Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many independent Russian media outlets have left Russia, moving to countries such as Latvia, Israel and Turkey. As of January 2023, at least 1,000 journalists had fled, many of whom are now working in exile.
Between the end of February 2022 and April 2022, Latvia issued around 260 visas to journalists fleeing Russia. "We see Riga as a strategic location from which we can hear what Russians think, including those Russians that are in exile," Elmārs Svekis, office head at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, told Euronews. It is an EU country in which Russian is widely spoken.
One of the biggest independent Russian news sources, Meduza, was already in Latvia. Meduza was founded in Riga in 2014 and, in 2021, Russia named it a "foreign agent". In early 2023, Russia announced that the outlet was an "undesirable organization". This declaration threatens sources, donors and journalists with fines or prosecution if they continue to work with Meduza. ZEIT, ZEIT ONLINE and Handelsblatt Media Group also support Meduza.
Journalists working in exile believe it is important to stay connected to life in Russia. "It would be the worst thing if we become like the people abroad who don't understand anything about the situation in Russia, but tell people about the situation in Russia," Tikhon Dzyadko, editor-in-chief of TV Rain, a Russian news outlet now based in the Netherlands, told the BBC.