Anna Brakha
Anna Brakha joined CPJ as a Europe and Central Asia researcher in 2022. Prior to CPJ, she worked in different structures at the crossroads of media and international relations. She holds a master’s degree in international relations and post-Soviet studies from INALCO University and a Master of Science of Management and Media and Digital industries from ESSEC Business School. She speaks French and Russian.
Belarus opens criminal cases against more than 60 journalists in exile
Documentary filmmaker Maryia Bulavinskaya’s love of history led her to buy a traditional wood home in the Belarusian village of Rogi-Iletsky in 2019. Her plans to renovate and eventually live in the house were put on hold in 2020 when she fled the country out of fear of being detained for her coverage of anti-government…
How Russia silences critical coverage of its war in Ukraine
Russia’s months-long jailing of journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva —released on August 1 as part of a prisoner exchange — was one of the most blatant illustrations of Russia’s muzzling of the press in the wake of its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has precipitated what a representative of the now-shuttered Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’…
Covering Ukraine: When a Russian missile brought death to a popular pizza restaurant
It is around 7:30 p.m. on June 27 in the Ria Lounge, one of the few restaurants still open in Kramatorsk, a frontline city in eastern Ukraine. Known by regulars as “Ria Pizza” for its signature dish, the restaurant is packed on this summer Tuesday. Locals, aid workers, off-duty soldiers, and journalists have flocked here…
SOTA, one of the last independent news outlets in Russia, doubles down on coverage
Since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, Russia has sought to stamp out independent reporting on the war, prompting journalists to flee and newsrooms to shut down or to self-censor under threat of criminal prosecution. Remarkably, one local outlet has continued to produce robust reporting despite the repressive environment. SOTA, which counts a staff of 40 journalists and support workers,…