Exiled Russian journalists left ‘high and dry’ after US cuts radio funding | Trump administration

The exiled Russian journalists are left “high and dry” and are at risk of falling abroad without any legal status after the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw funding from Europe/Radio Radio (RFE/RL).

The Guardian realizes that some Russian journalists work in RFE/RL, which was established during the Cold War and broadcasting to countries including Belarus, Russia Ukraine will face imminent problems on its legal status if the broadcaster is closed.

Many Russian journalists work at RF/RL from Prague, Rega and Velanis, with their work visas often linked to their work. The end of the broadcaster financing will lead to the expiration of the visa, which leaves it without legal status within months.

Deportation to Russia for any of them would expose them to criminal trial. Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist for a long time for RFE/RL, was held in Russia in 2023 and was only released last year as part of the swap of prisoners.

A person familiar with the situation, who wishes not to be identified due to the risks of accreditation, said: “This staggeredly puts the kind of risks faced by Russian journalists who have been cut off without work, if they lose their livelihoods and the legal situation that is related to their position outside Russia,” said a person familiar with the situation, who wants to not be identified due to the risk of accreditation.

“This could have a very serious effect. There are no free media inside Russia. The scene of the media will be more dark.”

RFE/RL was created with the aim of bringing in unbiased local news to the masses behind the iron curtain, and continued to cover the topics that are ignored or underestimated by government media.

The media group suspended its operations in Russia in 2022 after it was followed by the local tax authorities, and the pressure of the police over journalists. Its correspondents are “foreign agents”, making them a target for arrest if they return to Russia. Last year, the RFE/RL was appointed as an “unwanted organization” by the Russian authorities, and it was effectively banned from working inside the country.

The US Agency for World Media (USAGM) announced during the weekend that it had planned to stop grants to RF/RL, as part of the Trump administration campaign to reduce government spending. Elon Musk described the technological billionaire that President Trump has reduced the US federal government, in the past that the media group “just radicals left crazy people talking to themselves.”

RFE/RL reaches about 10 million Russians every week, despite the censorship of the state and the ban on social media. The sources said that since the invasion of Ukraine, the average monthly YouTube views of the Russian language content from RFE increased from 20 meters to 77.6 meters, with a peak of more than 400 meters when the invasion begins. Its total budget last year was 142 million dollars (110 million pounds).

The source said: “If you cannot find funding soon, the company will not be able to pay its employees, and the result is likely to put a very large number of journalists who denied the authoritarian regimes at risk.”

“If the financing is terminated, visas expires, then journalists can be left without legal status, and they are primarily approaching. For the Russians, it is difficult to go to their embassies when the travel of their passports end. The search for these basic consular services can be a problem and achieve some risks. This may affect hundreds of journalists and their families.

“RFE/RL journalists reach a huge audience in Russian. Without it, there will be much less information, and a few alternatives to the state -controlled media.”

The use of media as a tool for soft energy from the West is a wider decline. The Trump administration has also reduced funding to Voice of America, which broadcasts news, information and cultural programming by about 50 languages ​​for a global audience. Journalists were placed on “administrative leave with fully wages and benefits until they were notified.” An internal note stated that this “has not been done for any disciplinary purpose.”

Meanwhile, the BBC’s global service was also in a decline in financing discounts, with concerns within the company that more discounts could be made as part of the general spending review that will be disclosed in June. The BBC presidents believe that the current payment by Russian and Chinese government media to reach the global masses means that there is a stronger case than ever. To increase general financing.

RFE/RL is now sued USAGM in an attempt to prevent its financing. He argues that Congress alone is the authority over federal spending. Its president, Stephen Kabous, said that “this is not the time to waive the terrain for propaganda and control of America’s opponents.”

There is now a stampede inside European Union for alternative financing For the broadcaster, although the higher numbers have already questioned whether they can find money to support their full operations. The Czech Republic leads a boost to support the European Union.