Democracy beyond elections: government accountability in the media age. (Challenges to democracy in the 21st century)

visibility of court cases and publically active courts lead to more “ fact-based ” public discourse of accountability (4, 155, 192). In con-trast, stands the instrumental role media plays in the hands of the state prosecutor twisting the concept of accountability to the bene fi t of political elites. In the case of Russia, the power ver-tical dominates the trajectory of accountability, or the “ presidentialization ” (4) and personali-sation of forums and inquiries. Key example of the reverse here is Navalny ’ s anti-corruption work and its repercussions.