Defenders of the Pen

Last year, according to the respected Reporters Without Borders index on press freedom in 180 countries, Russia ranked in 148th place. That put it well behind not just the nations of Europe, but also countries such as Pakistan, Malaysia, and Afghanistan. Recently, Russian Life sat down with the founder and director of Russia’s only media rights center, Galina Arapova, to discuss the state of the press in Russia today.

The Mass Media Defense Center is located in Voronezh, not Moscow. And there are no analogous nonprofits elsewhere in the country. What makes you different and what have you achieved?

In the majority of cases we provide free legal help to journalists. And only if the editorial board of a media outlet is willing and able do we accept payment as humanitarian support for our work more generally.