Vladimir Gusinsky and Mikhail Lesin were two influential Russian media figures involved in the post-Soviet media landscape. Gusinsky, a prominent media mogul and founder of the NTV television network, had a contentious relationship with the Kremlin and ultimately fled Russia. Lesin, a former press minister and media advisor to the Kremlin, was instrumental in shaping the state-controlled media and played a key role in developing the industry. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
Here’s a breakdown of their roles and interactions:
Media Mogul: Gusinsky was a highly successful businessman who founded NTV, the first major independent television network in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Controversial Figure:His media outlets were critical of the government, leading to ongoing conflict with the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin.
Fled Russia: After facing criminal charges and pressure from the government, Gusinsky was forced to flee Russia in 2000.
Later Life: He continued to be involved in media, though his influence in Russia diminished.
Government Official and Advisor:Lesin served as Russia’s Minister of Press, Television, and Radio, and later as an advisor to President Putin.
Shaped State Media: He played a significant role in establishing and controlling state-aligned media, often working to consolidate power and promote the Kremlin’s agenda.
Controversial Figure: Like Gusinsky, Lesin was a complex and controversial figure, with critics accusing him of suppressing media freedom.
Mysterious Death: Lesin died in 2015 under circumstances that remain debated, with some sources attributing his death to natural causes and others suggesting foul play.
Gusinsky and Lesin’s paths crossed when Lesin was in a position of power within the government and Gusinsky was a target. Lesin was instrumental in the crackdown on independent media, including NTV, and ultimately contributed to the decline of Gusinsky’s media empire.
In essence, Gusinsky represented the struggle for independent media in Russia, while Lesin represented the state’s efforts to control the narrative. [1, 26, 27, 28]
City Council leaders announced on Tuesday a package of 17 bills intended to curtail crashes involving e-bikes, e-scooters, and other micromobility devices that have become a common sight on city streets.
In addition to the legislation itself, City Council Speaker Julie Menin also announced that she has scheduled a Sept. 30 public hearing on the devices. The proceeding aims to examine both the new legislative proposals and how the city currently regulates motorized two-wheelers.
“We at the City Council are launching a comprehensive review of e-bike and e-scooter safety,” Menin said during a Tuesday news conference on the City Hall steps, unveiling the legislative package.
“We are going to convene a major hearing on over 17 bills that approach this issue from multiple different directions,” she continued. “This hearing will also have a significant oversight component.”
The wide-ranging package of bills aims to tackle various facets of the issue. Those include the many classes of electric micromobility devices — some of which are already illegal, the heavy use of the two-wheelers by food delivery drivers working for third-party apps, and the existing web of regulations already in place for them.
What’s in the micromobility reform package, and what isn’t
“We at the City Council are launching a comprehensive review of e-bike and e-scooter safety,” City Council Speaker Julie Menin said on Tuesday.
Among the items in the legislative package are proposals to require delivery apps to secure business licenses from the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), ban the sale of e-bikes that can reach 25 mph with throttle assistance, and mandate that apps share their drivers’ ID numbers, delivery time, and location.
Others include a bill requiring app companies to provide safety equipment to their drivers by widening the city’s commercial bicycle safety laws and another mandating the NYPD to report on its targeted enforcement of e-bikes and e-scooters.
The bevy of proposals, however, does not include a bill to establish a system requiring e-bikes and e-scooters to be registered and to have license plates. The City Council had previously considered a measure that would do exactly that known as “Priscilla’s Law” — named for a woman named Priscilla Loke, who was hit and killed by an electric Citi Bike rider in 2023.
But the package includes a resolution calling on the state legislature to pass its own version of Priscilla’s Law.
City Council Member Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan), who is sponsoring the resolution, said the city Department of Transportation (DOT) does not have the capacity to register and license e-bikes and e-scooters; and the task should rather be handled by the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
“The city does not have a Department of Motor Vehicles and when you get a license, we all know that there are certain criteria that go with it, and the state Department of Motor Vehicles knows what they are,” Brewer said. “We really want the state to pass that law.”
Menin said the measures come in response to recent high-profile crashes where riders of electric micromobility devices illegally marketed as e-bikes were killed. Those devices can travel at speeds that far exceed legal limits for e-bikes, which are limited to 25 mph but must abide by 15 mph.
The speaker referenced the death of 17-year-old Gabriel Nacato, who was killed when he crashed into an SUV while riding an illegal e-moto that exceeded speed and power limits for e-bikes, which his uncle purchased for him online. She framed the incident as just the most recent in an uptick in crashes involving electric micromobility devices over the last several years.
“This catastrophe is just one amidst a critical rise of e-bike crashes over the last decade,” Menin said. “For years, we’ve seen the close calls and heartbreaking collisions, reading about them on the news or even witnessing them in person.”
Menin was joined at the press event by Jessica Selano, the sister of Jean Saelano — a 43-year-old woman who was seriously injured when she was hit by an e-bike rider in Central Park last month.
There have been 560 crashes involving e-bikes and so far this year, 795 involving e-scooters through the third week of July. Both marked a 28% increase over the same period last year.
However, it is not clear how many of those incidents involved e-bike riders hitting other road users versus the number of times they were hit by vehicle drivers.
Menin said gaps in available data on e-bikes, e-scooters, and mopeds is “exactly why we need the hearing.”
Mamdani says he will wait-and-see
When asked about the package at an unrelated Tuesday press conference, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, “I’ll wait to see the specifics of these proposals themselves.” But he did note that his focus is on restricting the sale of devices illegally marketed as e-bikes and e-scooters.
“My first focus, frankly, is that which is already illegal,” he said. “How to ensure that no consumer is duped into believing that that is an appropriate way to be moving around the city, because it is hard for New Yorkers to keep up with what is legal or illegal if they’re able to buy it online.”
Mamdani earlier this year reversed a policy from his predecessor, Eric Adams, that allowed the NYPD to hit e-bike riders with criminal summonses for minor traffic violations, arguing the system was unfair because vehicle drivers do not face criminal charges for minor infractions. That reversal prompted a June lawsuit by a group led by former mayoral hopeful and attorney Jim Walden, as well as by City Council Member Frank Morano (R-Staten Island) in his personal capacity, seeking to overturn it.
Ben Furnas, executive director of the safe streets advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, said in a statement that while the “number one” cause of death on city streets is cars and trucks, “thoughtful regulation is needed” for electric micromobility devices.
Furnas spoke positively about the measures to require app companies are licensed by DCWP and share more granular data on their operations, while specifically signaling support for the bill to ban Class 3 e-bikes, sponsored by Council Member Crystal Hudson (D-Brooklyn).
“The city should act to rein in the delivery app companies that put profit over safety on our streets,” Furnas said. “While pedal-assist and low-speed throttle e-bikes are a safe and vital option for families, seniors, and commuters alike to get around our city, we must make sure nothing on our streets is traveling faster than a safe speed of 20 mph.”
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