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Beaten & Poisoned: Elena Kostyuchenko Keeps Fighting

  • The Chronicle
  • Sophie Levenson

Since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, almost every independent journalist has been exiled from Russia. For more than three years, journalists in exile have tried to continue their work from afar in a concerted effort to preserve the service of truth. Ten days ago, the Kremlin added Kostyuchenko to its list of foreign agents.

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“If You Don’t Support Exile Media, It Will Disappear”

  • DW Akademie
  • Alex Bodine

Ivan Kolpakov is the editor-in-chief at Meduza, the largest independent media outlet focusing on Russia. The organization has been in exile since Kolpakov co-founded the organization in 2014 with Galina Timchenko. DW Akademie spoke to the journalist and editor about what it is like to spend more than a decade reporting on his country from abroad.

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“I feel obligated”: Exiled Russian Woman Fights Against Putin

  • Berliner Morgenpost
  • Hans Cord Hartmann

A mission can mean many things: a diplomatic post, a military assignment, or spreading the gospel to convert nonbelievers. But journalist Ekaterina Fomina also calls her work a mission. The independent Russian reporter fled to Berlin shortly after Vladimir Putin escalated his war in February 2022. Since then, she has been reporting on Russia and Ukraine from exile.

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“I Won’t Give my Mother to Putin.”

  • Frankfurter Allgemeine
  • Artur Weigandt

Her investigations took her to the most dangerous places in Russia: A conversation with journalist Elena Kostyuchenko about responsibility, guilt, and her toxic relationship with her country.

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Media Maker Sees a “War of Attrition” on Exile Media

  • Der Standard

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.

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Behind Russia’s Digital Iron Curtain: The West Online

  • Swissinfo.ch
  • Elena Servettaz

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.]

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‘Ten million people read us — I’ll talk to them’

  • Meduza

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.

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Why Russian Journalists Keep Reporting Despite the Risks

  • Meduza
  • Lilia Yapparova

Inside Russia, journalists carry on working — risking arrest, surveillance, and the safety of their families, or navigating the shifting boundaries of state censorship. Meduza spoke with several of them about the constraints they face, the stories they can no longer tell, and how they view their colleagues in exile.

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A Scream, Not a Celebration: Why Meduza Broke Its Rules

  • Meduza

From April 26 to July 6, the Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien gallery in Berlin hosts “No,” an exhibition curated by Meduza that brings together artists and journalists to explore life and work in exile amid Russia’s war on Ukraine and repression at home. The launch featured a panel on censorship with Ukrainian writer Zhenia Berezhna and Meduza editor-in-chief Ivan Kolpakov.

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How Exiled Russian Media Continue Broadcasting

  • Global Voices
  • Daria Dergacheva

This article explores how Russian opposition media, forced into exile after the 2022 crackdown, continue reaching audiences through platforms like YouTube and VPNs. It highlights their growing dependence on viewer donations, the impact of lost international funding, and the ongoing struggle to sustain independent journalism under increasing pressure.

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‘Am I a Psychopath?’ Confessions of a Meduza Journalist

  • Meduza

A Meduza journalist working undercover in Russia describes living a double life, hiding their identity from both friends and sources. Balancing safety, fear, and the burden of secrecy, they reflect on censorship, impostor syndrome, and the emotional toll of reporting anonymously in a society where many no longer want to hear the truth.

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Navalny’s Heirs – Powerless Against Putin

  • ZDF

The death of Alexei Navalny shocked the world and dealt another blow to Russia’s opposition. Navalny had united and mobilized many, but now the movement is divided. In exile, his allies clash with Khodorkovsky’s. Ilja Yashin fights irrelevance abroad, while in Russia, Yekaterina Duntsova resists repression at the local level.

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“You Have to Take a Side. Our Side Is the Truth”

  • The Barents Observer
  • Elías Thorsson

When William McCarren talks about press freedom today, he doesn’t speak in abstract terms. The longtime executive director of the National Press Club and now head of its new Press Freedom Center sees a world where increasingly journalists are under siege—imprisoned, exiled, injured, or killed. The Barents Observer this week takes part in a event in Washington DC on defence of free journalism.

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Between Safety and Knowledge Extractivism

  • University of Helsinki
  • Olga Dovbysh & Elena Rodina

The article examines how Russia’s war in Ukraine has transformed the production of knowledge about the country, focusing on the role of exiled media and scholars. It highlights the ethical tensions between those abroad and those still in Russia, raising concerns about safety, representation, and knowledge extractivism in journalism and academia.

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“We Are Fighting the Lies and Propaganda of the Kremlin”

  • The Barents Observer
  • Atle Staalesen

Cuts in funding from the US could have dramatic consequences for hundreds of Russian journalists in exile. It could also lead to far less independent and fact-based journalism about Russia and the war in Ukraine, argues Georgii Chentemirov, former head of the Union of Journalists in Karelia, in this podcast.

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Russian Media in Exile: The Stronghold of Anti-Kremlin Resistance

  • Le Monde
  • Benjamin Quénelle

Benjamin Quénelle dives into the world of Russian media in exile, where over 1,500 journalists are continuing their fight for press freedom and anti-Kremlin resistance. Despite facing immense challenges, these media outlets remain a vital source of independent information, even as global political shifts threaten their work.

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Russian Media Three Years into the All-Out War: Key Challenges

  • The Fix
  • Veronica Snoj

In this article, Veronica Snoj discusses the challenges Russian media face three years into the war, including financial sustainability, self-censorship, and news fatigue. Many independent outlets rely on unstable foreign grants, while others struggle with censorship laws. Audiences are growing weary, leading some outlets to shift focus toward lifestyle content to stay relevant.

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