Russia Programming
RFE/RL’s programming for Russia is a multi-platform lifeline of uncensored news, serving as an essential counterweight to Kremlin propaganda for audiences in Russia and beyond.
About
Since 1953, RFE/RL has maintained a critical information foothold inside Russia, countering state-controlled narratives with uncensored, unbiased reporting.
Reaching over 10 million adults every week — 8.7% of Russia’s adult population, per a 2023 national survey — RFE/RL’s reporting penetrates Russia’s increasingly closed information ecosystem.
RFE/RL’s Russia Programming unit comprises Radio Svoboda, Current Time, Radio Azatliq, and Marsho Radio.
Each brand provides daily, wide-ranging coverage of Russia’s full-scale war, with Current Time serving as the only non-Ukrainian, Russian-language outlet on the front lines.
Journalists expose the harsh reality of the war hidden by the Kremlin, including malign recruitment tactics and the disproportionate death toll of citizens in regions like Tatarstan and Bashkortostan.
They produce acclaimed investigations, unmasking corruption at the highest levels in the Kremlin, sanctions evasion and deepening cooperation between Russia, China, and Iran, as well as war crimes and atrocities committed by high-ranking Russian military officials.
Radio Azatliq is the only major international news provider reporting in the Tatar, Bashkir, and Russian languages to audiences in Russia’s multi-ethnic, Muslim-majority Volga-Ural region.
Marsho Radio stands as the only international Chechen-language broadcaster for the North Caucasus.
Reaching Audiences
Media Climate
In February 2024, RFE/RL was designated an “undesirable organization” by Russian authorities. Russian citizens face fines or prison time for cooperating with “undesirable” organizations or aiding in their financing within Russia.
Radio Azatliq journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was wrongfully detained in Russia in October 2023. She was released in August 2024 after being imprisoned for over nine months.
Radio Svoboda journalist Nika Novak was detained on December 25, 2023, in the Siberian city of Chita on unjust charges. In November 2024, a Chita court convicted Nika and sentenced her to four years in prison.
Multiple RFE/RL journalists have been labeled as “foreign agents.” Police in Kazan, Russia, searched the homes of several freelancers and briefly detained them in August 2022.
RFE/RL was forced to close its Moscow bureau in 2022 after $17 million in fines were levied for failure to comply with “foreign agent” labeling requirements.
Latest Updates
Journalists in Trouble: World Press Freedom Day Edition
Baku court upholds unjust sentencing of RFE/RL journalist; Ukrainian RFE/RL journalist’s home hit by Russian air strike; and more.
Journalists in Trouble: Reza Valizadeh Still in Evin Prison as Conditions Deteriorate
Former RFE/RL journalist Reza Valizadeh remains wrongfully detained in Iran; Nika Novak placed in special detention in Russia; and more.
Journalists in Trouble: Lawmakers Call on Vance to Advocate for Imprisoned RFE/RL Journalist
U.S. lawmakers urge VP Vance to raise case of unjustly imprisoned RFE/RL journalist with Azerbaijani authorities; former RFE/RL journalist marks 500 days wrongfully detained in Iran; and more.
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