Why We Undervalue Freedom of Press: An interview with Kate Abramova
By Alicia Pena
Contributions by Jonathan Lin
Imagine, one day, there was no more New York Times. Poof. It just was no longer there. As an American high school student, sometimes, I would see a copy of The New York Times in the library that I could pick up and read for free. But, I never thought about what it would be like to not have The New York Times or CNN or The Wall Street Journal or even a media source that generates great controversy such as Fox News. Of course, this could never happen in today’s society. But, actually, it already has.
We had a chance to interview Kate Abramova, the Director of Communications of Meduza, a newspaper that was published in numerous countries. But then, one of those countries halted its ability to be published within its boundaries. Meduza is a digital publication that focuses on reporting news connected to Russia, as its online subtitle “The Real Russia. Today” would suggest. But, in the beginning of 2022, Meduza was blocked in Russia, not for reporting falsehoods, but for reporting the truth.
Before interviewing Kate, I never comprehended the depths of how far independent journalism could be oppressed outside of the United States. “Freedom of speech” was simply a topic glanced over in a social studies textbook. Today, in Russia, a publication criticizing Russia’s invasion of UkraIne or Russia’s military activity is punishable by jail with sentences up to 15 years. Even not calling the war a “special military operation” is a crime. “As a journalist, you can’t call war a war,” Kate said. “It is forbidden in Russia to use the word ‘war.’”
According to Kate, in 2014, Meduza staff felt that the constraints placed on independent journalism in Russia would only get worse. “Even eight years ago, it was shortly after the annexation of Crimea, it was absolutely clear that the independent media of Russia was not welcome in Russia anymore,” Kate said, referring to Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, a region recognized internationally as not being part of Russia.
For Kate and her colleagues, a decision had to be made. Should they keep their reporting independent from the Russian government or fight to keep their work true to the job of a journalist? They chose to fight to protect journalistic integrity. They moved their headquarters to Riga, Latvia. The Meduza staff’s predictions were correct as, virtually, the only reporting allowed in Russia today comes from sources that adhere to the guidelines of the Russian government. “It’s not worth it for you and your friends. They could take you to jail and you head to the police office,” Kate said, describing the consequences of speaking out in opposition to the Russian government.
Uprooting one’s life is usually an anxiety provoking decision. However, Kate notes that circumstances left most journalists who are pestered by a conscience no choice. “Usually, it’s more complicated to make a decision,” Kate said. “But, with this work, there is this huge terrible war.”
Often, my mind takes me to a place that provides me with comfort or a sense of satisfaction. I think most of us do this. For Kate, Moscow was this type of place. “I’m from Moscow and I really love it,” Kate said. “And for us, most of us, it was really a cool city to live.”
Once Meduza staff moved to Latvia, Kate and her colleagues were still able to experience the life in Russia that they had grown accustomed to. “You could go home very easily,” Kate said. “It’s about 800 kilometers, so you can drive or take a train or take a bus or take a flight.”
However, on February 24th, that part of Kate’s life was taken away. “Now, it’s not possible anymore,” she said.
The new version of Kate’s life was missing the same contentment as before. ”We were joking that it was like immigration, or like exile, but it was not like real one,” Kate said. “It was not like real exile. We understood what real exile was like only this spring.”
According to Kate, it was not safe to place Meduza journalists inside Russia due to restrictions on criticizing the war “and a lot of other curious laws that’s about censorship.” “So now every person who participates in producing such content. It might not even be a reporter, anybody, can be imprisoned,” Kate said, “and so we can’t afford to put people’s lives at risk, so we don’t have staff on board in Russia.”
According to Kate, Meduza staff miss Russia and think fondly of the times they were living in Russia. “Of course, many people want to go back or at least have an opportunity to come,” Kate said. However, according to Kate, even though Meduza staff have relatives and friends in Russia, actively considering going back is not in the best interests of the staff. “If you starting thinking about it every day, you just get crazy,” Kate said. “It’s easier and better not to plan something right now.”
Maybe it’s because so many young people in America have grown up with the idea a superhero will rectify a distressing situation that we feel a hero will arrive shortly. However, it appears a superhero is not going to swoop down to save the freedom of thought in many regions of the world, Russia being one of these areas. “You may want to hear that we will reach out to guys who are under propaganda or we will work as activists to change the regime or stop the war or something like that,” Kate said. Meduza’s goal is one that is more reasonable, relative to a publication’s capability to influence. “[We] want the war to be over and Russia to be free, but, as journalists, our impact and our goal is not this one. Our goal is to do our job.”
Through competent and credible reporting, the potential to influence is present, according to Kate. “And now there is one more big goal as we are blocked inside Russia,” Kate said. “We want to work not only for Russians abroad or for an international audience but also work for Russians inside Russia.”
The task of successfully reporting news on Russia is a formidable one, according to Kate. “It is being destroyed. All the websites, all independent outlets are blocked,” Kate said. However, there is reason for optimism, Kate said, as Kate has seen Meduza continue to have an impact, despite daunting obstacles. “So, without the truth, the fact that we are continuing our job, that the number of communications haven’t decreased and we haven’t stopped and also the fact that there are a lot of ways how people inside Russia can still read us. It’s crazy, but we see that the number of readers also is more or less the same,” Kate said.
The future of independent journalism in Russia is in a tenuous position. “There are some reasons to be optimistic,” Kate said. However, the task of developing freedom of press in Russia is a massive endeavor. “[It] will be years or even decades to understand, to reflect, to review, to correct mistakes, with the situation we are in now,” Kate said. “So, I hope that one day, there will be a beautiful future in journalism in Russia, but being realistic, I understand that it’s not going to happen soon, and, besides that, all of the industry is destroyed.”
Ian Malcom said in the movie Jurassic Park, “Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way.” What if we extrapolate this idea to the free expression of ideas. Will the desire to freely express oneself find “a way”? Kate said that she is hopeful that this “beautiful future” for Russian journalism that she would greet enthusiastically is a realistic possibility. “Russian journalists are really very creative ones,” Kate said. “I used to work in situations with a lack of resources and needed to find really great solutions. People are really talented.”
Sometimes I wonder, what if I were in a country, such as Russia before the invasion, that was suffering from severe oppression? Would my mind allow me to realize the lessons I would need to protect my vision of what life should be? Or, would the dark recesses of my mind grab my consciousness and cause anxiety to the point where I repressed any thoughts of fighting for what I consciously think is right? According to Kate, loss of freedoms is definitely connected to the threat of future war. “Ukraine and Russia, it’s clear again every war starts with repression and war against independent media and freedom of speech,” Kate said. “Every war in history shows it.”
As I consider history, as a whole, I wonder, is Santayana correct? Does the anxiety that comes from thinking and “remembering” our past guarantee that we are “condemned to repeat it”? “But, we usually don’t love these lessons,” Kate said, alluding to humanity’s tendency to often not learn from history. “But, still, when we see that something bad starts happening when the freedom of speech with the media, with other independent organizations that try to promote the dreams, and you really will see that it’s not ok with them. So, it means that authorities are preparing for something bigger.”
And, I start to think, are we truly ready for that “something bigger” in our lives?
