Independent Russian journalists on Tuesday denounced to Lusa the climate of insecurity they feel in practicing their profession, fearing the “wave of poisonings” registered against press professionals and activists in Russia.
At the Harriman Institute of Columbia University in New York, Galina Timchenko – co-founder, CEO and editor of Meduza, the largest independent Russian media outlet published in Russian and English – and Ivan Kolpakov – editor-in-chief of Meduza – spoke about the challenges they face broadcasting news within Russia, despite strong propaganda from the Kremlin.
In response to a question from the Lusa agency about the dangers of practicing independent journalism in Russia, Ivan Kolpakov assured that these dangers are not limited to the country’s land borders, with the number of cases of Russian journalists being attacked abroad increasing gets bigger.
“In Russia it is forbidden to be an independent journalist. We go to jail if we do independent journalism. So if someone works for Meduza, they can be arrested for working for an organization that is considered ‘undesirable’. Or they could go to jail because he is a ‘state traitor’ or because he violates a law regarding ‘disclosure of information about the Russian military’.”he explained.
“But being a Russian journalist is not safe, even if you are not in Russia. You may have heard that our reporter Elena Kostyuchenko was poisoned in Germany last year. There is currently a wave of poisoning of Russian journalists and activists in Europe. Therefore, unfortunately, it is not safe to be a Russian journalist anywhere.”said the editor-in-chief of Medusa, which is now based in Riga, the capital of Latvia.
Russian dissident journalist Elena Kostyuchenko was traveling by train to Berlin last October when she abruptly fell ill, in a case that prompted German authorities to investigate a suspected poisoning attempt.
The 35-year-old woman – who left Ukraine after being told that Chechen units at Russian checkpoints had been ordered to kill her – was one of three exiled Russian journalists who fell ill with poisoning symptoms in European capitals during the same period. This is reported by research website The Insider.
In addition to physical attacks, independent Russian journalists have also faced other forms of pressure in the countries where they are exiled.
Last December, the Latvian media authority revoked the broadcasting license of the independent Russian television channel Dozhd, which had been operating in exile since Moscow invaded Ukraine.
“These are just a few examples of what it’s like to be a Russian journalist today. You flee from your government, go to Latvia, a neighboring country that is part of the European Union, and are ultimately deported. It’s like they fought us on both sides. Is it dangerous to be a Russian journalist? I think so’admitted Ivan Kolpakov, one of the Russian journalists who interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shortly after the invasion.
At the event in New York, Galina Timchenko stated that after the poisoning episodes, strict protocols were adopted to prevent similar situations from happening again against journalists, especially when traveling, limiting, for example, the consumption of liquids in hotels.
“We were aware of the Elena Kostyuchenko case since last year, so we changed all our protocols. First for our editorial staff, then for our freelancers and then for all of us”explained the Meduza founder.
“We have been able to understand the pattern of almost all the poisonings, although some have not yet been revealed: they occurred while traveling. That is why we have imposed very strict rules on travel, on the use of liquids and on everyday life. has strictly prohibited food delivery or home delivery to our staff. It’s a bit strange, but we’ve imposed some rules so they don’t use liquids in hotels and so on. We changed six or seven protocols”said Timchenko.
Also, when questioned by Lusa about the type of information content that Russian citizens have access to on their televisions every day, the journalist explained that an anti-Ukrainian atmosphere had been created even before the invasion.
“Before the war started, it was very difficult to watch the news. There was no news about Russia. Nothing. All the news was about Ukraine, about how bad the economic situation was, the situation in civil society, the bad culture and so on. All the news every day was about Ukraine. Nothing about internal Russian news”he said.
“Currently, on the one hand, they are trying to fill all the airtime with infotainment or entertainment programs. And at the same time they are aggressively debating how Ukrainians hate Russians. That’s all”added Galina Timchenko, who stated that when Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power, repression and censorship began to increase.
Meduza manages to reach millions of people in Russia, despite the project’s editors having worked in exile for the past nine years. In April 2021, Russian authorities designated Meduza a “foreign agent” in an effort to reduce advertising revenue, and weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin began blocking Meduza’s website entirely.
Already in January this year, Moscow completely banned Meduza and declared the media outlet an illegal ‘undesirable organization’.
Faced with these circumstances, Meduza adapted and not only changed the language and style of the Russian press, but also managed to innovate in several areas – from new formats to advertising, from ‘podcasts’ to animated headlines and easy access to the public.
In 2022, Meduza received the Fritt Ord Award for its “courageous, independent and fact-based journalism”.
Source: DN
