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This article by The Economist highlights Putin’s efforts to suppress independent media while fighting in Ukraine, but despite heavy censorship, Russian journalists in exile continue to challenge his narrative. Platforms like YouTube and Telegram remain key tools for spreading anti-war content within Russia.
Kirill Rogov examines the aftermath of Alexei Navalny’s murder and its profound impact on the Russian opposition, highlighting the significant surge in viewership of independent media in exile. Despite the dismantling of opposition structures inside Russia, Rogov argues that exiled activists and journalists have struggled to form cohesive political networks.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, CPJ has tracked 247 journalists branded as foreign agents and 6 exiled journalists sentenced in absentia. With a new law set to take effect in 2025, exiled media faces even tighter controls, forcing them to funnel earnings into special accounts as authorities continue their crackdown.
Independent media in Russia and Ukraine, critical for alternative reporting, have lost funding due to a USAID freeze. Many exiled Russian outlets, reliant on U.S. grants to reach Russian audiences with war and political coverage, now face a challenging future with the loss of critical financial support.
Sofia Gavrilova explores the complex challenges Russian emigrants face since 2022, navigating tensions with host societies, fellow exiles, and their homeland. She argues that for a democratic Russia’s future, Russian exiles must move beyond victimhood, actively engage with local communities, and build bridges through concrete actions and inclusive dialogue.
In the final quarter of 2024, there was a rise in the criminal prosecution of journalists, both domestically and in absentia, along with more frequent searches of journalists’ homes and offices, and a wider scope of censorship. The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) has documented these alarming developments in a recent statement.
Paul Sonne (NYT) reports on the Kremlin’s efforts to cripple YouTube in Russia, pushing users toward state-controlled platforms. While many Russians are finding ways around the restrictions through VPNs, journalist Ilya Shepelin, now in exile, warns that only politically active users will remain on YouTube.
41 Belarusian journalists remain behind bars since 2020, punished for covering protests against presidential election fraud that gave Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in power. Their prison sentences range from 3 to 15 years, simply for doing their jobs — reporting the news. Hundreds more have fled the country. Yet they continue their work. Why?
Sanctions targeting Russian propaganda have inadvertently crippled independent journalism. Exiled reporters, battling Kremlin censorship, face funding blockades from Western tech and financial giants, threatening their vital work of delivering uncensored news to Russians.
Moscow is using ties with neighbouring countries to deport and arrest anti-war Russians who fled after invasion of Ukraine.
In March 2022, the State Duma introduced new laws penalizing the “discrediting” of the Russian Armed Forces, leading to hefty fines or imprisonment for violations. This crackdown has made independent journalism increasingly perilous in Russia, spurring a mass exodus of independent media professionals. This publication aims to illuminate the realities faced by Russian independent media workers in exile.
In this video-interview, Kirill Martynov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe, discusses the harsh realities exiled Russian media outlets are facing amid escalating repression and censorship. He emphasizes the need for independent journalism and education as tools for resistance against authoritarianism.
Apple has removed dozens of apps, even though the Kremlin’s censorship body did not order the move. These services, half-permitted by the government, enable people in Russia to access social networks and independent media.
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.
Elena Kostyuchenko, a Russian investigative journalist living in exile, explains how reporting on Putin’s war from inside Ukraine made her a criminal in her home country – and why people in the Balkans should be wary of Moscow’s propaganda.
What has happened to the Belarusian media and journalists since the day of the presidential elections — from 9 August 2020 until today — is an unprecedented case of the eradication of independent journalism in a single country, in the centre of Europe, in the 21st century.
When the opposition activist Ilya Yashin spoke after being freed from a Russian prison as part of the historic prisoner swap between Washington and Moscow, he said he had been warned never to return. But as the experiences of Russian journalists and critics already in exile show, distance from Moscow is no assurance of safety.
The plight of independent journalists in Russia keeps getting worse. Apart from high-profile assassinations and arrests, there are obstacle to press freedom at every step.