On March 4, 2022, the Russian parliament adopted repressive anti-media legislation in a rapid procedure, aiming to criminalize any independent reporting or social media mentions of Russia鈥檚 war against Ukraine. On the same day, Vladimir Putin signed the bill into legislation. One year on, Russian independent journalism survives, says Galina Timchenko, an IPI member and general director of Meduza, Russia鈥檚 most popular online media, in conversation with the International Press Institute.
In January, Meduza was declared an 鈥渦ndesirable organization鈥� by Russian authorities, a step beyond 鈥渇oreign agent鈥� status and one that in practice outlaws the media鈥檚 operations in Russia. It was the next step in authorities鈥� efforts to silence Meduza. One year ago, access to the media鈥檚 website was already blocked, a decision that came as authorities were hastily attempting to cut out independent voices from the Russian media landscape.
鈥淐ollaborating with Meduza is now a criminal offense鈥�, explains Galina Timchenko. 鈥淏ut, theoretically, the law on undesirable organizations is not the worst thing that happened to us: it鈥檚 been a year since Russia introduced wartime censorship, according to which we [at Meduza] risk between two and 15 years of prison, simply for carrying out our job as journalists. Russia now has laws related to so-called 鈥渇ake news鈥� about the army, 鈥渄iscreditation鈥� of the army and others. Even using the word 鈥渨ar鈥� [is forbidden]. 鈥淯ndesirable organization鈥� status is just [part of] another repressive law.鈥�
A year of censorship
The timeline of the past year鈥檚 events, which ran in parallel to Russia鈥檚 unfolding invasion of Ukraine, could hardly have been any faster. On the very first day of Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion, February 24, 2022, Russia鈥檚 internet regulator and censor Roskomnadzor issued a warning to independent media, ordering them to 鈥渦se only information and data from official Russian sources鈥�, or face access blocks and fines of up to five million rubles (approximately 62,000 euros).
Then, in just over a week, legislators and the Russian president created and enacted new laws to formalize the changes, with a fresh bill presented to parliament on March 3. Three new 鈥渟ister articles鈥� were added to the Russian criminal code punishing those spread 鈥渇ake news鈥� about the Russian army, 鈥渄iscredit鈥� the armed forces, or call upon foreign powers to sanction Russia. All three articles carry fines and heavy prison sentences.
In the following days, Roskomnadzor blocked dozens of renowned media outlets, such as TV Rain, RFE/RL or . Other outlets, such as Novaya Gazeta (headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov) or The Bell decided to cease war-related publications altogether, seeing no possibility for honest reporting given the new limitations. Some, such as Znak.com, ceased operations permanently.
In less than a week, Vladimir Putin introduced wartime censorship, as Russia鈥檚 independent voices describe the new situation. One year on, authorities continue to repress independent media and journalists, most of whom now work abroad out of fear for their own security. Many independent media had already been declared 鈥渇oreign agents鈥�. Now, a new instrument in Russia鈥檚 playbook is the so-called law on 鈥渦ndesirable organizations鈥�, which until recently was mainly used against non-governmental and donor organizations. In late January, Meduza, Russia鈥檚 most popular online media outlet, was one of the first to be labelled with this status.
In an interview with IPI, Meduza General Director Galina Timchenko explains what this means for her team, and why she believes repression in Russia will, sadly, only get harsher in the future.