Russian media of the new diaspora – a look at three projects

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that started 24 February was promptly followed by domestic repressions, including the crackdown on press freedom. In a matter of days, Russian authorities started blocking access to media outlets for disseminating “disinformation” about the war. A week later, the Russian parliament passed a law imposing a potential jail term of up to fifteen years for spreading “fake” news about the Russian military.

The new law, which essentially forbids Russians to say anything about the war that does not fall in line with the official propaganda, forced multiple media outlets to halt or even permanently close their operations in Russia. Many journalists, activists and other Russians who do not support the war, left the country. 

It is estimated that at least tens of thousands of Russians have fled their country since the start of the invasion. Many of them headed to countries which remained easily accessible for Russians, such as Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey. Others opted for countries like Lithuania or Israel. 

While some journalists who left Russia felt the duty to keep informing their audiences on what’s happening in Russia, some preferred the focus on a new audience: the new emigres, their struggles and their new surroundings. 

The Fix reached out to three newly created media projects operating in the diaspora and asked them about their agenda and plans for the future. The article is based on the interviews with Rubezhi’s Artyom Berlin, Bumaga’s Maria Rzaeva, and Volna’s Ilya Klishin. 

Rubezhi – serving emigrants in the Caucasus 

Rubezhi (meaning “frontiers”) was launched in March by three young Russian activists. As they found themselves in Armenia, they started thinking how they could support those who fled their countries as well as help build new communities in the countries they found themselves in, says one of the three founders, Artyom Berlin. 

The three of them came up with an idea for a Telegram channel which now features short explainers, sightseeing guides, stories about emigrants, reports about activist endeavours on issues such as domestic violence, as well as share announcements for various cultural events taking place in Georgia and Armenia.

As of August, the project has about fifteen permanent contributors based across Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Bulgaria. They also run an Instagram page and are planning on setting up a website for longer features. 

The main goal of the project is to mediate between various activist communities, says Berlin. It aims at educating Russian activists about the local culture and history of their new homes and connect them with Russian-speaking activists in Georgia and Armenia. Additionally, it also aspires to inform Russian activists who stayed in Russia on what is happening in the new diaspora communities.

The project is still run by volunteers, says Berlin, who also notes that organisations who used to support Russian activists are now hesitant to fund new Russia-related projects. He nevertheless remains hopeful that the project might attract more foreign funding  as it gains in visibility in the coming months. 

Paper Kartuli  – a media for all Tbilisi residents

Paper Kartuli was launched in the first half of July by journalists working for Bumaga (meaning “paper”), an independent local Saint Petersburg paper which got blocked in March by the Russian authorities due to its reporting on Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

After most of Bumaga’s team had ended up in Georgia, they wanted to do something they were good at, says Maria Rzaeva, Bumaga’s commercial director: to create a local media project, in this case for fellow Tbilisi residents, and turn it into a business. 

They started their new project on Telegram, as well as on Instagram and Facebook, where they post guides on local initiatives that support Ukrainians with humanitarian aid, tips on how to get married in Georgia as a foreigner, profiles and other personal stories. 

Despite being primarily a brainchild of Russian journalists, Paper Kartuli aims to go beyond only addressing the Russian speaking community, Rzaeva notes. The project sees as its main audience Tbilisi residents – locals and newcomers alike who would like to get recommendations of interesting places, learn about local personalities, and get a better understanding of the city.

Paper Kartuli publishes in both Russian and Georgian; for the latter, they work with a translator and a Georgian-speaking reporter. In the future, they want to hire more Georgian speakers, as well as to create content in English, says Rzaeva.

Right now, the project runs on modest foreign investments which cannot be used up in Russia due to sanctions and the Russian legislation, and employs eight people in different working capacities. It is focused on building a Tbilisi version of the urban landscape exploration app launched by Bumaga in Saint Petersburg, called PaperApp, which they also aim to turn into a revenue stream. 

Volna – a Telegram channel from Lithuania with global ambitions

Volna (meaning “wave”) is, as one of its creators, Ilya Klishin, describes it, a “small media with big ambitions” to create a single information space for Russian speakers who have found themselves in various cities in Europe and beyond. It aims at becoming a network, a conglomerate of local media united by a common name, editorial policy, standards and spirit. For now, though, it runs only the Vilnius edition.

Since early July, Volna has been operating as a Telegram channel aimed at Russian-speaking residents of Lithuania’s capital. A joint creation of three Russian media makers who moved to Lithuania after the start of the war – apart from Klishin, also Maksim Polyakov and Dmitry Kolezev – it publishes a daily news digest, breaking news relevant for the Russian speaking Lithuanian-based emigree community, the “Lithuanian word of the day” and other good-to-know facts about Lithuania, as well as explainers on the works of the Lithuanian society, such as the school system.

The next step is to launch a similar Telegram channel in Latvia, as well as Poland, Georgia and Armenia, says Klishin. The founders also eye Turkey, Serbia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, and Germany. By spring of 2023, the plan is to launch a website, as well as a network of Instagram accounts, podcasts and at least one YouTube channel.

Volna positions itself as a media project for Russian-speaking emigrants who have left not only Russia but also Belarus and Ukraine, adds Klishin. It proceeds from the fact that its readers oppose Russian aggression, advocate the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the return of Russia and Belarus to democratic paths of development.

The main goal of the project however, notes Klishin, is to build ties between emigrants, help them integrate into new countries, and eventually make the new Russian-speaking emigration community consolidated enough so that it can “influence events in the present and future”.

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