“We are returning to a form of almost totalitarian media control, like in the days of Stalinism”, worries Reporters Without Borders

The two chambers of the Russian parliament are preparing to pass a law which will condemn up to 15 years in prison anyone who publishes “false information about the Russian military, especially if it entails serious consequences for the armed forces”. Another amendment provides penalties for “calls to impose sanctions on Russia”. These texts will apply both to the media, individuals and foreign journalists while dtwo rare independent voices in the Russian media landscape have been silenced.

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“We are really in a phase where what was then surviving from journalism worthy of the name is eradicated in Russia”, believes Christophe Deloire, secretary general of the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), guest of franceinfo on Friday March 4. For Christophe Deloire, Russian President Vladimir Putin is “clearly putting his country under glass”.

“There were already very few media that had managed to maintain their independence because the Kremlin’s repression was so fierce. There was just a small margin that remained with a few media like Docht television which was broadcast on the Internet because the satellite has been banned.”

Christophe Deloire, RSF

at franceinfo

More than 800 people have been arrested in Russia during banned demonstrations against the war in Ukraine, whether protesters, dissidents or journalists: “we are returning to a form of almost totalitarian media control, as in the days of Stalinism, in the sense that words are used to say the opposite”explains the secretary general of RSF.

Currently, Russia ranks 150th out of 180 countries in the world press freedom index. When the next ranking is broadcast on May 3, Chrsitophe Deloire believes that “Russia will continue its drift under the influence of a man who is a predator of freedom of the press, one of the worst, which is Vladimir Putin”.