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Censorship, recruitment attempts by the FSB, propaganda in universities, forced emigration, anonymous bylines, and financial hardship are among the manage challenges that young Russian journalists face today. Vazhnye Istory spoke with several early-career journalists about the realities of working in the profession in Russia today.
The Belarus government continued systematic persecution of the independent press within the overall context of its fight against dissent in 2025. The pressure on media workers intensified on the eve of Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s election on January 26, 2025 as well as in April 2025, when the few still operating independent regional media outlets suffered from searches and crackdowns in the governmental propaganda channels.
As Belarus prepares for another presidential election under President Lukashenko, opposition leaders and activists – including those in exile – are divided over whether engaging in dialogue with the regime can advance change. While some see negotiation as tactical, others warn it legitimizes repression and sidelines independent and exiled voices pushing for democratic reform.
Journalist and propaganda expert Pavlyuk Bykovsky analyzes the role propaganda plays in the Lukashenko regime and how it has evolved since the mass protests of 2020. Bykovsky’s contribution not only helps to understand the specific principles of the Lukashenko dictatorship, but also sheds light on the general mechanisms of propaganda and disinformation.
Since the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, independent media have been wiped out due to severe state repression. Journalists faced arrests, raids, and newsroom destruction, forcing many into exile. Some left the profession, others continue abroad—37 media workers remain imprisoned. Journalism education has changed drastically.
Conversation with Galina Timchenko and Ivan Kolpakov, co-founders of Meduza, CEO and editor-in-chief respectively. Meduza is one of the most important independent media outlets outside of Russia, about Russia, and for Russia, published in Russian and in English.
Galina Timchenko and Ivan Kolpakov from the exile outlet Meduza describe their struggle to keep the independent media platform alive amid heavy internet blocks in Russia and growing financial pressure. Timchenko calls it a “war of attrition” waged by the Kremlin against free media.
The latest episode of “Our Window to Russia” focuses on the lives of young people in Russia. What’s happening in schools and universities? How present is state propaganda in daily life? And what role do church and state play in shaping the next generation? We speak with journalist Ekaterina Martynova from DOXA.
Swissinfo asked Olga Sadovskaya, vice-chair of rights group The Crew Against TortureExternal link and vice-president of the World Organization Against TortureExternal link, to demonstrate how Russia’s digital Iron Curtain works with and without a VPN. [Spoiler: Swissinfo’s website doesn’t load in the country without one.]
In this podcast episode, we talk to Sergey Lukashevskiy about his work as a Russian exile journalist in Germany. Since 2022, he has been building “Radio Sakharov” as an exile media outlet. He discusses the challenges of exile journalism, human rights in Russia, and reporting on a country he can no longer return to.
Independent media can be destroyed, journalists can be imprisoned — but they cannot be forced into silence. The starting point of the newest Belarusian history was August 9, 2020 — the day of voting in a presidential election that never truly happened. That day marked the beginning of a total purge of Belarus’s democratic society.
EUvsDisinfo has published an article detailing how Lukashenka’s regime continues its harsh retaliation against Belarusians five years after the 2020 protests. The piece highlights ongoing arrests, torture, and exile as part of the government’s efforts to suppress dissent and maintain control.
In August 2020, Belarus witnessed its largest protests in history, ignited by a disputed presidential election and widespread discontent. Five years later, the regime’s grip remains firm, with President Lukashenko still in power and indepedent journalists and opposition leaders in exile.
Last summer, Russian authorities began throttling YouTube playback speeds, rendering the popular video platform practically unusable. This has pushed many Russians to change their media consumption habits. Meduza analyzes the current and potential consequences of the Kremlin’s ongoing campaign against YouTube.
In this article, Natalia Belikova argues that Belarusian independent media in exile are vital to Europe’s security, countering authoritarian propaganda and upholding democratic discourse. She urges the EU to provide long-term support, warning that recent funding cuts endanger this essential media ecosystem.
“Before I was just seen as a journalist in exile. Now, no one in Russia wants to be linked to someone labeled a terrorist.” Armen Aramyan, DOXA Journal’s Founding Editor, speaks about his recent arrest in absentia, the spread of global authoritarianism, and the state of independent Russian media in exile.
A Russian journalist recounts returning from exile to report undercover inside Russia, navigating fear, surveillance, and censorship while challenging the overly bleak narratives often portrayed by exile media. They argue that repression is real but selective, and that the country remains socially complex and more nuanced than many abroad believe.
On June 11, at Berlin’s Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien gallery, Meduza publisher Galina Timchenko sat down with sociologist Polina Aronson for a conversation about the emotional toll of today’s news cycle — on both readers and journalists. One of the questions raised during the Q&A was how censorship is reshaping the ways newsrooms connect with their audiences.