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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.
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.
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.
As Vladimir Putin’s regime tightens its grip on free speech, the Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA) is stepping up to preserve endangered journalism. With backing from PEN America and Bard College, RIMA safeguards independent media, ensuring critical journalism outlasts authoritarian attempts to erase it.
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.
A new generation of Russian writers in exile is reviving Soviet-era tactics to outsmart Putin’s censorship. Through digital publishing, they’re documenting the war in Ukraine and government repression, reaching thousands back home with uncensored stories Russian authorities try to suppress.
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.
As Russian independent media continues to face severe censorship following the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA) is stepping in to preserve critical journalism for future generations. Co-founded by renowned journalist Masha Gessen and historian Ilia Venyavkin, RIMA aims to protect the work of over 55 independent media outlets from disappearing under the weight of state repression.
With beabee for media in exile, funded by MIZ Babelsberg, a team from German independent newsroom CORRECTIV and Russian podcast platform Radio Sakharov set out to develop a membership and community platform designed especially for the needs of media in exile. Using the existing open source platform beabee, the team implemented additional features to enhance security for users in countries like Russia and facilitate (anonymous) engagement.
Russia’s censorship following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine not only led to the blocking of numerous independent Russian media outlets but also social media platforms popular with their audiences. For the Fix Veronica Snoj wrote down how exiled publishers serve audiences on new platforms and educate them on tools to bypass censorship.
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.
As an exiled media outlet addressing Russian audiences, Meduza quickly fell under the Kremlin’s radar. It became one of the first media outlets the Russian authorities added to its “foreign agent” list in April 2021. For The Fix Veronica Snoj took a look at the tools the Latvia-based media outlet uses to reach its audiences in Russia.