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Russia

  • Population: 120,458,000 adults
  • USAGM weekly audience: 8.7%
  • VOA weekly audience: 4.0%

Russian Language Service

Amidst the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine and increased censorship in the Russian media landscape, VOA Russian confronts significant hu dles in its mission to disseminate credible news and information. With escalating government control and the suppression of independent voices, VOA Russian’s shift towards unrestricted digital platforms has become imperative.

VOA Russian has expanded its multimedia news coverage around the clock and improving the utilization of circumvention tools to ensure access to its extensive digital platforms, including its website, mobile apps, podcasts, and various social media channels like YouTube and Telegram. The Service remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering accurate, objective, and comprehensive coverage of U.S. news and policies towards the region and serves as a vital reality check on Kremlin propaganda. By prioritizing digital innovation and collaboration with local independent news organizations and journalists, VOA Russian strives to maintain its relevance and deliver credible news amidst the increasingly hostile media landscape in Russia.

Press Freedom Situation

Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has effectively stamped out all independent media inside the country. Moscow enacted several laws that include hefty prison terms for calling the war a war or spreading what the Kremlin deems to be false information about the conflict. Russia has ramped up the number of organizations and individuals deemed “undesirable” or “foreign agents,” is accused of targeting Russian journalists in exile, and remains a leading jailer of journalists. It is currently detaining Nika Novak, a contributor to VOA sister network RFE/RL. Moscow has designated VOA a foreign agent and blocked access to its website.

  • RSF Score: 24.57
  • Ranking: 171 / 180 countries
  • Jailed journalists: 30

Testimonial videos

Rafael Saakov

VOA Russian reporter

“From exposing political prisoners in Russia to covering U.S. lawmakers fighting for human rights, VOA's Russian Service told stories that President Vladimir Putin did not want the Russian-speaking audience to hear.”

“Today is a holiday for me and my colleagues at RT and Sputnik. … We couldn’t shut them down, unfortunately, but America did so itself.”

—Margarita Simonyan
Editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-backed RT network and the Rossiya Segodnya news agency