Independent Russian News Outlets Shut Down As Journalists Flee Country Fearing For Their Safety
Photo by DENIS BALIBOUSE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to dominate the news and Vladimir Putin’s deadly onslaught struggles to achieve its brutal goals, Russia’s last independent news outlets are being forced to shutter under pressure.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office ordered both TV Rain, also known as Dozhd, and a radio station, Radio Echo, also known as Echo of Moscow, to have their access within the country restricted.
As CNN’s Brian Stelter reported on Thursday morning, “TV Rain’s Editor-in-Chief Tikhon Dzyadko announced on Telegram that he and his family, along with the editorial staff, have left Russia.”
“After the blocking of Dozhd’s website, Dozhd’s social media accounts, and the threat against some employees, it is obvious that the personal safety of some of us is at risk,” Dzyadko said Wednesday.
Dzyadko is not the only Russian journalist fleeing the country fearing for his safety. As Reuters notes, “Russian journalists have faced an increasingly difficult environment in recent years, with many being designated by the authorities as ‘foreign agents,’ a status that snares them in official paperwork and exposes them to public contempt.”
Echo of Moscow’s management announced on Thursday it would end broadcasts after having its access restricted, in what Reuters dubbed “a big blow to independent media in Russia after years of intensifying pressure from the authorities.”
“The Ekho Moskvy board of directors has decided by a majority of votes to liquidate the radio channel and the website of Ekho Moskvy,” Editor-in-Chief Alexei Venediktov said on Telegram.
Independent media in Russia has been under increased pressure since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. While state-run media and heavily regulated pro-Kremlin outlets push Russian propaganda and false accusations of Ukrainian oppression of ethnic Russians, Putin has worked overtime to restrict the free flow of information.
Last week Russia restricted its citizens’ access to Facebook after the social media platform censored false Russian allegations accusing Ukraine’s government of genocide. Russia’s government issued an official statement saying it would limit its citizens’ access to Facebook by slowing down traffic.
