Russia / Europe & Central Asia

Berlin, May 22, 2025—Russian authorities must immediately cease their raids on the editorial office of Bars, a regional television broadcaster based in Ivanovo city, and the home of its editor-in-chief, Sergey Kustov, return all equipment and documents seized, and ensure that members of the media platform are not threatened with criminal charges over their work,…

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…

Berlin, May 9, 2025—Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Veronika Orlova, who was detained Tuesday in Moscow after filming the aftermath of a protest against President Vladimir Putin, and drop all charges against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Orlova, a reporter with the independent news outlet SOTAvision, was in Moscow to cover a…

New York, April 15, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to immediately release Russian journalists Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Krieger, Konstantin Gabov, and Sergey Karelin, who were sentenced by a Moscow court on Tuesday to 5 ½ years in prison on extremism charges. The journalists were all accused of association with the anti-corruption…

New York, March 28, 2025—A court in Russia’s southern Altai Krai on Thursday convicted Maria Ponomarenko, a correspondent for independent news site RusNews, of using violence against prison staff and sentenced her to an additional 22 months in prison. Ponomarenko is already serving a six-year prison sentence after being convicted in February 2023 on charges…

New York, February 27, 2025—CPJ calls on Russian authorities to drop legal proceedings against 64-year-old Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash, who is under house arrest and could be jailed for up to 10 years for criticizing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On February 25, Ukrainian-born Barabash, a film critic for the independent outlet Republic, was detained…

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, its media has experienced an unprecedented crackdown. Hundreds of journalists have been forced into exile, where they continue to face transnational legal persecution, and their families have been harassed back home. Meanwhile, reporting from inside Russia has become increasingly difficult, with journalists and media outlets often silenced…

Berlin, February 11, 2025—After a year that saw Russia increase its pressure on independent media and journalists, authorities are seeking to tighten the squeeze on dissenting voices from March 1 by blocking those designated as “foreign agents’” from access to their earnings. The 2025 law requires those listed by the justice ministry as “persons under…

Berlin, January 14, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to stop persecuting the regional news site Komi Daily and the independent media outlet Asians of Russia, which the Federal Security Service (FSB) added to its list of “terrorist organizations.” This marks the first time media publications have been labeled as such in Russia, according…

New York, November 27, 2024—Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a Wednesday press briefing that German journalists Frank Aischmann and Sven Feller were “ordered to hand in their accreditation” and leave Russian territory “in due time.” Zakharova said the move was a “symmetrical measure” to German authorities’ ban “on the presence and work”…