We ain’t done yet The Russian authorities are now blocking Meduza. We’re ready for this, but we need your help.
On March 1, 2022 — what feels like a century ago — we sent a message to our newsletter subscribers, warning that the Russian authorities planned to block Meduza along with the last remnants of the country’s independent news media. That has now come to pass. Hours ago, we received confirmation that the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies, and Mass Communications (known more commonly as Roskomnadzor) is now requiring Internet service providers inside Russia to block access to Meduza’s website.
We and a handful of other outlets are accused of “disseminating information in violation of the law.” This attack on the free press is happening because the Kremlin has something to hide — because it has more in store. Put simply, we have been banned for reporting information from sources other than the Russian state itself, particularly when it comes to the invasion of Ukraine, which Roskomnadzor has made it unlawful to call either an invasion or a war.
But Russia is at war with Ukraine. This war is an unprovoked act of aggression by the Russian state against the people of Ukraine. Meduza rejects any attempt to limit our freedom to report the truth about this conflict or any other subject. The Russian authorities can try to stop the public from seeing our journalism, but they will fail. We have prepared for this. Meduza has a mobile app, we have an enormous audience on social media, and we distribute newsletters over email. Our readers will also still be able to reach us using VPNs.
There’s one challenge for which we are not prepared, however. Ninety percent of the donations we receive come through the payment systems Stripe and PayPal. Our readers in Russia want to keep supporting us, but now their bank cards are being rejected. Additionally, economic sanctions against Russia’s financial sector create serious risks for our crowdfunding, forcing us to prepare for the worst.
We are relying especially on you, our international audience, to help sustain our work.
What you should know: We are an independent publication, and we work only in the interests of our readers. Since Meduza launched in English, our website has gained millions of unique views. Our Russian-language edition’s audience is vastly larger still, and your support is essential to maintaining both projects. Financial uncertainty in Russia means Meduza must turn to our readers around the world.
To continue our work, we turn to you.
To become a contributor, please click here. Meduza accepts direct bank transfers, cryptocurrency, and payments through Stripe and PayPal.