 "Russia bans The Moscow Times, designates it as 'undesirable' organisation")
In an effort to curb voices of dissent, Russia has designated one of its leading English news outlets, The Moscow Times as an “undesirable organization". On Wednesday, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office effectively banned the news outlet’s operation within Russia and stated that anyone who cooperates with it is open to prosecution in the country.
“A decision has been taken to declare the activities of The Moscow Times, a foreign nongovernmental organization, undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation,” the prosecutor general’s office said in a statement. The authorities came out with the ruling after they accused the news publication of “discrediting the decisions of the leadership of the Russian Federation in both foreign and domestic policy.”
The office also accused the English news company of “publications containing unreliable socially significant information aimed at discrediting the activities” of the Russian government regarding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The crackdown on the news outlet came days after it published a report that claimed that more Russians are in favour of conducting peace talks with Ukraine. The Moscow Times cited a poll conducted by Levada Center which stated 58 per cent of Russians are in favour of peace talks. This reflected the Russian public’s discontent with the Putin administration.
A long battle to sustain
The move threatens the staff of the news organisation with up to six years in prison for working in the company and also criminalises posting its articles online.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt is important to note that this is not the first time The Moscow Times has faced the wrath of Russian authorities. In April 2022, Moscow blocked the new outlet’s website and in November 2023, it deemed the publication as a “foreign agent”.
The designation made it next to impossible for the news outlet to monetise its audience inside Russia. “The Moscow Times has a long tradition of fact-based independent journalism,” Derk Sauer, The Moscow Times’ founder, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Breaking: @MoscowTimes aangemerk als ‘undesirable organization’ Uiteraard gaan we gewoon door met ons werk: onafhankelijke journalistiek. Dat is in Poetins Rusland een misdaad: Russia Outlaws The Moscow Times as 'Undesirable' Organization https://t.co/fwR0afG9iY
— Derksauer (@derksauer) July 10, 2024
“Whatever label the Russian authorities put on us, we’ll continue with our mission to provide our Russian and international readers with quality journalism. In Putin’s Russia, this is now a crime,” the statement further reads.
In the past, Sauer has helped around 150 staff working at The Moscow Times and other banned Russian news outlets, to relocate to Amsterdam along with their family members immediately after Russia invaded Ukrainian territories.
Story of The Moscow Times
The news publication was founded back in 1992, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Over the years, The Moscow Times quickly emerged as Russia’s main English-language news source.
The Russian news outlet maintained editorial independence even at a time when the Kremlin was putting immense pressure on the media after Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power. The publication had to discontinue its print edition back in 2017.
To reach more Russians, the website opened a Russian language service in 2020. The organisation was relocated to the Netherlands after Russia unleashed its wrath in Ukraine. Some of the former staff included prominent journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is currently standing trial in Russia on espionage charges.
With inputs from agencies.
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