Support free press and non-profits combating political persecution in Russia. Russian propaganda works well and poisons western media as well as local peopleās minds. People in Russia should have access to trustworthy sources of information. Those who arenāt scared to express their opinions in public should have access to legal assistance: today 1700 people involved in street protests against the war were arrested.
Personally, I donate to Meduza (Russian online newspaper and news aggregator) and OVD-Info (human rights service). Both of them have been labeled as āforeign agentsā in Russia.
Thanks for the recommendations! Of the two, OVD-Info looks particularly promising. While Meduza seems partially redundant (correct me if Iām wrong), because all the information is already available from other sources, OVD-Info really seems to make anti-regime actions easier.
For the majority of my Russian friends, Meduza is the main news source. Itās more than a news aggregator. They release a lot of exclusive content, podcasts, interviews, newsletter, and FAQs on the most important topics. They also do fact-checking and have inside sources within the government.
In recent days most of the independent media operated from Russia were blocked (e.g., TV Rain channel, Echo of Moscow radio station). There are almost no āother sourcesā left. And most important, the Russian government canāt threaten the editors, because Meduza is based in Riga, Latvia. Even if it gets blocked in Russia, it will be still accessible through their app or VPNs.
They have an English edition too, hereāre some examples of their recent journalism that I recommend:
There is also TV Rain (or Dozhd, its Russian name), an independent TV station which my Belarusian friend recommended to me as the only Russian news source he uses. Unfortunately it seems you can only donate if youāre a Russian citizen...(I guess Meduza gets around the restriction because itās based in Latvia)
Thank you for these suggestions, though; Iāve donated to both of them.
Unfortunately, TV Rain website was blocked a few days ago by the Russian government and they suspended all the broadcasting. They operated from Moscow and risks of repressions for them were really high.
I would say that Meduza is the main independent news source in Russia right now. They can experience funding gaps because a lot of Russian citizens wonāt be able to make donations with their bank cards because of sanctions. Thanks for your donations!
Thanks Alex. I am just looking for a way to help Ukrainians too. I read yesterday that Dozhd stopped working due to the governement sanctions. I am therefore wondering, does it make sense to donate to Meduza or does one not risk that they will be forbibben in a few weeks anyways? Anyone have an idea on this? Best Anne
To be honest, I donāt think this donation will do anything, and not just because the media is blocked. Putin supporters do not read liberal media like Meduza, so it is not going to change minds. What it can do is call thousands of liberals to peacefully protest on the streets. As we have been doing for the past 11+ years, with zero effect. Unless millions of people join the protests (which they wonāt, not until sanctions cause famine or something) or protests turn violent (which they wonāt, most liberals firmly believe in nonviolence), Putin is just going to ignore them, like he did all these years. These protests are not effective. Ukraineās resistance, on the other hand, is having an effect. They only fought for one day and Putin asked for negotiations. Theyāre destroying the myth of Putin the strong leader, whoās going to unite slavic lands and bring back USSR. Sanctions are destroying the āstabilityā, the second reason people supported Putin. Dead soldiers are a more convincing argument against war than all the words we can say and have said for the past 8 years. Thatās why I believe the effective thing to do is to support Ukrainian army, call for more sanctions against Russia and help the refugees.
Support free press and non-profits combating political persecution in Russia. Russian propaganda works well and poisons western media as well as local peopleās minds. People in Russia should have access to trustworthy sources of information. Those who arenāt scared to express their opinions in public should have access to legal assistance: today 1700 people involved in street protests against the war were arrested.
Personally, I donate to Meduza (Russian online newspaper and news aggregator) and OVD-Info (human rights service). Both of them have been labeled as āforeign agentsā in Russia.
Thanks Alex, I appreciate this. Donated.
Thanks for the recommendations! Of the two, OVD-Info looks particularly promising. While Meduza seems partially redundant (correct me if Iām wrong), because all the information is already available from other sources, OVD-Info really seems to make anti-regime actions easier.
You convinced me to donate :)
For the majority of my Russian friends, Meduza is the main news source. Itās more than a news aggregator. They release a lot of exclusive content, podcasts, interviews, newsletter, and FAQs on the most important topics. They also do fact-checking and have inside sources within the government.
In recent days most of the independent media operated from Russia were blocked (e.g., TV Rain channel, Echo of Moscow radio station). There are almost no āother sourcesā left. And most important, the Russian government canāt threaten the editors, because Meduza is based in Riga, Latvia. Even if it gets blocked in Russia, it will be still accessible through their app or VPNs.
They have an English edition too, hereāre some examples of their recent journalism that I recommend:
Why no mass protests in Russia?
āIām panicking ā where is my child?ā
Traumatized by the news
OK, I underestimated them. Thanks for clarifying!
What they do is certainly impressive.
Thank you for sharing Alex, Donated.
There is also TV Rain (or Dozhd, its Russian name), an independent TV station which my Belarusian friend recommended to me as the only Russian news source he uses. Unfortunately it seems you can only donate if youāre a Russian citizen...(I guess Meduza gets around the restriction because itās based in Latvia)
Thank you for these suggestions, though; Iāve donated to both of them.
Unfortunately, TV Rain website was blocked a few days ago by the Russian government and they suspended all the broadcasting. They operated from Moscow and risks of repressions for them were really high.
I would say that Meduza is the main independent news source in Russia right now. They can experience funding gaps because a lot of Russian citizens wonāt be able to make donations with their bank cards because of sanctions. Thanks for your donations!
Thanks Alex. I am just looking for a way to help Ukrainians too.
I read yesterday that Dozhd stopped working due to the governement sanctions. I am therefore wondering, does it make sense to donate to Meduza or does one not risk that they will be forbibben in a few weeks anyways? Anyone have an idea on this?
Best
Anne
Update on the question: We aināt done yet The Russian authorities are now blocking Meduza. Weāre ready for this, but we need your help. ā Meduza
To be honest, I donāt think this donation will do anything, and not just because the media is blocked. Putin supporters do not read liberal media like Meduza, so it is not going to change minds. What it can do is call thousands of liberals to peacefully protest on the streets. As we have been doing for the past 11+ years, with zero effect. Unless millions of people join the protests (which they wonāt, not until sanctions cause famine or something) or protests turn violent (which they wonāt, most liberals firmly believe in nonviolence), Putin is just going to ignore them, like he did all these years. These protests are not effective.
Ukraineās resistance, on the other hand, is having an effect. They only fought for one day and Putin asked for negotiations. Theyāre destroying the myth of Putin the strong leader, whoās going to unite slavic lands and bring back USSR. Sanctions are destroying the āstabilityā, the second reason people supported Putin. Dead soldiers are a more convincing argument against war than all the words we can say and have said for the past 8 years. Thatās why I believe the effective thing to do is to support Ukrainian army, call for more sanctions against Russia and help the refugees.