Record increase in criminal and "undesirable" cases: How Russian authorities clamped down on the media last year
Center for the Protection of Media Rights produced A report on pressure on journalists and media outlets in 2025. The number of criminal cases against media workers has increased significantly. While in 2024 there were 45 such cases under various articles, in 2025, 81 Russian-speaking journalists were prosecuted.
In addition to Russian media employees, criminal cases were brought against reporters from the UK, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Spain. Journalists can be prosecuted under several articles of the Criminal Code, but the most common charges were evasion of duties as a foreign agent (Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code), "discrediting the army" (Article 207.3), and "justifying terrorism" (Article 205.2).
The number of criminal cases for participation in the activities of an "undesirable organization" (Article 284.1) has increased. In 2024, only one journalist was involved in a criminal case under this article, while in 2025, the number increased to eight. The number of criminal cases under the article "extortion" (Article 163) against editorial staff also increased from one to six.
Last year, 41 journalists were convicted, 12 of whom are currently in prison. The sentences were up to 8,5 years in prison.
In addition to criminal cases, Russian security forces continued to search the homes of journalists and their families and make arrests at public events. A total of 21 searches and 29 arrests were recorded, some of which resulted in administrative arrests.
Journalists and media outlets account for over 40% of the foreign agent registry. 2025 was no exception: of the 219 new "foreign agents," 61 journalists, 17 media outlets, and 19 bloggers were added. Another 82 individuals are listed as "participants in media organizations that are foreign agents" in 17 media outlets.
2025 also set a record for the number of new "undesirable organizations": 101 organizations were added to the registry, three of which were directly linked to the media. In 2024, 65 were designated as such.
Due to pressure over the past year, Svobodnye Novosti (Saratov), Novaya Gazeta (Ryazan), Gorbi magazine, and the Telegram channel From Karelia with freedom have closed.
"NeMoscow" maintains a database of "Journalism under investigation»: at the beginning of December there were 182 people in it.
