei region") ^{[20, p. 48]}.

The creation of the provincial television company was explained by the need to cover the entire territory of the region; to reach the smallest villages, where even the first two programs of Moscow subordination were not always the main source of information. But, in addition to the care provided by the regional budget for the diversity of the villagers' television menu, when creating provincial television networks, there was another goal – wide-ranging election campaigning.

Duels between TV companies controlled by two levels of government became an integral part of election campaigning and propaganda in February-March 1998. On the one hand, STV-3 and Antenna-7 oriented to the Mayor's office. On the other hand, GTRK Omsk, TeleOmsk-AKME, Astra were under the actual control of the regional administration. Even before the elections and even the registration of candidates, TV companies began to "promote" individual candidates under various pretexts:

- STV-3 – General Director of NGO "Mostovik" O.V. Shishov, Director of the construction company "Arkhstroykomplekt" V.M. Kokorin, member of the Board of Directors of IT Bank Yu.N. Fedotov, member of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation A.A. Alekhine;

- "Antenna-7" – G.N. Kharitonov, Yu.N. Fedotov.

- Omsk State TV and Radio Company – Chief physician of MSH No. 10 Y.L. Salyukov, Chief physician of OmKB. A.G. Malykhin, Vice President of Sibneft K.N. Potapov;

- "Zodiac" – K.N. Potapova, Y.L. Salyukova ^{[21, L. 17]}.

This list can be continued. At the same time, it would be incorrect to say that the represented The TV channels were not interested in the residents of Omsk and the Omsk region, but their appearance on television screens on the eve of the elections gave them a clear advantage both in collecting signatures and in subsequent campaigning. At the same time, TV channels did not spare black colors for possible opponents and competitors, issuing critical materials to potential opponents of the election campaign.

The results of the elections of deputies of the Central Election Commission in March 1998 were unsuccessful for the Administration of the Omsk region. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation won 10 (33, 33%) out of 30 seats in the regional parliament ^{[22, L. 7]}. The Mayor's Office of Omsk had to appeal to the deputy group of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the ZSOO, when solving budget issues. As a result, the Communists became frequent guests of the TV companies STV-3 and Antena-7.

Since mid-1998, the exchange of lawsuits and the initiation of court cases for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation has become an integral part of the socio-political life of the Omsk region. In total, there were 65 in 1998, 99 in 1999, and 89 in 2000 ^{[13, p. 146]}.

The opponent of the Omsk Region Administration was a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, deputy secretary of the Omsk Regional Party Committee, general director of the publishing and printing complex "Lithograph", and since March 1998, deputy of the ZSOO V.N. Dorokhin. A native of the Tyukalinsky district of the Omsk region, after graduating from the Omsk Polytechnic Institute, he worked for 5 years at the Research Institute of Instrument Engineering, then served in the Armed Forces of the USSR. After demobilization, V.N. Dorokhin worked in the party organs of Omsk: the Omsk City Committee, the Central District Committee of the CPSU. In the early 1990s, he was engaged in trade ^[23].

On the initiative of Vladimir Nefedovich, the analytical center of the Omsk OK of the Communist Party was created. The work related to the media was carried out in three directions:

- lawsuits against the media to protect honor, dignity and business reputation. The defendants in the trials were regional TV journalists S. Tokaev, R. Zharenkov, E. Chentyreva, S. Sorokoumov, A. Usoltsev, P. Pautov. Federal TV journalist A. Karaulov was also brought before the Omsk court. However, journalists working for the Regional Administration often won cases on claims of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation ^{[24, pp.78-94]};

- appeals to the prosecutor's office related to violations by the Administration of the Omsk Region of the Law of the Omsk Region "On the Management of State Property of the Omsk Region during the creation and organization of financial and economic activities of the Open Joint Stock Company Omsk Regional Broadcasting Company (JSC ORTRK) ^{[25, pp. 59-61]}. It should be noted that the authorities could not identify any violations in the activities of the Omsk Region Administration and stated that "there are no grounds for taking measures of prosecutorial response to the information contained in the [...] appeal" ^{[26, pp. 64-65]};

- introduction of draft laws regulating the activities of the media to the ZSOO. At the same time, it should be noted that the draft laws submitted by the deputy group of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation were rejected by the Committee of Legislative Assumptions, Legality and Law and Order of the ZSOO and were not considered at its plenary meetings. The pro-government media did not mention the presence of this issue on the agenda of the legislative body ^{[27, pp. 64-65]}.

In the current political situation, changes were taking place in the management system of the Omsk Region Administration. As it was customary to say, since April 1998, ideology has been supervised by V.V. Radul, appointed Vice-governor. A fellow countryman of the governor, a native of the Isilkulsky district of the Omsk region, he graduated from the Omsk State Agricultural Institute named after S.M. Kirov in 1971. Since 1972, he worked in the editorial office of the newspaper Leninets of the Shcherbakulsky district. In 1977 he graduated from the journalism department of the Novosibirsk Higher Party School. In 1979-1984 he worked in the Omsk Regional Committee of the CPSU. In 1984, he returned to journalism as the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Land of Siberia, Far East". From 1990 to 1998, he was the editor of the regional newspaper Omsk Bulletin ^[28]. In an interview with the correspondent of the newspaper Argumenty I Fakty in Omsk, Vladimir Vladimirovich, describing the activities of election companies, stated: "Our accumulated experience in various election companies provides the entire electoral spectrum, which allows us to choose the optimal administrative and organizational forms. [...] It is a pity that we were not able, or rather, did not want to conduct a timely analysis. They did it with laziness, maybe the curve will take it out. Since the ideas were not in demand, the administration suffered certain losses in the elections to the ZS and the City Council" ^[29].

The Information Committee had about 20 employees. The main directions of his work included:

- interaction with the media;

- information and analytical activities;

- ensuring the head of administration's relations with the media;

- interaction with public formations;

- work with the district seal;

- assistance to information consultants in the administrations of the districts of the region ^{[30, pp. 14-15]}.

Already in 1996, the committee was trying to monitor the politically oriented programs of regional television companies. This activity turned out to be expensive, but feasible. Thus, the committee practically subordinated all sides of propaganda and agitation activities with elements of conducting the political line of the Omsk Region Administration.

This trend has also affected the own correspondents of the central media in the Omsk region, including television companies. The regional administration simply tried to carry out personnel castling in order to attract journalists to the region who are less aware of the socio-political and economic situation in the region. These people, according to officials, were easier to use for information politicians, both in the central media and in controlled ones ^{[5, pp. 82-85]}.

At the end of June 1999, the city TV channel STV-3 published materials on the receipt by Deputy Prosecutor V.Y. Grinem of the Volga car from the Technocarbon enterprise, without full payment of its cost. TV journalist M. Akinchenko raised the issue of corruption in the regional prosecutor's office. The governor defended the prosecutor's office. The prosecutor's office appealed to the Arbitration Court demanding the dismantling of the STV-3 transmitter in connection with the debt of the TV company in 500 thousand rubles to the pension fund (Only 500 rubles after the denomination began on January 1, 1998. My note is M.S. Novikov). The court decided the case in favor of the prosecutor's office and the "inventory" of the transmitter was carried out on the morning of July 19. However, the bailiff service did not dare to ban the broadcast. Representatives of the TV company have been picketing in defense of the TV company since June 16:

- "Omsk movement";

- Communist Party of the Russian Federation;

- The Committee of the Affected Depositors of Inkombank;

- Association of former servicemen, participants of the Chechen events "Corps".

In the current situation, the regional government did not openly support the actions of the prosecutor's office. The events in a negative way for STV-3 were covered by the TV companies GTRK-Omsk (Channel 12), GTRK Irtysh ^{[31, l. 12-14, 19]}.

Analysts and TV journalists of the Omsk Region's opposition TV channels have become the objects of close attention. As an illustration, let us turn to the already mentioned materials of the P-9618 foundation of the Historical Archive of the Omsk region and the chronicle-documentary article by the political scientist of the STV-3 television company in 1995-1996, 1998-1999 S.V. Novikov:

- in November 1998, an unnamed employee of the Omsk Regional Economic Security Department, by phone, demanded that the latter come to the department to testify as the owner of the Tries company. As a result of the call, S.V. Novikov was forced to contact the head of the IOM through the BEP at the Department of Internal Affairs of the Omsk region, V.G. Kondakov, to clarify the circumstances of the case. It turned out that there are no claims from the organization to S.V. Novikov, and he is not and was not the owner of the company ^{[32, l. 1-2]};

- in January 1999, the inspector of the tax inspectorate for the Kirov district of Omsk demanded to appear and report on income for 1997. As a result, it turned out that in the computer database of the software inspection there were two lines of charges from the Omsk State Technical University (OmSTU) and the Omsk Regional Institute for Advanced Training of Educational Workers (OO IPKRO), where associate professor S.V. Novikov lectured. In addition, the amount of royalties that S.V. Novikov received for publications in the newspaper "Commercial News" edited by A.V. Kulinich was listed as income. After checking the newspaper's accounts, it turned out that the publications were not paid for and, as a result, it is impossible to classify S.V. Novikov as a tax evader ^{[4, p. 53]};

- The media attention has become a natural component of this attention. Several major articles were devoted to the blurring of S.V. Novikov's image: "Myth-making in retro style", by E. Maximov (Omsk Truth on 02/23/1999): "It's called on the screen", authors O. Lushnikova, A. Rusanov (The other day 05/26/1999); "Tell me, uncle, is it not for nothing?", author V. Davydov (Omsk Truth 06/25/1999) ^{[4, pp. 53-54]}.

The final result of the confrontation between the political scientist and the Administration of the Omsk region was a statement of claim by Vice-Governor V.V. Radul and a civil lawsuit ^{[33, L. 1]}.

All opponents of the Omsk Region Administration went through similar problems and lawsuits on the eve of the election of the Head of the Administration (Governor) of the Omsk region. At the same time, the Administration of the Omsk region was accumulating material for the withdrawal of the broadcasting license from STV-3.

The career and work activities of media workers depended on their loyalty to the Administration of the Omsk region. Thus, the correspondent of the Pulse program of the TeleOmsk-AKME regional administration, A. Tverdovsky, was fired after broadcasting material that only two out of a hundred who took part in a blitz survey on the need to build the Assumption Cathedral supported this idea of the governor. "I was called to the director's office, the conversation lasted ten seconds. I was told that such an employee of the TV company was not needed so that I would write a letter of resignation on my own," A. Tverdovsky said. The chief editor of the Pulse news O. Prudnikova agreed with the decision of the management of the TV company. "The skill of a journalist is to ask a competent question. It was not a question, but a private opinion. The journalist represents the interests of the company at the press conference, in this case these interests remained behind the scenes," O. Prudnikova told a journalist from one of the newspapers ^{[5, p. 65]}.

As an example of "representing the interests of a company", one can cite a case told to the author by one of the regional politicians. Deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation S. V. Andrushko criticized the policy of the regional and city authorities in the field of education. In the news compilation and subsequent TV shows, her performance looked like this:

- "STV-3" and "Antenna-7" broadcast fragments of criticism directed at the Administration of the Omsk region;

- GTRK Omsk, TeleOmsk-AKME, and Astra used those parts of the speech where Svetlana Vasilyevna criticized the Omsk City Hall when editing TV programs. The example given is not an isolated one.

Ahead were the elections of the Governor of the Omsk region and the mayor of Omsk, deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, and in the long term the company for the election of the head of state.

For the elections of the mayor of Omsk and the Governor of the Omsk region, the TV channels controlled by the levels of government began to prepare the population ahead of time. During the second half of 1998 and up to September 1999, GTRK-Omsk (Channel 12), TeleOmsk-AKME, and Astra formed the image of a wise regional politician and business executive by attracting All-Russian celebrities. According to L.A. Mutovkin, "[...] Artists Vasily Lanovoy, Alexander Kalyagin, Lyudmila Chursina, traveler Yuri Senkevich did not skimp on praises [...] Almost all cultural figures who visited our city said that they were "amazed" by the power of the Omsk governor's intellect. [...] Actress Irina Miroshnichenko was heartily envious of Omsk that they had such a governor" ^{[5, pp. 59-60]}. The list can be continued by adding athletes and writers to it. Celebrities became guests of these TV companies.

On the other side of the information field, the TV journalists of STV-3 and representatives of the Communist deputies from the ZSUO criticized the Administration of the Omsk region and personally L.K. Polezhaev.

The nomination of candidates to participate in the elections on September 5, 1999 gave an unexpected alignment.

As a candidate for the post of Head of the Administration (Governor) of the Omsk region, L.K. Polezhaev, Secretary of the Omsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party, deputy of the State Duma, Candidate of Economics, associate Professor A.A. Kravets and "technical candidate" - head of the administration of the Muromtsevsky district of the Omsk region A.A. Zakharov ^[34] were nominated.

The following candidates were nominated for the post of mayor of Omsk: V.P. Roshchupkin; deputy of the regional Council, director of the NGO "Mostovik" O.V. Shishov; deputy of the City Council, President of the Omsk Regional Association of Food and Processing Industry Enterprises, President of JSC "Lakomka", Vice-president of the Russian Union of Commodity Producers. A.V. Zimbalist; caretaker A.M. Raschupkin, A.S. Batukhtin ^{[35, p.14]}.

It will cancel out that the leaders of the election companies in this case were unambiguous – L.K. Polezhaev and V.P. Roshchupkin. The struggle between the regional and city levels of government in this case was reduced to a situation where a second round was necessary. The parties interested in the election result assumed that the failure of the "main" candidate to receive "50% + 1 vote" would cause dissatisfaction with the federal center and result in the removal of the head of the city or region who declared himself a candidate from office.

According to the participants of the election campaign, "Polezhaev vs. Kravets: the dirtiest elections in the history of the Omsk region." According to journalist M.Y. Oskolkov, the turnout in the elections held on September 5, 1999 was low – 37.62%. And the votes were distributed as follows: L.K. Polezhaev – 57.03%, A.A. Kravets – 26.36%, A.A. Zakharov – 3.24%, against all – 10.05%. A protest vote took place in the regional center. More than 15% of the city's residents voted against all of them, A.A. Kravets received almost 31% of the votes of Omsk residents, and the technical candidate A.A. Zakharov scored more than twice as many votes in Omsk as in his native Muromtsevo district. If the elections were held only in the regional center, then L.K. Polezhaev would have to go to the second round ^[36]. In general, according to the newspaper "Commercial News", with a turnout of 50.3%, the votes were distributed as follows: L.K. Polezhaev – 58.98%; A.A. Kravets – 27.7%; A.A. Zakharov – 10.4%; against all – 10.4% ^[34]. According to the updated data, on September 5, 1999, L. K. Polezhaev won the gubernatorial election, gaining 57.03% of the vote. At the same time, it is impossible not to pay attention to the drop in electoral support for the head of the region: 1995, gubernatorial elections — 59.62%; 1999, gubernatorial elections — 57.03% ^{[15, p. 45]}.

V.P. Roshchupkin was supported by 63.7% of Omsk residents, he was significantly ahead of O.V. Shishov, who was in second place with 13.3%. However, in comparison with 1995, the percentage of support for the mayor decreased by 20.07 units ^{[35, p.14.]}.

According to the results of the election campaign, it can be stated that the presence of such an expensive media as a television company:

- could not change the balance of power in the confrontation between the head of the subject of the Federation and the mayor of the "capital" of the subject;

- it raised the degree of mutual intolerance and led to a latent civil war between supporters of various political forces;

- she has dropped the prestige of power in the eyes of the voter, as such.

The elections of deputies of the State Duma on December 19 turned out to be unsuccessful for Omsk supporters of the Interregional Unity Movement. The movement gained the support of 21.2% of the votes, while the Communist Party received 30.01% ^{[13, p. 167]}. We can name some reasons for this result:

- using the confrontation of two levels of government, the organization of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation managed to stay on the regional television for an impressive period of time;

- the current governor did not manage or failed to figure out which of the three forces the Interregional movement "Unity", "Fatherland -All Russia" or "Our Home is Russia" (NDR) is the "party of power". The journalists did not receive the relevant instructions;

- having won the election, the governor, through regional TV journalists, continued the information war against the mayor.

On December 31, 1999, President Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation. By this time, the struggle for control over the Antenna-7 and STV–3 TV companies, according to L.A. Mutovkin, had come to an end - "Eventually, the shares of the Antenna-7 TV company came under the aegis of the regional administration. Everything was more prosaic with the STV-3 TV company. Due to the presence of a large number of lawsuits against the company in the Omsk region, the Federal Service for Supervision of Compliance with Legislation in the Field of Mass Communications and the protection of cultural heritage (Rosokhrankultura) did not extend the license with the TV company with all the circumstances that follow from this" ^{[5, p. 66]}.

However, despite the support of the regional media, including TV channels controlled by the Administration of the Omsk region, the candidate for the post of President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, having secured the support of 38.11% of voters, lost to G.A. Zyuganov – 42.85%. Residents of Omsk voted against the current head of state, which ensured the victory of the representative of the Communist Party ^{[13, p. 177]}.

Conclusion.

The researchers propose various periodizations of the development of regional television in the perestroika and post-perestroika periods. However, they lack a political component ^{[1, pp. 257-258; 12, pp. 328]}.

Taking into account the proposed periodizations, after analyzing the political processes and election campaigns taking place in the Omsk region, I consider it possible to identify four periods in the development of regional television companies.

The first period, the end of the 1980s - 1994 – the decentralization of the television system and the loss of the functions of ideological and financial control on the part of the state. The period coincided with privatization, the creation of a significant number of television companies, up to rural districts. The broadcast of films and entertainment programs of the provider channel and information and analytical materials of a local nature, corresponding to ideological preferences on the ground, took place on television.

The second period, 1994-1996, was the folding of the system of broadcasting and television production organizations. Determination of the administrative and financial dependence of TV channels and the section of the advertising market. Participation of TV companies in election campaigns. The discrepancy between the interests of the groups of influence behind the provider and the power structures of the subject of the Federation and local self-government, which use regional TV companies to advertise their own socio-economic interests and maintain control over administrative and political power.

The third period, 1997-1999, was the activation of the political component, participation in information wars and regional elections as a reflection of contradictions between different levels of government in the region. Ignoring the interests of the federal center in the conduct of information policy, including federal election campaigns.

The fourth period, 1999-2000 and subsequent years, was the intensification of state participation in the development of television companies through the creation of a single production and technological complex of VGTRK back in 1998, and then the corresponding ministry. The loss of providers by TV companies and the deprivation of their licenses. After V.V. Putin's victory in the 2000 presidential elections, the configuration of political life and administrative influences, as well as the broadcast network in the television space, is changing.