The Baltic States have become a haven for Russian journalists fleeing their country. It has been impossible for the independent press to work in Russia since the beginning of the occupation of Ukraine. Moscow has passed new laws that impose heavy prison terms for publishing information the government describes as “false information”.
The Baltic States have become a haven for Russian journalists fleeing their country. It has been impossible for the independent press to work in Russia since the beginning of the occupation of Ukraine. Moscow has passed new laws that impose heavy prison terms for publishing information the government describes as “false information”.
With information from Marielle Vitureau, RFI correspondent in Riga
After the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Russian dissidents turned to the Baltic countries anyway. Today, Russian journalists settle there to work freely. The Moscow newspaper, which ended its publication life in Russia at the end of March, was placed in a local magazine building in Riga, the capital of Latvia, next to the city’s statue of liberty “Milda”.
“We published the first issue, but we are not thinking of daily or weekly publications. We just wanted to show the Russian society and its leaders that we are still alive. This is primarily an anti-war edition,” says the editor-in-chief. From the Moscow newspaper. To reach Russian readers, the team of journalists bet on the Internet or on apps like Telegram, networks that have not yet been banned in Russia.
In the tradition of militant journalism, the editor-in-chief moved with the team to Riga with a definite purpose. “My strategy is to make the newspaper a voice for pro-European Russians on both sides of the border. We want to recreate a cross-border Russia that will be like part of the European community. I know there are millions of Russians who speak Russian. People support Ukraine.” and the European Union is in this war,” he said.
Also, journalists Moscow Times He settled in Riga, Latvia. “I wrote an article yesterday about Russian propaganda in schools and an NGO helping Ukrainians flee Russia,” a 27-year-old reporter said. “I continue to address the war and all related issues,” he said.
Censor
Those who stayed in Russia say the situation is not easy for the press. “It’s getting harder and harder to maintain our network of correspondents,” says the Russian editor, who has moved to Riga. “People no longer have the right to present themselves as journalists. They have become sort of spies, they no longer have credentials and have lost their legal status; they often remain anonymous and in some cases we cannot pay their salaries,” he said.
Neighboring Estonia also began to welcome the independent Russian press. A journalist from an investigative website that checks the news has managed to partner with an Estonian website, but life is tough because the Baltic states do not issue work visas to Russia, only in “humanitarian situations”. “My stay here has been complicated by local jurisdiction and now I don’t know how I can stay here for more than a year. My website may be registered in the country, but unless I have a visa, nothing will be done,” he said.
According to Russian journalist Denis Kataev, “it is currently impossible to be a journalist in an independent media in Russia”. “It’s dangerous to do this job today. The law against misleading information, fake news was passed by the Russian parliament, and you can be accused of the simple use of the word ‘war’ ever since. It’s a “military operation.” And in that context, you could be sentenced to fifteen years in prison. There is also a treason law that provides for twenty years in prison,” he said. RFI.
source: Noticias
