Russia’s first homefront casualties: Reporters and the press – By Fred Weir (CS Monitor) / March 23, 2022
Russian troops have been violently waging their government’s so-called special military operation for over three weeks now in Ukraine. But on the homefront, state police and state prosecutors are waging a more intangible conflict.
The domestic casualties, so far, are mainly the thousands of Kremlin-critical voices, especially in the media.
Editor’s note: This article was edited in order to conform with Russian legislation criminalizing references to Russia’s current action in Ukraine as anything other than a “special military operation.”
Faced with public shock over the devastation caused by the military operation – which cannot be concealed from Russia’s huge internet-savvy population – Russian authorities have shuttered liberal news organizations. Ekho Moskvy radio station and TV Dozhd, whose chief editor has fled to Georgia, have already fallen victim to the crackdown.