JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

Opponents of Russia’s war against Ukraine are discovering that their government ID cards have been canceled since they fled Russia. Deutsche Welle spoke to those affected.

Moscow’s Dorogomilovsky District Court arrested in absentia TV Rain journalist and former IStories employee Ekaterina Fomina and IStories’ editor-in-chief Roman Anin. The journalists are accused of spreading so-called “fakes” about the Russian army with the motive of political hatred.

Valera Ilinov, the founder of the leading independent media outlet covering the republic of Komi, sees his work as inherently political and decolonial. Last month, the 24-year-old founder of Komi’s flagship independent news outlet Komi Daily was fined for violating Russia’s censorship laws twice in one week.

In the investigative journalist Elena Kostyuchenko’s new book about Russia, resistance is carried out through small, discreet acts.

“I consider this label repressive. But I can say for sure that we will continue to work, whatever they call us,” says Daria Poryadina, editor of the exile-Russian news outlet SOTA, that got declared an ‘undesirable organization’ by Russia’s Prosecutor General on May 16.

A Moscow Court has registered a misdemeanor case accusing Meduza co-founder Galina Timchenko of participating in an “undesirable organization,” Mediazona reported on May 27, citing online records.

In the first two months of 2024, the Russian parliament has approved new laws ramping up pressure on journalists and public figures critical of the war on Ukraine. The new laws were adopted two years after the enactment of wartime censorship in Russia, which forced many independent journalists to flee.

Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, unanimously approved a bill banning advertising on publications by “foreign agents”, a designation authorities have given to anti-Kremlin politicians, activists and media.

With 29 journalists currently imprisoned, and 280 journalists and media organisations proclaimed “foreign agents”, Russia sits almost at the bottom of the Press Freedom Index. Even for those in exile, the danger remains.

Publications like The Insider are caught between state censorship and hostile platform dynamics.

In exile, once-profitable independent Russian media outlets have been severed from what had been their main base of subscribers and advertisers, who are forbidden from supporting them. Their business models are no longer viable.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, there have been numerous scandals related to the surveillance of Russians abroad by Moscow’s intelligence services and alleged Russian spies working in foreign countries.

Exiled Russian journalists, countering Kremlin control abroad, face a lot of risks and funding challenges. Navigating exile, they strive to keep Russian journalism alive.

Journalist Marina Sedneva highlights the daily fear Russian opposition leaders, civil rights activists, and independent journalists face under the threat of police searches and arrests.

Exiled journalists face challenges, from societal backlash to adapting in a new country. Many experience symptoms beyond PTSD, such as social death, adaptability issues, and overwhelming stress.

Russian media outlets, NGOs, and activists in exile are innovating to maintain connections with audiences. Despite challenges, these initiatives adapt lessons from the pandemic to stay relevant.

The Propaganda Battle: Mark Rice-Oxley sees supporting exiled outlets as a strategic opportunity for the West to counter Kremlin lies and promote informed public discourse within Russia.