Independent journalism in Russia after the fall of the free press

Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities imposed military censorship in all but name, annihilating the entire domestic free press. Within a week of Moscow’s “special operation in the Donbas,” the television station Dozhd and radio station Ekho Moskvy both shut down, ending 12 and 32 years, respectively, of independent journalism. In late March, after a 28-year run, the newspaper Novaya Gazeta suspended all reporting until the end of the war, citing warnings from the federal censor. Many of the journalists who worked for these outlets have already fled Russia, but they continue their work at new platforms, on their own channels at YouTube, Telegram, and elsewhere.

For a better understanding of this new guerilla reporting, The Naked Pravda spoke to two independent journalists now operating from outside Russia to find out how they’re managing this job: Farida Rustamova (who uses Telegram and Substack) and Ekaterina Kotrikadze (on Telegram and YouTube).

Timestamps for this episode:

• (2:43) Did Russian independent journalists lose the fight against Kremlin propaganda?
• (10:23) How has military censorship damaged the quality of reporting and information available from Russia?
• (18:55) Rustamova’s path to Substack.
• (26:52) Kotrikadze on TV Rain’s plans for the future.
• (36:23) Did Kotrikadze see the full-scale invasion coming?

Producer, sound editing, and mixing — Kevin Rothrock

Send any questions or comments to kevin@meduza.io

Theme music — Victor Davydov