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As Russian authorities tighten the screw on popular messaging app Telegram and promote a state-backed “super app” that observers say could act as a surveillance tool, independent journalists and media outlets inside and outside Russia say it will become more difficult to report stories securely and stay connected to audiences.
Information control has long been central to the Kremlin. Since Vladimir Putin took power, independent journalism has faced growing repression, accelerated after the Kursk submarine disaster (2000), the Moscow theater siege (2002), and the Beslan school hostage crisis (2004). Critical outlets were punished, steadily eroding Russia’s independent media.
The Kremlin is using legal means to go after its critics everywherem, even in Switzerland.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the number of NGOs, media outlets, and dissidents outside Russia who have come under the Kremlin’s scrutiny has been rising, and is expected to reach another record high this year.
Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, many independent Russian journalists and opposition politicians fled abroad, rebuilding their channels. This article argues that, operating from exile, they have fallen into a trap: creating great content, but the Kremlin controls it. They must shift to a radical new approach, teaching citizens inside Russia how to safely test reality.
Journalists in exile clearly view the persecution in Russia as a form of totalitarian repression directed against any opposition to the war or criticism of the Kremlin. The Censorship is being tightened further and free access to the internet is being restricted, aiming at intimidating people further ahead of the upcoming elections and to suppress any sign of social resistance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing Russia to seize the property and bank balances of citizens living abroad before any court ruling, the Moscow Times reported. The legislation turns a single formal charge into an immediate asset freeze in absentia against exiled Kremlin critics. It takes effect on 1 September 2026.
The future of Russian non-governmental media, such as for Meduza and Mediazona, is uncertain as Russian media-in-exile fights against receding revenue streams, the collapse of its audience, and the declining morale of its journalists. Mediazona has lost half of its subscribers since the start of the war. However, Mediazona’s audience increased during the 2023 attempted coup.
Censorship, recruitment attempts by the FSB, propaganda in universities, forced emigration, anonymous bylines, and financial hardship are among the manage challenges that young Russian journalists face today. Vazhnye Istory spoke with several early-career journalists about the realities of working in the profession in Russia today.
This research examines the impact of Trumps reelection and the later U.S. aid cuts on Independent Media. The authors also look at how it devastated exiled media from Belarus, Myanmar, Nicaragua & El Salvador – among the hardest hit. Lost relocation support, diplomatic protection & up to 40% of revenue. Other donors haven’t filled the gap.
Alexander Udikov’s Medium blog offers personal insights into life as a Russian journalist forced into exile after persecution for anti‑war articles. Since receiving political asylum in France in 2024, Udikov chronicles daily life, bureaucratic hurdles, creative workarounds and the ongoing challenge of staying true to independent journalism beyond Russia’s censorship.
Conversation with Galina Timchenko and Ivan Kolpakov, co-founders of Meduza, CEO and editor-in-chief respectively. Meduza is one of the most important independent media outlets outside of Russia, about Russia, and for Russia, published in Russian and in English.
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.
The latest episode of “Our Window to Russia” focuses on the lives of young people in Russia. What’s happening in schools and universities? How present is state propaganda in daily life? And what role do church and state play in shaping the next generation? We speak with journalist Ekaterina Martynova from DOXA.
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.]
In this podcast episode, we talk to Sergey Lukashevskiy about his work as a Russian exile journalist in Germany. Since 2022, he has been building “Radio Sakharov” as an exile media outlet. He discusses the challenges of exile journalism, human rights in Russia, and reporting on a country he can no longer return to.
In a report on audience strategies, Reuters Institute journalist fellow Maria Kiseleva examines which platforms Russian exiled media use to continue reaching audiences inside the country. The report, which focuses on platform shifts and monetization strategies, also draws on research by the JX Fund.
“Before I was just seen as a journalist in exile. Now, no one in Russia wants to be linked to someone labeled a terrorist.” Armen Aramyan, DOXA Journal’s Founding Editor, speaks about his recent arrest in absentia, the spread of global authoritarianism, and the state of independent Russian media in exile.
A Russian journalist recounts returning from exile to report undercover inside Russia, navigating fear, surveillance, and censorship while challenging the overly bleak narratives often portrayed by exile media. They argue that repression is real but selective, and that the country remains socially complex and more nuanced than many abroad believe.