There is widespread assassination and suppression of journalists in Russia who dissent from state narrative
Executive summary
Independent monitors and press advocates report that Russia is among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists: CPJ lists dozens killed since 1992 and recorded 59 deaths in its 2025 database [1]; advocacy groups and researchers document systemic impunity for murders and an escalating campaign of legal and extraterritorial pressure that has forced roughly 1,500 Russian journalists into exile and left many facing in‑absentia convictions, prison sentences, or disappearance [2] [3] [4].
1. A long-running pattern of lethal violence
Russia has a documented decades‑long record of journalists killed in suspicious or violent circumstances — ranging from street assassinations to bombings and unexplained deaths — chronicled in lists compiled by watchdogs and reporters that trace cases back to the 1990s and show multiple high‑profile victims such as Anna Politkovskaya and others whose killings remain emblematic of the problem [5] [6] [7].
2. Impunity entrenched: investigations seldom conclude
Experts say a defining feature of these killings is impunity: forums and NGOs have highlighted that only a small fraction of journalist murders have resulted in solved cases and successful prosecutions, a pattern observers link to failures at investigative, prosecutorial and judicial stages [2] [6].
3. Battlefield danger plus peacetime targeting
Since 2022 the risk has two components: journalists killed while reporting from war zones (including foreign reporters hit by drone and missile strikes) and domestic reprisals against critics at home and abroad. France and Ukrainian and independent tallies point to journalists killed on the battlefield and civilian reporters targeted in occupied areas, while other cases date to earlier, non‑combat assassinations [1] [8] [9].
4. Legal and bureaucratic instruments as suppression tools
Beyond physical attacks, Russian authorities have expanded non‑kinetic means of silencing dissent: “foreign agent” laws, extremism and “fake news” statutes, asset and earnings restrictions, in‑absentia prosecutions and property penalties have been used to punish, exile, and financially strangle independent journalists [10] [11] [12].
5. Exile and cross‑border repression reshape the journalist ecosystem
A sustained wave of exodus has produced a sizable diaspora: reporting estimates about 1,500 journalists working abroad with dozens of media outlets in exile, many continuing to face legal reprisals and even assassination attempts overseas, while Russian courts hand down convictions and arrest warrants in absentia [3] [12].
6. Transnational risks and attempted killings outside Russia
Independent reporting documents assassination attempts and plots against exiled Russian critics and journalists in Europe and Ukraine, including failed operations and arrests linked to plots; watchdogs say these incidents reinforce suspicions that repression operates beyond Russian borders [12] [6].
7. International responses and consequences
International bodies and governments have reacted with sanctions, public condemnations and legal démarches in individual cases — for example, the EU has sanctioned officials over the death of a journalist in custody — but advocates argue these measures do not yet dismantle the structures that enable killings or transnational prosecutions [13] [2].
8. Differing narratives and the limits of attribution
While many observers and families attribute specific murders and suspicious deaths to political motives tied to journalistic work or state policy, available sources show that attribution varies by case and that conclusive state responsibility is often legally unproven; investigative gaps and official denials complicate definitive public attribution [6] [2].
9. What the data show — and what they don’t
Compilations from CPJ and other bodies provide counts and case lists (CPJ’s 2025 database lists 59 journalists killed in Russia) but the available reporting also highlights methodological challenges: classifying motive, separating combat‑zone deaths from targeted assassinations, and tracking cross‑border legal actions all limit neat accounting [1] [14].
10. Why this matters beyond Russia
Watchdogs warn that unresolved murders, aggressive legal measures and cross‑border intimidation not only silence individual reporters but chill independent reporting more broadly, erode public information environments, and create precedent for other states to weaponize law and extraterritorial force against journalists [2] [4].
Limitations and next steps: this summary relies on NGOs, media reports and expert comment compiled in the sources above; the sources document patterns and counts but do not resolve attribution in every case and note significant investigative gaps [1] [2]. For deeper case‑level attribution, consult primary investigative reports and court files referenced by CPJ, RSF and independent journalists in the cited material [12] [4].