Mediazona turns 11. We can only continue our work with your help
Art: Maria Tolstova / Mediazona
Eleven years ago, we began as a small publication covering Russia’s courts and prisons, the epicentres of political persecution. Today, in a nation at war, our mission is even more urgent.
For our readers in Russia, we provide vital reporting and tools to preserve their freedom and safety in the face of state violence, from guides on avoiding mobilisation to access to the government’s wanted lists.
For our global audience, we provide essential context, cutting through propaganda to explain the internal realities of a nation at war as it explores previously unimaginable avenues of repression. We track the number of soldiers killed in Ukraine because the Kremlin refuses to acknowledge the war’s true human cost.
Every day, we work to shield people from repression and ensuring it does not go unnoticed, while rebuilding the bridges of understanding that have been shattered. This work can only continue with your help.
In wartime, being “just a media outlet” means being irrelevant, or worse. We’ve been accused of “activism” and “bias,” and it’s both true and false. We believe it is unconscionable to observe violence from a distance; that is not journalism, but an abdication of responsibility. Our responsibility is clear: to stand between the citizen and an omnipotent state. We are here not only to observe. We are here to intervene.
In St Petersburg, signs from the Nazi siege still survive on some buildings: “Citizens! During shelling this side of the street is the most dangerous.” In a way, we now find ourselves writing and posting those same signs.
Our work has taken many forms. Our most-read article is a 2022 guide on how to avoid mobilisation to the Russian army. We built a tool that lets people check if they are on the Interior Ministry’s wanted list, a resource that has helped hundreds discover the police were looking for them. This is crucial for those in exile who are considering a return home—and we also report on the risks they face. We keep a running tally of those killed in the war, hoping this information deters some from signing up for the “special military operation.” And there are many cases, still too early to speak of, where our work has helped.
Our running count of war losses, now published in Russian, English, German, and Spanish (with Chinese coming soon), has focused global attention on the true human cost of the war. It serves as an antidote to politically convenient narratives, which obscure the gruesome reality of the conflict by promoting wildly inflated or downplayed figures.
Almost without realising it, Mediazona has evolved into a public service for its readers. It’s a realisation that surprised even us.
Frankly, we hope our readers will never be touched by state repression. But for so many, our work is a vital tool to assess risks, make the right decisions, and stay free and safe.
This work is important, and it’s why we must rely on your support. Please, help us continue.
Help save Mediazona. We need you
Mediazona is in a tough spot—we still haven’t recovered our pre-war level of donations. If we don’t reach at least 5,000 monthly subscribers soon, we’ll be forced to make drastic cuts, limiting our ability to report.
Only you, our readers, can keep Mediazona alive.
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