Otto Lacis

Otto Rudolfovich Lacis ( _ru. Отто Рудольфович Лацис; born 22 June 1934 – died 3 November 2005) was a Soviet and Russian journalist, ethnically Latvian.

Journalist career

After graduating from Moscow State University in 1956, Otto Lacis began working in a local newspaper, "Soviet Sakhalin". Then he worked with "Экономическая Газета", a newspaper on economy. This is where he started to gain his reputation of a prominent journalist. At the end of the Khrushchev Thaw, he worked with Izvestia, struggling against censorship and making the newspaper popular among intelligentsia.

Because of his liberal views he was sent in a so-called "exile of honour", that is, was sent to work in a place where he could not spread his ideas. He worked in Prague for a magazine called "Problems of peace and socialism", and then, in Moscow Institute of the Economy of the World Social System.

From 1987 to 1991 he occupied an important position in the Soviet magazine "Communist" - in theory, a magazine which should have contained propaganda of communism, but due to Otto Lacis, propagating the ideas of perestroika.

After 1991, he becomes a journalist of Izvestia again, but in 1997, because of a conflict with the new management, he leaves it and founds his own newspaper, "New Izvestia". After a conflict, he moves to Russkii Kurier, and finally, to Moskovskiye Novosti.

Activities not related to journalism

* Under Mikhail Gorbachev, he was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
* Under Boris Yeltsin, he was one of his advice councilors
* He was a member of the jury of the award called "For the journalism as exploit"
* He was a member of the public commission investigating Russian apartment bombings.

Death

On 10 September 2005, when Otto Lacis was driving his Peugeot and was turning left on a crossroad, a jeep crashed into his car at a high speed. Otto Lacis and his grandson, as well as the woman who was driving the jeep and her two children were taken to hospital. The doctors were trying to bring Otto Lacis out of coma for more than 1.5 months, but he died at 5 AM MSK on November 3, 2005, in Burdenko hospital in Moscow.

Opinions on Otto Lacis

:"Otto was one of the most talented Russian journalists. He was among people who could stick to their beliefs and do not abolish them when they are forced to. <...> He combined the excellent knowledge of economy and the ability to write so that his articles were clear to everyone. Besides, he was writing amazingly quickly. I was always impressed with his ability to write a great article in 1.5 hours." --Yegor Gaidar

:"He was a talented analyst of economy and an excellent journalist. Besides, he always helped our department and students. After all, he was a fine man." --Yasen Zasurski, Dean of the Department of journalism in Moscow State University