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Russia's prime minister Vladimir Putin has been trying to come to terms with a growing protest movement. Photo: AFP

MOSCOW: The editor of an influential Russian radio station rebuked by the Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, for its criticism of the Kremlin has stepped down from the board of directors after the station's government-controlled owners announced changes in the board's membership, including the removal of its only two independent members.

The editor, Alexei Venediktov, said he would remain in charge of the newsroom at the station, Ekho Moskvy.

The authorities said politics were not involved in the decision at the station, which is controlled by Russia's government-owned natural gas monopoly, Gazprom. ''This is a signal, certainly,'' Venediktov said.

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''I don't see anything catastrophic in this, but it is unpleasant and I certainly see this as an attempt to adjust editorial policy.''

The ramifications are unclear but the decision appeared to signal the authorities would seek to keep a firm hand on media discourse in Russia.

For months, Mr Putin has been trying to come to terms with a growing protest movement. Lately, Ekho Moskvy has come to be an important resource for the movement.

Mr Putin's spokesman denied the changes to the board's makeup were connected to the station's criticism.

Russia has also expelled a French writer and journalist three weeks before the presidential election.

Immigration officials detained Anne Nivat last week after she met members of Russia's opposition. The officials interrogated her for four hours. They then annulled her visa and told her she had to leave Russia within three days.

Nivat, a former Moscow correspondent and the author of an acclaimed book on Chechnya, had been holding interviews for her latest book. She said the officials from Russia's federal migration service made it clear that they were unhappy about her contacts with locals opposed to Mr Putin.

The New York Times; Guardian News & Media

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Fears of press control in Russia as influential editor steps down