ORLOVSKAYA ISKRA v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT 9 and lawful interests of others, or in the interests of defence of the country and national security. 2. Legislation (a) Regulations concerning mass media outlets 36. The Mass Media Act of 1991 (Federal Law no. 2124-1 of 27 December 1991) defined a mass media outlet as a printed periodical, a television station, a radio station, a television programme, a video programme or “another form of periodical dissemination of mass information under a constant designation (title)” (section 2 of the Act). 37. The Electoral Rights Act of 2002 (Federal Law no. 67-FZ of 12 June 2002) provided that organisations releasing mass media could participate in the provision of “information” to voters (section 47). The relevant parts of sections 45 and 48 of the Act read as follows: “Section 45. Information for voters and referendum participants 1. Information for voters and referendum participants is disseminated by public authorities, local authorities, committees, organisations that disseminate mass media, persons and legal entities pursuant to this Law ... 2. The content placed in the mass media or disseminated in other ways must be objective, truthful, and must not violate the equality of candidates or electoral blocs. 3. Committees should disseminate information to voters and referendum participants, including by way of the mass media, about the process of preparing and running an election or referendum, about the time-limits and procedures for accomplishing actions relating to an election or referendum, about the relevant legislation, and about candidates or electoral blocs. 4. The activity of mass media outlets aiming at informing voters or referendum participants should not be hindered. 5. Television or radio programmes or publications in print media containing information on an election or referendum should only present this information by way of a separate information bulletin, without comment. Such programmes or publications should not give preference to one of the candidates or electoral blocs ... including in terms of air time for their pre-election activities or in terms of print space for such information ... Section 48. Pre-election campaigning or referendum campaigning 1. Russian citizens and non-governmental organisations have a right to engage in lawful pre-election campaigning by lawful means ... 2. The following actions during an election campaign should be classified as preelection campaigning: a) calls to vote for a candidate or candidates, a list or lists of candidates, or against them; b) expression of preference for one of the candidates or an electoral bloc, in particular by specifying the name of the candidate (list of candidates or electoral bloc)