In the first weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Georgy Tshentemirov walked his dog for long, aimless walks, smoking cigarette after cigarette and thinking “damn, damn, damn”.
He describes it as the feeling of a panic attack that never went away.
— The oppression, censorship and problems with the state were always oppressive. We lived in constant stress even before. But the war changed everything, says Georgy Tsientemirov.
He comes from Petrozavodsk, roughly 25 miles northeast of St. Petersburg, and has a background as a newspaper reporter and as chairman of the Karelia Union of Journalists.
— As a journalist, I was always afraid that someone would kick in my front door and storm my apartment. It happened to others, he says.
Since September, Georgij Tsientemirov, together with his colleague Denis Zagore, from Murmansk, make up half of the editorial staff at The Barents Observer in Kirkenes, Northern Norway. The online newspaper publishes articles about the Barents region in Russian and English.
It’s the first day of polar night, so Georgij Tsientemirov has chosen a sweater with a “polar bear”, a polar bear, in honor of the day. It’s his first winter in North Norwegian Kirkenes.”Ticket to prison”
Repression against independent Russian media has escalated since Russia’s massive invasion in February 2022. Among other things, the media have been instructed to only publish information from official sources – where the invasion cannot be called a war but a “special operation”. Journalists who still report on the war risk up to 15 years in prison.
The controversial Russian law that allows authorities to label media, NGOs and even private individuals as “foreign agents” was also recently expanded. Nowadays, it can be enough to have “been under foreign influence” to be classified as a foreign agent.
— Working as a journalist in Russia today is almost impossible. If you write about sports or culture, it can work – as long as you don’t mention anything about LGBTQ, of course, because it’s illegal. But writing about social issues is very difficult. The war affects all parts of life, but you must not tell that war is war and that people die, says Georgij Tsientemirov.
The window for what can be reported is constantly shrinking and the uncertainty is great.
— You never know which articles will be a ticket to prison, says Denis Zagore.
In the editorial office there is a picture of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Fleeing mobilization
Zagore, who has extensive experience as a radio journalist, started producing podcasts for The Barents Observer already two years before moving to Kirkenes. After the outbreak of war, he stored all his work materials on a USB stick that he constantly carried around, for fear that someone would find it and use it against him.
They both left Russia when Putin issued an order for partial mobilization at the end of September.
— There were rumors even before, every day for several weeks I woke up and wondered if it would happen that day. If I had stayed in Murmansk, I think I would have been drafted, says Denis Zagore.
In Kirkenes, the two exiled journalists are enjoying being able to work freely again. At the same time, they are far from calm.
— The FSB (the Russian security service) has an eye on me, they didn’t forget me just because I moved to Norway, says Chsentemirov.
Blocked in Russia
The Barents Observer has been blocked in Russia since 2019, and in October of this year Russia’s state prosecutor demanded that the entire editorial office be shut down.
Much of the working time of the total of four journalists is spent finding ways around the censorship. You publish news on Telegram and Youtube, read the articles as podcasts and publish all material on a mirror site that is not blocked yet.
— We would have liked to have spent our time on journalism instead. But it’s a bit like David against Goliath, it’s the small knotted Barents Observer against big naughty Kremlin. We think it is very rewarding to achieve that and get past the censorship in a dictatorship like Russia, says editor Thomas Nilsen.
“We’ve gotten pretty good at getting around Russian censorship,” says Thomas Nilsen, editor and reporter at The Barents Observer. “Like a TV series”
He states that there will be some overtime, but that the work is now more important than ever.
— There is a great need for objective, independent news. Both to Russia, because Russian media is censored, but I also think it is very important for European readers to have knowledge of what is happening, says Thomas Nilsen.
Georgij Chsentemirov and Denis Zagore think along the same lines. The propaganda in Russia is effective.
— For many Russians, this war is like some kind of TV series. They hardly believe it happens in real life. It is a big problem, says Georgy Tsientemirov, adding:
— We cannot change the whole country. But if we can reach one person, it will be important. That’s why we work.