Derk Sauer, founder of The Moscow Times, dies at 72
Derk Sauer, the founder of the newspapers The Moscow Times and Vedomosti, has passed away at the age of 72.
According to a statement from his family, The Moscow Times reports that he died from injuries he suffered in a sailing accident in Greece a month ago while on a yacht.
"There are no words to truly describe what a wonderful father and husband he was. He dedicated his life to defending independent media in Russia. In the final days of his life, he asked people to continue supporting a free press," read the message from his son, Piotr Sauer.
The media executive was known for his significant contribution to the development of independent journalism in Russia, Radio Svoboda notes.
Under Derk Sauer’s leadership, The Moscow Times became a leading independent source of news about Russia, and the newspaper also launched the careers of dozens of journalists. Vedomosti was a key publication for independent business journalism in the 2000s.
Independent Media, the publishing house founded by Derk Sauer, published a number of glossy magazines in Russia, including the Russian version of Esquire. From 2012 to 2015, he served as the chairman of the RBC holding company.
Following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he helped relocate the television channel Dozhd and several other independent publications to Amsterdam.
One of Sauer's final projects was the launch of the TMT Music record label with critic Artemy Troitsky. The label promotes artists from Russia and Belarus who were forced to leave their home countries due to repression and censorship.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
