Vanishing voices: independent media forced to close or emigrate

Over the course of the year, 2024 has become a difficult year for journalists and independent publications. Under pressure from new laws (“foreign agents,” “extremism,” “discrediting the army”), many media outlets either closed or curtailed their activities. Journalists either left or switched to anonymous work. Those who remained were subjected to checks, threats, and pressure. Many began to self-censor so as not to get themselves into trouble. This meant that the news that was previously covered no longer appeared: about corruption, about arrests, about protests, about real losses. Social memory became fragmentary: events were erased, facts disappeared, voices became silent. For many, this has become a link in the chain of alienation between citizens and information. 2024 was the year when the media space in Russia became almost “monolithic”: little pluralism, little diversity, a lot of fears.