Journalist Ksenia Mironova, who had to leave the country with the closure of Russia’s last independent television channel, TV Rain, says the sanctions also have had a bad impact on those who were against Putin, those who were against the war, and those who had to leave Russia because they were opponents.
Ksenia Mironova, a journalist focusing on human rights and women’s rights, had to leave the country after the closure of TV Rain where she worked after Russia’s war against Ukraine.
His husband, who is also a journalist and has been imprisoned for a year for “espionage”, is still in Russia.
Mironova is now in Georgia.
TV Rain, Russia’s last independent television channel, was declared a ‘foreign agent’, as happened to many independent media outlets in Russia last summer.
Speaking to T24, a news platform based in Turkey, Mironova explained that they worked on TV Rain nonstop for the first two weeks of the war, but were restricted even more by the government’s each ban for the media.
Mironova summarizes what it means for a media institution to be declared a ‘foreign agent’ in Russia as follows.
“In every news on our website, at the beginning of every broadcast on our YouTube channel, a 15-second strip with the phrase ‘This broadcast is made by foreign agent media’ appears. We could not open TikTok and Twitter accounts of our television channel because when the mandatory 15-second strip or the mandatory text appeared, there was no room for the content. When you are declared a foreign agent, the government officials do not want to give their opinions, in fact, they do not want to speak to the independent media for the last 5-6 years, but now it has increased even more. Most important to me was my press pass. For example, while members of the mainstream media can get a regular press card, my press card had a stripe. I am seen as an employee of the foreign agent agency.”
“They are harass and threaten women over the internet”
Saying that individuals can also be declared foreign agents, Miranova explains the reflections of this on daily life as follows:
“Individuals can also be ‘foreign agents’. They say that person represents the ‘foreign agent media.’ Quarterly, you have to prepare documents, state every dollar you spend, and submit those documents to the government. You are required to write the obligatory ‘foreign agent’ statement in your personal social media, correspondence, and every message. For example, my colleague Sonya Groysman was also declared a foreign agent by the Russian government. In every correspondence with more than two people, the word ‘foreign agent’ must be stated. For example, even in a group with her mother and father, she has to indicate this as such “This message was written by a foreign agent. Hi mom, hi dad.”
Stating that women who were declared foreign agents were subjected to harassment, Marinova explains that the government did not take any measures in this regard:
“There is an unofficial organization in Russia called the ‘Male State’. They threaten women and feminists over the internet. They don’t do anything in real life, but they are harassing and threatening on the internet and on the phone. The government is doing nothing about it. Being declared a ‘foreign agent’ was like a signal for this organization. They thought, ‘We can do anything to these women’. It was terrible. But none as much as what is happening now.”
“We decided to leave”
Mironova describes the mood in the newsroom on February 24, when Putin declared war on Ukraine:
“When the war started, the government banned media outlets from using the word ‘war’. You should have said ‘special military operation’. It was also forbidden to make any statements against the Russian army, and at the same time, we were not allowed to share photos and video footage from Ukraine. Of course, this is ridiculous for a television channel. They were afraid that people would see these scary photos from Ukraine. A new law has been declared against ‘fake’ news. You can be sentenced to 15-20 years in prison for ‘spreading fake news’ and of course ‘fake’ covers every piece of information for them. They also said that anyone who helps Ukraine and the countries that support it is a ‘traitor’.”
“We were working on March 2. I hadn’t slept properly for a week. We saw the news on TV Rain website was blocked. They declared us ‘extremists’. It was late afternoon and we decided to leave. We decided that those who had a chance to go should go.”
“I have done a lot for this country”
While Mironova says she partly approves the sanctions on Russia, she warns that the activists that sanctions also affect people who are against the war really badly:
“On the one hand, I think the sanctions are right. I think that the sanctions against the Russian oligarchs, the sanctions that isolate Russia, are valid in a way. I hope some people would start to understand things. But on the other hand, these sanctions are not only for ordinary people, but also for activists; This has affected the people who are against the war, against Putin, and for those who help in prison. People who had to leave Russia because they were against this government were also badly affected. They have no money at the moment because Visa and Mastercard do not work in Russia. Vulnerable people are much more affected. People who are still in Russia, those who oppose the war, become unemployed and get imprisoned.”
“I also don’t think sanctions will change people who have believed in propaganda for the last 20 years. They now believe that everybody wants to hurt Russia, that there are ‘bad people’, everything Putin tells them. They think that these sanctions are not because Putin started a war, but because there are bad people against Russia. I hope some will understand.”
Mironova says that although she would like to return to Russia, it is currently impossible:
“I have done a lot for this country. I wrote for women’s rights, human rights. I believe I am doing good for this country, not because of this government, but against it. I have to go back and be a part of rebuilding everything they destroyed. But of course it is impossible right now.”