On the Media

The Kremlin's M.O.


Listen Later

This is a piece we first ran last September. It's reported by OTM producer Molly Schwartz who until the war in Ukraine started was a fellow on a journalism program in Moscow. Molly’s recounted for us the effects of a bizarre and cumbersome law - one of the many tactics used by the Kremlin to silence dissenting voices. 

Following widespread protests across Russia last year in support of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny, Putin's government has engaged in a wave of crackdowns on dissent, expelling and imprisoning opposition leaders, and shutting down independent news outlets. They've also, since April 2021, added 30 Russian journalists or news outlets to the government's list of "foreign agents." 

Journalists or news organizations who are labeled as "foreign agents" don't have to to shut down or stop publishing. Instead, they have to jump through various bureaucratic hoops — like reporting all their income and expenses to the Ministry of Justice (to be publicly posted on its website), and, perhaps most Kafkaesque of all, including a 24-word legal disclaimer on top of everything they publish. This includes every article, every advertisement, every tweet, every Instagram story, every response to a friend's comment on social media. 

This is a segment from our September 24th, 2021 program, The Subversion Playbook.

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

On the MediaBy WNYC Studios

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

8,674 ratings


More shows like On the Media

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,113 Listeners

The Brian Lehrer Show by WNYC

The Brian Lehrer Show

1,539 Listeners

On Point | Podcast by WBUR

On Point | Podcast

3,896 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,909 Listeners

Political Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

Political Gabfest

8,498 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,844 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,190 Listeners

The Political Scene | The New Yorker by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

3,936 Listeners

Death, Sex & Money by Slate Podcasts

Death, Sex & Money

7,691 Listeners

Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Reveal

8,246 Listeners

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts by Slate Podcasts

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

3,506 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,668 Listeners

More Perfect by WNYC Studios

More Perfect

14,423 Listeners

1A by NPR

1A

4,611 Listeners

Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

Radio Atlantic

2,304 Listeners

Spooked by KQED and Snap Studios

Spooked

16,375 Listeners

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

6,751 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

15,977 Listeners

Dolly Parton's America by WNYC Studios & OSM Audio

Dolly Parton's America

16,352 Listeners

Radiolab for Kids by WNYC

Radiolab for Kids

1,038 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,220 Listeners