Earlier today, Kommersant newspaper announced that it has fired columnist Oleg Kashin, one of Russia's best known journalists. In comments to Lenta.ru, Kommersant's chief editor, Mikhail Mikhailin, explained [ru] that Kashin's output has slipped in previous months, becoming too little to sustain his employment. Other sources indicate that Kashin's decision to join [ru] the political opposition's Coordinating Council represented a conflict of interest for Kommersant.
Though Kashin appears to have agreed to a severance package that forbids him from commenting on his dismissal, his Facebook page [ru] has become a pinboard for messages of moral support. Leaving Kommersant, Kashin will transition full-time to Openspace.ru, where he has been publishing articles [ru] since July 2012. This marks the journalist's increasingly online orientation, which underscores the digital demographic to whom he best appeals.