An International Press Institute (IPI) advocacy mission arrived in Russia on Tuesday, 29 September 2009. During the five-day mission, the delegates will visit the cities of Moscow, Kchimki and Tomsk, to meet with local media and government officials and discuss the state of media freedom in the country.

The IPI mission to Russia includes: IPI board member Galina Sidorova, who is also editor-in-chief of Russian monthly investigative magazine Sovershenno Secretno; Adam Michnik, editor-in-chief of Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza and an IPI Press Freedom Hero; Alison Bethel-McKenzie, IPI’s Deputy Director; and Colin Peters, IPI Press Freedom Adviser for Europe and the Americas.

Russia, one of six countries on IPI’s Watch List, remains one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists, with five killed so far this year alone, and 35 killed since the beginning of the decade, according to IPI’s Death Watch figures. The perpetrators of these crimes are seldom brought to justice.

In addition to the murder of reporters, the independent media is routinely subjected to harassment and threats, and independent voices have been all but drowned out in national television broadcasting.

“The climate of impunity, in Russia, when it comes to the murder and assault of journalists will be a key issue to be discussed,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “We will also discuss our very serious concerns about the steady silencing of Russia’s independent media.”

Among the organisations and individuals scheduled to meet the mission delegates are the Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper that has suffered the loss of five of its employees – four reporters and a lawyer – over recent years including renowned journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the Glasnost Defence Foundation, an organisation with a long-standing reputation for defending freedom of the press in Russia, and Vladimir Lukin, Russia’s Human Rights Ombudsman.