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At Belarus’s New Belarus conference, Media IQ’s Pavliuk Bykouski presented Press Club Belarus data (2025–26) on exiled independent media: 133 accounts across 13 newsrooms, views growing from 280M to 448M, and 31.9% of Belarusians reporting contact with independent media. The article examines what the data shows — and where it falls short.
In this podcast episode from taz Panter Stiftung’s “Freie Rede” series, jurist and writer Maxim Znak, journalist and photographer Sergei Balai, and journalist Alena discuss a law forcing exiled Belarusians to return home to renew passports—risking arrest if they do, or losing valid ID if they don’t—and its impact on those who fled after the 2020 protests.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 challenged much of the common Western understanding of Russia. How can the world better understand Russia? What are the steps forward for Western policy? The Eurasia Center’s “Russia Tomorrow” series seeks to reevaluate conceptions of Russia today and better prepare for its future tomorrow.
When an autocracy persecutes, scilences, intimidates its critics outside the country, it is referred to as transnational repression. The topic has gained prominance in recent years, as dissidents from russia and belarus have increasingly sought refuge in the EU. But regimes suppress not only activities inside their own borders, but also try to pressure ones in exile.
Media development actors and funders globally are grappling with how best to measure results. An updated version of the IMS impact assessment tool is out now. It is also translated into six different language. The tool help editorial teams measure the impact of media projects based on effective ways to define targets and track progress and results.
Websites of at least six exiled Belarusian news outlets and one journalists’ association, including Zerkalo and Reform.news, have been targeted since March by DDoS attacks, which aim to overwhelm websites with floods of internet traffic. The targeted media sites were all effectively banned from operating in Belarus after authorities labeled them “extremist” groups.
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.
While Finland ranks among the world leaders in press freedom, it still offers too few measures to help journalists forced into exile continue their work. This is the central finding of “When You Arrive in Finland, You Step into a Dark Room”, a report backed by eight Finnish organisations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Finland.
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.
It’s an understandable question. Across the sector, unrestricted funding feels harder to find than ever, especially after US aid cuts. Many organisations are juggling project grants, restricted contracts, and short-term opportunities while trying to cover the basic costs that keep operations running. This article explores new funding strategies and ongoing core support options.
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 Kit is a collaborative, self-learning resource that makes investigative techniques and tools used by experienced investigators more accessible to people and communities who feel motivated to start their own investigations, collect and verify information, build evidence and create a better understanding of issues without losing sight of ethical or safety considerations.
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.
Transnational repression is not a new phenomenon, but it is an increasingly serious global problem. This is due to the growing number of diaspora members, as a result of global crises and due to the increasingly aggressive behaviour of countries of origin. The Federal Ministry of the Interior thus published a following guidance for people affected by transnational repression.
You open a call on media development, democracy, or press freedom. It talks about resilience, sustainability, safety, and innovation. It may even mention business models, risk management, or audience trust. But it no longer speaks about journalism in the broad, idealistic terms it once did.
How can media organisations, especially those operating in exile, navigate complex employment laws and processes? How can they do so across multiple countries and unfamiliar legal jurisdictions?
TRF’s latest series of guides aim to answer the above questions. The guides below address the complexities of employment rights and of operating in exile.