IPI condemns Russian authorities for blocking the website of The Bell, a major independent media outlet focused on business and technology. The project had already been declared a “foreign agent” by authorities in December, while its founder and IPI board member Elizaveta Osetinskaya was labeled with this status in April.
As in previous cases of website access blocks, Russia’s internet regulator and censor Roskomnadzor gave no explanation for its decision. In an article addressed to its readers, The Bell states that the “real reason” for the move was a desire “to cut Russians off from any alternative viewpoints differing from that of the state”. The media’s team also assured users that viewing the site through VPNs remained legal in Russia. Receiving emailed newsletters by The Bell and subscribing to the media’s Telegram channel remains safe as well, according to The Bell.
“This decision by Roskomnadzor is, sadly, yet another step in Russia’s relentless fight against any news or information source not directly controlled by the authorities”, said IPI Executive Director Frane Maroević. “Russian authorities must understand that blocking free press is a sign of weakness, deprives the population from information, and will not make bad news disappear.”
Close to 200 cases of blocked websites were registered in Russia since the start of the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the IPI War in Ukraine Press Freedom Tracker. This number includes all cases where the decision was linked to the websites’ coverage of the war in Ukraine or of its consequences in Russia. Other online media, such as Proekt, iStories and Meduza, were attacked even more aggressively with legislation on “undesirable” organizations, which made their operations in Russia de facto illegal.
“Roskomnadzor blocked The Bell’s webpage for alleged ‘repeated posting of prohibited content’ and for publishing alleged ‘inaccurate information about the special military operation’, which is the phrase the agency uses when referring to the war”, The Bell founder Elizaveta Osentinskaya told IPI. “We think that the real reason for this is a desire to cut Russians off from truthful, fair and objective information and limit any point of view different from the state. For the same reason, many other independent media have been blocked in Russia since last year. Also for this reason, many including The Bell have been designated as ‘foreign agents’. We know that our audience needs objective information, which is why the team of The Bell will continue to work and stand for freedom of speech.”
Legislation on foreign agents, which The Bell fell victim to last December, has also become increasingly arbitrary. Initially adopted in 2012, Russia’s law on foreign agents has been revised several times over the past decade to include an ever-wider range of potential targets for state-sponsored discrimination. Currently, any organization, media or private individual can be designated as such simply by being declared to be “under foreign influence” by the Russian Ministry of Justice or because of receiving funds of any amount from abroad (or from an entity itself receiving foreign funds). “Foreign agents” are also barred from receiving state financing, teaching at state universities, working with minors and providing expertise on environmental issues, among other restrictions.
The Bell was founded by Russian journalist Elizaveta Osetinskaya in 2017. Aside from its focus topics of business and technology, the online media also publishes interviews and other articles related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as on other social and political topics of interest to Russian readers. Until the recent decision by Roskomnadzor, The Bell remained one of Russia’s very few major independent online media still freely accessible within the country.
*This article was revised on Feb. 21, 2023 to reflect a comment provided by IPI board member and founder of The Bell Elizaveta Osetinskaya.
