Global Investigative Journalism Network

05/09/2022

Ever since Russia attacked Ukraine in February, almost all remaining independent Russian media outlets and at least 150 journalists have been forced into exile, following a brutal crackdown on free expression and journalism by the Kremlin. Some are operating from rented homes or donated office space in Eastern European capitals like Riga, Vilnius, and Prague, while reporters struggle with residency permits, housing, blocked Russian credit cards, and anxiety.

Exiled media are nothing new. Syrian-Lebanese journalists in Cairo during the late 1800s helped launch the modern Arab press, and the Cold War produced a rich vein of exiled anti-Communist writers. What has changed is the technology, which now enables journalists to better report on their former homelands, and their audiences to better access that reporting.

Many autocracy-displaced media have managed to navigate surviving outside their home country with varying degrees of success.

The free speech community is also rallying in support. In March, Germany’s Schöpflin and Rudolf Augstein foundations – in collaboration with Reporters Without Borders (RSF) – launched the JX Fund, a European fund dedicated to helping exiled independent journalists set up in new locations.

Meanwhile, many ordinary Russians are energetically doing their part to reconnect with banned independent media, with the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and free censorship circumvention apps skyrocketing since Russia effectively banned independent journalism in March. According to a report by The Washington Post in May — based on data from an analytics company, Apptopia — the daily download rate of the 10 most popular VPNs in Russia rose from around 15,000 before the invasion to a peak of 475,000 in March, and continued at a rate of almost 300,000 per day in early May. (More on some of those apps below). The report added that Kremlin authorities have blocked or restricted more than 1,000 websites since the invasion.