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Study: A New Phase in the Fight for Press Freedom in Russia

  • JX Fund

Over the past year, Russia has done more than simply refine its already deeply repressive system – it is currently in the middle of building a new model of digital censorship, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on top of its already bloated propaganda budgets to ensure its people are fully isolated from independent and objective voices. One of the Kremlin’s most important targets: Russian independent media in exile.

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Russia’s War on the Press

  • Women Press Freedom

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the Russian regime has targeted journalists on the frontlines with deliberate attacks, leading to numerous deaths and injuries among women reporters. This campaign of terror aims to suppress independent reporting and obscure the realities of the conflict.

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Is Civil Society Still Alive in Russia?

  • Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies
  • Stefan Ingvarsson, Ekaterina Kalinina

This report challenges the claims that there is no civil society to speak of inside the Russian Federation and that most of its activists are now in exile. A significant number of independent and democratically oriented initiatives and organizations continue to operate throughout the country to address societal issues through civic engagement. These should be acknowledged.

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Independent Media Are the Primary Targets of Kremlin Laws

  • RSF

A third of the victims of Russia’s “foreign agents” law are independent media, which makes them the primary target of this legislation — and highlights their systematic legal persecution. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has analysed the Ministry of Justice’s blacklists of “foreign agents” and “undesirable organisations” – which are used as tools of censorship – and condemns the stigmatisation of independent media as a fifth column.

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Digital Surveillance of Russian Civil Society

  • Reporter ohne Grenzen

After the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022 and since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the legal basis for the Russian state’s digital surveillance of opposition and anti-Kremlin citizens has been expanded. This report presents a chronological list of legal restrictions on internet freedom due to expanded surveillance measures and describes the technical implementation of surveillance.

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Military Censorship in Russia

  • Reporter ohne Grenzen

The legal basis for combating independent media and media professionals in Russia emerged in the 2010s. In the 2020s, the state significantly expanded its options for repression. Media outlets and individuals were declared foreign agents and the number of cases against media professionals based on extremism paragraphs increased. This report provides an overview of the latest developments.

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No Protection in Exile

  • Reporter ohne Grenzen

According to a survey of Russian media professionals in exile, most of them do not live in the EU but in other countries (Georgia, Armenia, Central Asia, Serbia, etc.) despite the high risks due to a lack of legal options and insufficient financial resources. On behalf of RSF, the Russian human rights organization Mass Media Defence Center has prepared an analysis of the situation of independent journalists from Russia in exile.

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Decoding War and Propaganda: The Russian YouTube

  • Dekoder
  • Magdalena Kaltseis

Despite state censorship, YouTube remains a vital space for diverse voices, acting as an alternative information source. The platform’s popularity poses challenges for potential state restrictions.

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Paranoia and Poison: The Kremlin Panics Over Exiles

  • Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)
  • Andrei Soldatov, Irina Borogan

Putin’s Russia: An espionocracy, shaped by spy tactics, addresses challenges like the growing exile community. Insights into Europe’s Edge by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan.

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