Dear Reader,
Russians now find themselves behind a new Iron Curtain. Nearly every independent news site and social media platform is suddenly inaccessible, available only through some VPNs or the dark web. This includes the sites of nine RFE/RL reporting teams serving Russian audiences.
Millions of Russians are cut off not only from our reporting but from the wider international debates that are happening on the key global social media platforms.
It was a step we had expected and prepared for. What we hadn’t anticipated, however, was how a normally routine editorial consideration can take on a terrible new urgency when the lights start to dim: What does our audience need to hear from us while they still have the chance?
The past week of Russia’s war in Ukraine has destroyed cities and killed civilians. It has also seen droves of underprepared Russian soldiers dying or being taken into captivity as prisoners of war. And it has seen sweeping sanctions isolate Russia and hobble its economy virtually overnight.
None of that – sanctions aside – was being reported inside Russia. None.
That’s why RFE/RL has used the past week to bring Russian audiences the stories they weren’t getting anywhere else, and most definitely not from their own state media. Here are some of our most-read stories from the past 24 hours (still in their original Russian). These are the stories the Kremlin doesn’t want Russians to see:
'They’ve Been Abandoned': Across Russia, families learn from the Internet – not from the Russian military – that their sons have been killed or taken as prisoners of war.
Who’s Fighting And Dying For The 'Russian World' In Ukraine: In the Volga-Urals, a report on the disproportionate number of ethnic minorities at the front lines.
'It’s A Catastrophe': Economists predict ruinous consequences for Russia as a result of the Ukraine invasion.
It has been devastating to see the information blockade imposed on the Russian people. But we remain on the ground, reporting the truth, and still reaching our audiences through remaining social media platforms, on messaging services, e-mail, radio, and the dark web.
If you have friends or family in Russia, please make sure they are equipped with a VPN. We recommend nthLink as a free solution supported by the Open Technology Fund, who help us in the fight against online censorship. Please also share these instructions with them. These steps will make it so much harder for the Kremlin to keep them uninformed about this brutal war.
The lights aren’t out just yet.
Daisy Sindelar
Editor in Chief and Vice President
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty