In 2024, russian courts issued a significant number of fines to journalists or readers of media outlets that russian authorities declared “undesirable”, according to Mediazona. The majority of these fines were reportedly levied against Latvia-based Meduza, with others including the U.S.-funded Radio Liberty / RFE outlets, and exiled Dozhd (Rain) TV also fined. Most fines targeted authors, editors or commentators who contributed to publications, according to the UK Defense Intelligence.
The fines are almost certainly intended to deter media outlets from reporting anything that contradicts or criticises official russian narratives regarding the war. The fines are intended to deter and intimidate those in russia who engage with media and reject government-controlled narratives disseminated via state-controlled media.
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This activity fits with a pattern of increased russian government efforts to control the media and further restrict freedom of speech since the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Most independent russian media has been shuttered or forced abroad, and the russian government has instituted and enforced increasingly draconian restrictions on citizens’ abilities to access foreign media. Russian efforts to constrain media will highly likely continue throughout the war, reflecting heightened leadership sensitivity to the war’s inherent potential to impact regime stability.
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