Press freedom: 'Sooner or later, you have to leave Russia'

"Another ten Siberians killed in the 'special operation' in Ukraine" — "Allegations of torture of prisoners in Irkutsk heard in court" — "Krasnoyarsk governor's son's American connections." In Russia, these are headlines that can put you behind bars. But the editors of taiga.info tackle such topics all the same, risking their own safety in doing so. Why? Because they know they're needed.

"Of course, we're all afraid," editor Viktor Chistyakov admitted to DW. "But you're either trapped in this fear, or you overcome it." Chistyakov overcomes his fear every day — and he is glad that his internet portal taiga.info is among the top 20 most quoted media sources in Russia, even though it has only two full-time editors left. A few months ago, there were twelve.

"All those who could leave have left. Only a handful of real journalists have remained in Russia," the 50-year-old observes, with resignation. "We decided that, after 18 years, we would keep going. Because this is where our story is."

A mission, not a business

The story of taiga.info could have ended last year, when it was blocked by the central media regulator Roskomnadzor. Since then, it can only be accessed in encrypted form via so-called VPN apps. However, Chistyakov is pleased to report that this hasn't deterred critically-minded readers. On the contrary: "We now receive more donations from our readers than from companies, as we used to." Overall, though, their revenue has collapsed, and it can no longer be described as a business, he says. His work is now a mission.

A mission with limitations. "We have to not cross certain red lines. We try to stay this side of the horizon." That's how Chistyakov describes the legal framework that constrains people working in the media in Russia today. So, to be on the safe side, he uses the phrase "special operation" — as decreed by the authorities — for Russia's war against Ukraine, or paraphrases it as "the well-known events."

Taiga.info also doesn't report on the war directly, but about its consequences for people in Siberia, Russia's biggest region: Consequences for the economy, for social problems, and, of course, over and over again, the effects of the mobilization.

'Sooner or later you have to leave Russia'

This is also an important topic for the other independent media outlet in Russia, "Groza," which means "The Storm." Its creators are based in Kazan, the capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, in Ekaterinburg in the Urals, and Novosibirsk in Siberia. They are students, writing for students: "A network of the student magazines in Russia" is how Groza describes itself.

The outlet covers subjects ranging from corruption in universities to tips and rules of conduct for students during mobilization. Speaking to DW, its editor-in-chief Leonid Spirin describes the range of topics as follows: "As far as we're concerned, no one is untouchable. Our staff's security concerns do not affect our editorial policies."

Editorial conferences on sensitive topics are held via the encrypted messenger service Signal; they don't use the authors' real names, and they work with local lawyers who can help at any time.

For the first six months of the war, Groza's journalists tried to comply with the notorious law concerning the so-called "discrediting of the Russian armed forces." Among other things, this law forbids calling the war in Ukraine a war. "It is a repressive law," says Spirin. "Its true aim is intimidation. There were independent media in Russia that followed the law from the beginning. They were still banned, because they were addressing uncomfortable issues."

So Groza calls the war a war. Does Spirin fear for his young colleagues in Russia? "We have, of course, discussed this, and we established that sooner or later you have to leave Russia if you want to do independent journalism. So leaving is only a matter of time."

For now, though, media like Groza and taiga.info are still holding out inside Russia. They are still trying "to provide sharp-tongued reporting, and to make people aware of what the majority don't see." This is how Viktor Chistyakov describes his mission. He hopes that his portal taiga.info will continue. For how long? Chistyakov smiles: "As long as possible."

This article has been translated from German.