On this week's On the Media Midweek podcast, where re-airing a piece we ran in 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.

The situation on the ground for independent journalism in Russia is dire and getting

worse daily.

Echo Moskv and TV Reign went dark last week, and this week some international news outlets

announced that they're pulling their journalists out of the country in fear for their safety.

The current crackdowns are severe, but silencing dissenting voices isn't a new thing for

the Kremlin.

And the months leading up to the Duma elections, the Russian government came down hard on

news outlets and other organizations.

In this story, Molly explains how death by bureaucracy is the Kremlin's MO.

On July 15, Sonya Grasman lost her job.

It wasn't the best day of my life, I can tell you.

Grasman is a 27-year-old Russian journalist who used to work at an investigative news outlet

called Pryact.

I did a podcast which told the stories of Russian doctors who were on the front lines against

coronavirus, which was based on doctors' diaries.

And it was the only podcast that conveyed a realistic picture of what was happening

in Russia's hospitals.

But back in July, the Russian government went after Pryact, calling it a quote, undesirable

organization and basically banning it from the country.

...