“We publish this text while we are on time: Russia has officially introduced state censorship.” so it begins the article published by the Russian independent media outlet Meduza, in which he denounces the Kremlin’s policy of censorship with the invasion of Ukraine. “In a few days, maybe even today, there will be no independent media left in Russia. Very soon, anyone in Russia seeking information on “enemy voices” from independent sources may have to go to the same lengths as those living behind the Iron Curtain.”
Meduza denounces that the federal censor demands that they refer to the invasion as a “special military operation”, asks the media to eliminate war reports and has blocked other websites such as Taiga.info, Doxa, The Village, TV Rain or Echo Moskvy radio. “These actions constitute censorship, plain and simple.”
Meduza was listed by the Russian government’s Ministry of Justice as a “foreign agent” in April 2021. The Kremlin’s decision meant financially drowning the media outlet. With more than 13 million unique visitors per month, he had to close his newsrooms in Riga and Moscow, cut the salaries of his staff by 30-40% and stop hiring journalists, According to Reporters Without Borders.
“With independent means, Putin would not have invaded Ukraine”
“In a Russia with uncensored national television networks, Putin may never have carried out this invasion. Our current networks show Putin exactly what he wants to see: a set of lies that he himself has, to all appearances, embraced and used as the basis for his real-world decisions,” the statement read.
Russia is ranked 150th out of 180 countries in the 2020 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index.
www.eldiario.es