Russian billionaire and the leader of the Right Cause party Mikhail Prokhorov said on Sunday he suggested cutting state stakes in Russia’s mass media to limit governmental influence on it.
“We advocate that (the government) should not own more than a blocking pack in federal media,” Prokhorov told reporters, adding that the mass media freedom would allow Russian society to be more “healthy”.
He also said that the Right Cause suggested cancelling immunity of the members of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, adding that the measure would result in that some of the members would change their minds to work in the Duma.
Prokhorov, ranked Russia’s third richest man with a fortune of $18 billion by Forbes, formally quit business in July to go into politics and head the Right Cause party. His party currently has no seats in Russia’s lower house of parliament.
He also confirmed that he could run for the presidency in 2012 if the party did well in December’s parliamentary polls.