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As Russian authorities tighten the screw on popular messaging app Telegram and promote a state-backed “super app” that observers say could act as a surveillance tool, independent journalists and media outlets inside and outside Russia say it will become more difficult to report stories securely and stay connected to audiences.
The Kremlin is using legal means to go after its critics everywherem, even in Switzerland.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the number of NGOs, media outlets, and dissidents outside Russia who have come under the Kremlin’s scrutiny has been rising, and is expected to reach another record high this year.
Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, many independent Russian journalists and opposition politicians fled abroad, rebuilding their channels. This article argues that, operating from exile, they have fallen into a trap: creating great content, but the Kremlin controls it. They must shift to a radical new approach, teaching citizens inside Russia how to safely test reality.
Journalists in exile clearly view the persecution in Russia as a form of totalitarian repression directed against any opposition to the war or criticism of the Kremlin. The Censorship is being tightened further and free access to the internet is being restricted, aiming at intimidating people further ahead of the upcoming elections and to suppress any sign of social resistance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing Russia to seize the property and bank balances of citizens living abroad before any court ruling, the Moscow Times reported. The legislation turns a single formal charge into an immediate asset freeze in absentia against exiled Kremlin critics. It takes effect on 1 September 2026.
The future of Russian non-governmental media, such as for Meduza and Mediazona, is uncertain as Russian media-in-exile fights against receding revenue streams, the collapse of its audience, and the declining morale of its journalists. Mediazona has lost half of its subscribers since the start of the war. However, Mediazona’s audience increased during the 2023 attempted coup.
Russia is increasingly branding journalists as “terrorists.” In October 2025, the state labeled Dozhd TV’s editor-in-chief a terrorist; weeks later, two more exiled media figures joined a blacklist alongside ISIS and Navalny’s organization. They are not alone — at least 60 media workers now appear on Russia’s “Terrorist and Extremist” list.
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.
Authorities in Russia are expanding their surveillance to monitor not just journalists but also the audiences of independent media. This growing crackdown intimidates citizens who access alternative news and complicates efforts by exiled outlets to reach people inside the country, highlighting new risks for both readers and reporters.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warns of Russia’s growing use of in absentia convictions against exiled Russian journalists and foreign media professionals. This repressive legal tactic is used to intimidate journalists, block their return to Russia and pressure their relatives, and has become commonplace since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A new Russian law – which came into effect in September – punishes online searches for what the government labels ‘extremist content’. But while the Kremlin has published a list of more than 5,000 banned websites, there’s still little clarity surrounding the law’s implementation and what makes the designated content ‘extremist’.
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.
“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.