Russia Outlaws The Moscow Times

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Facts

• The Russian prosecutor general's office has declared The Moscow Times 'undesirable,' effectively outlawing its operations in the country.¹
• The designation criminalizes engagement with the outlet and puts Russians working with or having links to the organization at risk of receiving sentences of up to five years in prison.²
• The Moscow Times has been outlawed for allegedly 'discrediting the decisions of the leadership of the Russian Federation in both foreign and domestic policy.'³
• Founded in 1992 as an English-language daily newspaper in Moscow, the outlet discontinued its print edition in 2017 before moving its editorial operations to the Netherlands in 2022.⁴
• Last year, Russia added The Moscow Times to its list of 'foreign agents.' Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter currently standing trial in Russia on alleged espionage charges, is among the prominent journalists who have worked for the outlet.¹
• This comes less than a month after the Kremlin banned Russians from accessing 81 news sites from 25 EU nations, including Le Monde and Politico, accusing them of 'systematically disseminating false information' about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.⁵

Sources: ¹Washington Post, ²Guardian, ³Voice of America, ⁴Dw.Com and ⁵Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by The Moscow Times. There's a reason why Russia ranks 162 out of 180 on the 2024 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. The labeling of The Moscow Times as 'undesirable' is part of an effort to methodically target and silence news sites critical of the Kremlin and suppress journalists and organizations reporting on the truth in Russia and its war in Ukraine. Moscow can escalate its campaign against independent media, and such labels may make the journalists' job challenging, but the champions of democracy will continue to turn silence into speech.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. The Moscow Times served as a training ground for several journalists involved in anti-Kremlin propaganda. It systematically published articles that included false information of public interest, such as Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. As part of an ecosystem of foreign-funded and foreign-based organizations hostile to Moscow, the Moscow Times received funding from the Dutch and US governments. The Kremlin can accept an alternative point of view but can't accept disinformation aimed at discrediting Russian government policies.

Predictions