No More Free Speech or Independent Journalism in Russia

There is a widespread consensus in the free world that Russian media is now dead.  Russia has now passed a law under which anyone who publicly calls Putin’s war on Ukraine a “war” or "invasion" can be jailed for up to 15 years, The New York Times reports. The new law, passed by the Russian parliament, applies to not only news articles and broadcast news but even social media.  The law made it a crime to spread any information that is deemed by false by Russian authorities.

All the major news networks have stopped broadcast operations in Russia.  The BBC said the law "appears to criminalize the process of independent journalism."  Bloomberg said the new law "seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association [and] makes it impossible to continue any semblance of normal journalism inside the country."  CNN is stopping any live broadcasts from Russia, as well as ending its broadcasts into Russia.   Digital media have also stopped putting reporters' names and locations on their stories, in a bid to protect them from retaliation and prison time.

TV Rain, the last independent news channel in Russia stopped broadcasting as well, with its last report shared on YouTube:

Liberal radio station Echo on Moscow was also forced off the air by Russian authorities last week, due to its coverage of the Ukraine invasion.  The station, which has been on the air since 1990,  gained attention during the unsuccessful coup against Gorbachev by Russian hardliners.  It was one of the few news outlets that spoke out against the group of eight communist and KGB hardliners behind the overthrow plot.

Nearly 4,000 people have been detained at anti-war protests across 53 Russian cities today, rights groups and Russian authorities say.   Some 1,700 people were detained in Moscow alone.  Although protests have become increasingly restricted in recent years, numerous rallies have taken place across Russia since the invasion.  In the last 11 days, more than 10,000 people have been detained at protests, OVD-Info says.  Of course, none of this will now be reported inside Russia, due to the dictatorial censorship from Putin.