UK intelligence explains Kremlin's crackdown on independent media and their readers
Photo: The Kremlin has stepped up its crackdown on independent media and their readers (Getty Images)
In 2024, Russian courts issued a large number of fines to journalists or readers of media outlets that the Russian authorities declared “undesirable.” The fines are aimed at intimidating and deterring them from publishing, reports the UK Ministry of Defense.
According to the Russian independent media organization Mediazona, most of these fines were reportedly imposed on the Meduza project operating in Latvia, as well as others, including the US-funded Radio Liberty and the Dozhd TV channel.
Most of the fines were aimed at authors, editors, or commentators who contributed to the articles.
According to British intelligence, the fines are aimed at deterring independent media from reporting anything that contradicts or criticizes official Russian narratives on the Russia-Ukraine war. The fines are aimed at deterring and intimidating those in Russia who engage with independent media and reject the government-controlled narratives that are disseminated through state-controlled media.
“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,” the report says.
Most independent Russian media outlets have been closed or forced to work abroad, while the Russian government has introduced and enforced increasingly stringent restrictions on citizens' access to foreign media.
“Russian efforts to constrain independent media will highly likely continue throughout the conflict, reflecting heightened leadership sensitivity to the conflict's inherent potential to impact regime stability,” the British Ministry of Defense said.
Earlier, British intelligence said that the Russian authorities had stepped up repression of dissidents in Russia, although before the war against Ukraine, they used milder methods.
According to the independent Levada Center, in December 2024, only 15% of Russians opposed the war with Ukraine. Support for the war has been stable since February 2022 at 75%.
