Russia: Government Expels Three Women Journalists in Ongoing Crackdown on Foreign Media

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns Russia’s cynical attempts to control the media by obstructing foreign journalists

Location: Russia, Moscow
Date: August 16, 2023

**Updated on September 5, 2023.

In the Kremlin’s latest attempt to suppress foreign media, longtime Russia correspondents Eva Hartog, Anna-Lena Laurén, and Luzia Tschirky are expelled from the country. This comes as President Vladimir Putin intensifies efforts to silence critics and tighten control over media coverage. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is increasingly alarmed by Russia’s harassment of foreign and local press workers. We condemn this attempt to muzzle and obstruct veteran correspondents and demand their visas and accreditation be immediately reinstated.

“I was informed by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that for the first time in ten years, my visa will not be renewed,” wrote Eva Hartog after her expulsion from Russia on August 7, 2023.  

The ministry disclosed that the decision to deny Hartog’s visa was made by “competent authorities,” a term often used to describe security services. The reporter was told she had six days to leave the country, and no further details for her expulsion were provided. 

Hartog, a Dutch citizen with Russian roots, has been based in Moscow since 2013. She writes for the Dutch news magazine De Groene Amsterdammer and more recently served as POLITICO Europe's Russia correspondent.

The same week, journalist Anna-Lena Laurén, a Russia correspondent for Swedish outlet Dagens Nyheter and Finnish newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet, announced that she was also expelled from the country. After 16 years, Laurén's accreditation was not renewed. 

“I'm not the first to experience this,” Laurén told Svenska Yle. “Russia has gone from a semi-dictatorship to being a full dictatorship. This is about Russia wanting to limit the number of journalists there, both Russian and foreign. It is obvious why.”

In the Spring of 2023, Laurén, who has reported from Russia and Ukraine, wrote a critical article about Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs questioned her professionalism. Laurén did not confirm if this incident led to her accreditation not being renewed, but she believes that many foreign journalists are being forced to leave Russia, and she expects this trend to continue.

On September 1, 2023, Luzia Tschirky, a correspondent with Swiss public broadcaster SRF News, revealed that she was resigning from her position as Moscow correspondent. The veteran journalist who has reported from Russia and Ukraine revealed how challenging and uncertain the Russian bureaucratic system had become since the war began in February 2022. Her issues started when she returned to Moscow from Kyiv after reporting on the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion. 

Tschirky was met with disapproval from her Russian foreign ministry handler. She was informed that she did not return to the country within a satisfactory timeframe compared to other journalists, and as a result, her status as a permanent correspondent was revoked. She was instructed to reapply as a special correspondent and, in the meantime, was forced to leave Russia.

Seeking clarity on the timeline for her reapplication, Tschirky was met with a frustrating response: "These days, that is decided on an individual basis and differs from person to person." Since then, Tschirky, who had been stationed in Moscow since late 2018 and speaks fluent Russian, has resubmitted her paperwork on four separate occasions. Yet, she has been met with neither a clear rejection nor an approval.

 "I just got the same answer over and over again: It's being processed," she said.

The disappearance of Tschirky's name from the foreign ministry's online list of accredited bureau chiefs this summer was a disheartening sign. She chose to remain silent, hoping against hope that things would change. When they didn’t, the journalist publicly announced her retirement from her position and that she would write a book on Russia’s war.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, foreign journalists have been required to reapply for their visas and media accreditation every three months, a significant change from the previous annual renewal. In similar circumstances in February 2023, Finnish journalist Arja Paananen was forced to leave Russia due to difficulties renewing her visa and press credentials. This increased bureaucracy aims to frustrate and deter foreign correspondents from reporting within Russia

Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, many foreign journalists and organizations initially left the country, but some eventually returned. However, the arrest of Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges in March 2023 - which he denies - raised concerns among the remaining American and foreign journalists in Russia about the future of their reporting in the country.

This harassment of foreign reporters is part of a broader pattern of Russia's persecution of all independent and critical journalism, which has seen Russian journalists at home and abroad suffer immense repression. New censorship laws have driven many independent Russian journalists out of the country due to the criminalization of critical reporting on the war. 

Over the course of the war, the Kremlin has attempted to poison independent Russian journalists living in exile, repeatedly detained journalists in occupied territories, and harassed the family members of a journalist living abroad. In February 2023, a Russian court sentenced Siberian journalist Maria Ponomarenko to six years in prison for a social media post about civilian deaths in Mariupol, Ukraine.

Putin’s government has also banned, blocked, and legally harassed media outlets whose coverage of the conflict does not align with its narrative. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the Russian government’s decision to expel Eva Hartog, Anna-Lena Laurén, and Luzia Tschirky. Foreign correspondents in Russia serve as independent observers, providing objective reporting, access to information, and a global perspective. Their presence ensures transparency and accountability. It promotes an informed and nuanced understanding of Russia's domestic and international affairs. The inability to have reporters on the ground in Russia will hamper coverage of the country, affecting both Russian and global audiences.

We urge the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reinstate press credentials and visas for both journalists immediately and demand an end to the escalating persecution of press workers and independent media in Russia.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.