Reporters Flee Russia Amid Wartime Crackdown on the Free Press
A minimum of 150 Russian journalists are thought to have fled the country in recent days as authorities aim to suppress what is left of the country's independent media amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, according to the Agentsvo news website.
Under a new law signed by President Vladimir Putin, disseminating "knowingly fake information" about the Russian Armed Forces is punishable by imprisonment for up to 15 years. Additionally, Russian authorities have blocked several independent news websites or required them to remove articles referring to the conflict as a "war" or "invasion" rather than a "special military operation."
Approximately 20 members of Meduza's Moscow newsroom, as well as journalists from the Dozhd broadcaster, Ekho Moskvy radio station and Novaya Gazeta newspaper, are believed to have left the company.
Several western media outlets have suspended their reporting within Russia, including the BBC, CNN, and Bloomberg, in order to assess the potential impact of the new law.
According to Agentsvo, most employees of the BBC's Russian service (at least 15 people), Bloomberg and RFE/RL (funded by the United States) left Russia.
A survey by Agentsvo indicated that 17 newsrooms were interviewed.
Since the beginning of the invasion, Russia has conducted a systematic suppression of independent and critical voices.
While Dozhd, Ekho Moskvy, and Znak have been shut down after being blocked by the authorities, Meduza and Mediazona continue to operate. As a precaution, Novaya Gazeta has deleted all its old coverage of the invasion and stated that it will cease to do so in order to avoid being blocked.
During this period, state-controlled media outlets reinforced official narratives about the "special military operation" to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.
A large number of Russians have downloaded VPNs in an attempt to circumvent these restrictions. According to estimates from the digital metrics company Sensor Tower, the top five VPN apps have seen their total downloads increase by a staggering 2691% since February 25.
