Rysk journalistik mellan makt och professionalism

Abstract

Russian journalism between power and professionalism

Russian journalism has always existed in the tension between political power and a more or less independent intelligentia. This was the case during the old czar regime as well as during different periods of the Soviet Union era. At the end of the Cold War liberalization followed, which offered Russian journalism a kind of freedom it had never known. However, despite an increased indepen dence, journalism continued to be used as a political tool and what autonomy that had been achieved by journalists as a professional group remained limited. At the same time and despite exposing themselves to great risks there were Russian journalists who maintained their autonomy and continued to challenge the regime.

Since Putin came to power, the room of maneuver for independent journalism has gradually diminished. As a result, Russian journalism and independent media institutions develop and carry out their work in exile mimicking a pattern of a 19th century tradition. The regime tries to control various information flows but finds it increasingly difficult to do so with global digital networks and VPN-services that circumvent any blocking.