USAGM condemns Kremlin’s increasing censorship, responds to a surge in demand for reporting from its networks
March 5, 2022
Despite the Russian government’s attempted censorship of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), there has been a surge in demand for their content, including their collaborative 24/7 Russian-language channel Current Time. In response, USAGM is expanding program delivery and access with the addition of more affiliate stations in and around Russia and the help of the Open Technology Fund’s tools and resources to circumvent internet censorship.
“It is clear that by restricting access to RFE/RL and VOA’s fact-based reporting, the Kremlin hopes to keep its own citizens in the dark and to hide the truth,” said Kelu Chao, USAGM’s Acting CEO. “The people of Russia deserve to know the facts about their government’s attacks on Ukraine and how the world is reacting. USAGM will continue to use its resources to bring unbiased information to light at this crucial time.”
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said, “RFE/RL journalists in Russia have been unfairly slurred as ‘foreign agents,’ detained, and now their accurate reporting about an unpopular war is being blocked. RFE/RL remains committed to delivering objective reporting from inside of Russia for the Russian people despite these outrageous attempts to censor the truth.” Read RFE/RL’s full press release at this link.
Acting VOA Director Yolanda López said, “The recent threat by the Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor to block VOA and other independent media outlets now is a reality for many in our audience there. Our viewers and listeners in Russia deserve access to our factual news content at this critical time, not only about the ongoing war in Ukraine, but also about all vital global events that impact their lives and actions. VOA will continue to promote and support tools and resources that will allow our audiences to bypass any blocking efforts imposed on our sites in Russia. Our journalists will continue their reporting, an example of free press in action.” Read VOA’s full press release at this link.
Some radio, digital, and direct-to-home satellite transmissions continue to reach Russian audiences, and demand for VOA and RFE/RL’s coverage is intensifying. For example, between February 24 and March 3, Current Time videos were viewed more than 240 million times across digital platforms. In addition, since Russia’s invasion, demand for Current Time content has increased dramatically among broadcast partners in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Estonia, and Bulgaria. With the increase over last week, there are 261 affiliates now distributing Current Time content. Between February 26 and March 5, Current Time videos have been viewed on Facebook 76 million times, while VOA’s Russian Service and RFE/RL’s Russian Service videos were each viewed about 8 million times.
From February 23 to March 2, VOA’s Russian Service reported nearly 17 million video views on social platforms, a 159% increase from the week before, while website traffic soared 146%. From February 23 to March 1, audiences viewed RFE/RL videos 436 million times on Facebook, 305 million times on YouTube, and 83 million times on Instagram – reflecting increases of 265%, 406%, and 185%, respectively, over the previous week.
VOA responds to Russian government plans to block VOA Russian website
March 2, 2022
Today the Russian government warned the Voice of America of its intention to block the VOA Russian language service’s news website, www.golosameriki.com, unless it removes coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russian government’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, claims the news site “contains false messages about terrorist attacks or other kind (sic) of information of public concern.”
The media regulator demands that the VOA Russian service remove a news story from its site that provided factual reporting on the second day of the Russian invasion. The article included widely reported facts regarding Russian bombardment of cities, a Russian claim to have captured an airport close to Kyiv, and statements from witnesses as well as reporters inside Ukraine.
“Any attempts to interfere with the free flow of news and information are deeply troubling. We find this order to be in direct opposition to the values of all democratic societies,” says Acting VOA Director Yolanda López.
The warning to VOA follows a broader crackdown on the press by the Russian government. The same regulators also moved to shut down two Russian news organizations that reach large audiences, Ekho Moskvy and Dozhd, as well as Current Time’s website, a joint production of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
“The Russian people deserve unfettered access to a free press and, therefore, we cannot comply with the Roskomnadzor’s request,” said Acting Director López.
About VOA
Washington, D.C. — Voice of America reaches a global weekly audience of more than 311.8 million people in 47 languages. VOA programs are delivered on satellite, cable, shortwave, FM, medium wave, streaming audio and video and more than 2,350 media outlets worldwide. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM.
China, Russia’s most powerful ally, was notably restrained in its initial reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, offering little direct support for Moscow as much of the world seeks to isolate Moscow economically and diplomatically.
“I would like to say that China is closely following the situation in Ukraine,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing on Thursday. “We call on all parties to exercise restraint and prevent the situation from getting out of control.
FILE – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying gestures during the daily Press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, Feb. 24, 2022.
“We still hope that the parties concerned will not shut the door to peace and engage instead in dialogue and consultation and prevent the situation from further escalating,” she said.
A foreign diplomat based in Beijing said the statement was consistent with China’s recent remarks on the Ukraine crisis but expressed surprise that Hua did not promise Moscow more help against what Western leaders say will be crushing economic sanctions.
“This is more or less what China has been saying last few days,” said the diplomat, who asked not to be identified. “The least one would have expected from Beijing is an assurance that it will go ahead with the recent agreement on purchase of Russia gas.”
Nevertheless, there were signs that China will help to soften the blow of the expected sanctions, some of which have already been announced. The Chinese Customs department released a new order signed on Wednesday for the purchase of Russian wheat.
FILE – Farmers bring in the harvest with their combine harvester on a wheat field in the southern Russian Stavropol region, July 9, 2014.
The two countries had announced a trade deal for the sale of wheat and barley to China on February 8. They appeared to make a point of announcing the transaction even as Russian troops and tanks were rolling into Ukraine.
During the press briefing, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson differed with Western journalists over whether the Russian military action should be called an invasion.
“Regarding the definition of an invasion, I think we should go back to how to view the current situation in Ukraine. The Ukrainian issue has other very complicated historical background that have continued to today. It may not be what everyone wants to see,” she said.
Other Chinese experts have echoed the argument made by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Moscow is simply responding to Western aggression and the mistreatment of Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine.
“I believe Russia’s military operation is a reaction of Moscow toward Western countries’ exerting pressure on Russia for a long time, showing that Moscow can’t tolerate anymore,” said Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He spoke to the state-run Global Times on Thursday.
Chinese dilemma
There are signs Beijing is caught in a dilemma. It does not want to support or justify the Russian attack on Ukraine because it might harm its political and trade relationship with the Western world.
Beijing is particularly worried about Western experts suggesting the Ukraine invasion could be a test case for China, which has long refused to rule out a military takeover of Taiwan. It does not want the spotlight to focus on China at this stage, informed sources said.
On the other hand, it wants to be seen as a country that stands by its friends and allies, which explains its decision on the wheat purchase. Beijing is expected to offer more trade opportunities to ease economic pressure on Russia but avoid any major political or military measures, the diplomat said.
Putin is believed to have consulted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about the possible fallout of an invasion on Ukraine during a visit to Beijing on February 4. They also discussed possible ways to overcome new challenges that an attack on Ukraine would throw up, sources said.
The same day, Russian state-owned petroleum company Gazprom announced it has signed a 30-year agreement for the sale of natural gas to be supplied to China through a Far Eastern route.
The two countries were prepared for a possible European decision to halt the activation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, built to carry Russian gas under the Baltic Sea, directly to Germany.
The United States is particularly worried about a strong partnership between China and Russia.
“We think that Russia and the PRC [want a world order] that is and would be profoundly illiberal, an order that stands in contrast to the system that countries around the world … have built in the last seven decades,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Wednesday. “It is an order that is in many ways destructive, rather than additive.”
The 64th edition of the Cali Fair, which in December of last year returned to face-to-face attendance, had an important staging with artists and orchestras from Cali.
However, after the fair event was over, some of the city’s talents who were part of this iconic quote They assure that they have not yet received the corresponding payments from Corfecali, the organization that organizes the fair.
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Given this situation, the manager of the corporation, Argemiro Cortés, specified that they made a first payment for some artists and advance procedures to pay what is owed.
“Obviously the Cali Fair is over and we received a first disbursement from the Mayor’s Office of $4,000 million. Right now we are processing so that they give us the 6,000 million pesos”, explained Cortés.
Argemiro Cortés, manager of Corfecali.
For the manager of the entity, this waiting situation on the part of some artists is “a normal process”, because “Corfecali historically pays at 30, 60 or 90 days”.
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“We contracted 208 orchestras, of which we have paid 103 of them”, explained Cortés Buitrago, who hopes that in the next 15 days they will be able to settle everything.
The manager of the corporation asks the artists “to understand that we have made a great effort. We are paying, and it is normal that Corfecali pays to the extent that the Mayor’s Office is paid, that is why we ask for patience and apologize for our delay, which is nothing to write home about because in the end it does not even take 30 days”.
One of the points that the manager considers that have generated trauma at the time of disbursements is that “some of them have not delivered social security, and taking into account that they are public money, we cannot pay them if we do not have the legal requirements” .
positive balance
With the participation of different agencies of the District Administration, Corfecali presented a balance on the Cali Fair.
The manager of Corfecali, Argemiro Cortes, highlighted that the entity generated profits of more than $800 million, despite the difficulties of returning after the restrictions due to the pandemic.
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This result was weighed by the Secretary of the Government of Cali, Nhora Yaneth Mondragón, who added that they are still working on audits and law reports.
“The preliminary evaluation shows us an excellent administration led by the manager Argemiro Cortés, which responded to the addresses of the mayor Jorge Iván Ospina and is a sign that public companies can generate profits to reinvest and improve for the benefit of the population. ”, detailed the official.
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The United States and NATO have provided written responses to Moscow, addressing Russia’s renewed security demands, following consultations with various European partners as well as Ukraine — the latest moves in diplomatic maneuvering aimed at heading off armed conflict.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan delivered the document in person Wednesday to Russia’s Foreign Ministry. NATO transmitted to Russia its own responses regarding European security, described by officials as a few pages in length, separately.
Officials portrayed the responses as a way to address the Kremlin’s concerns while also giving all sides a chance to further pursue diplomacy.
“The document we’ve delivered includes concerns of the United States and our allies and partners about Russia’s actions that undermine security — a principled and pragmatic evaluation of the concerns that Russia has raised, and our own proposals for areas where we may be able to find common ground,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a press conference.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about Russia and Ukraine during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 26, 2022.
“We’ve addressed the possibility of reciprocal transparency measures regarding force posture in Ukraine, as well as measures to increase confidence regarding military exercises and maneuvers in Europe,” Blinken said. “We are acting with equal focus and force to bolster Ukraine’s defenses and prepare a swift united response to further Russian aggression.”
U.S. officials declined to elaborate on specifics, though they expressed hope Washington and Moscow still could find consensus and even make progress on issues such as arms control related to missiles in Europe.
Moscow’s security demands include a pause of NATO’s eastward expansion, especially in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as a rollback of NATO troops in Eastern Europe.
The U.S. has dismissed those demands as nonstarters, demanding Russia pull back its forces from the border with Ukraine and instead offering dialogue with Moscow on issues including military exercises and transparency, as well as the placement of missiles.
Russia offered a cautious initial response to the written proposals.
“We will read it. Study it,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Interfax news agency when asked about the NATO document. “The partners studied our project for almost a month and a half.”
In contrast, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters there is a growing sense of urgency, calling on Moscow to “withdraw its forces from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, where they are deployed without these countries’ consent.”
“We face a critical moment,” he said, warning that Russia now has positioned more than 100,000 troops along its border with Ukraine, with additional deployments already underway.
“We see also more troops not only in and around Ukraine, but also now in Belarus, where Russia is in the process of deploying thousands of combat troops, hundreds of aircraft, S-400 air defense systems, and a lot of other very advanced capabilities,” Stoltenberg added.
“We have listened to Russian concerns. We have listened also to the Russian call for a written response,” he said. “This is about whether there’s a will to engage in good faith and to try to sit down and find common ground.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wednesday Kyiv had no objections to the U.S. responses to Russia, acknowledging the threat from the number of Russian troops massed along his country’s borders as well as in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian forces.
Still, Kuleba insisted there was no need for panic to take hold.
FILE – This handout photo taken and released by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s Press Office Jan. 17, 2022 shows Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at a news conference in Kyiv.
“The number of Russian troops massed along the border of Ukraine and in the occupied territories of Ukraine is large (and) … poses a threat,” Kuleba said during a Wednesday press briefing. “However, at the moment, as we speak, this number is insufficient for a full-scale offensive against Ukraine along the entire Ukrainian border.”
While the U.S. would not rule out an imminent military move by Russia against Ukraine, a senior State Department official noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin may not want to upset China when the country is hosting the opening ceremony of Winter Olympics.
“We certainly see every indication that [Putin] is going to use military force sometime perhaps now and middle of February,” said Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Wednesday during a virtual event with Yalta European Strategy, a European security forum.
FILE – U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman holds a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 12, 2022.
“We all are aware that the Beijing Olympics begin on February 4 — the opening ceremony — and Putin is expected to be there,” added Sherman. “I think that probably President Xi Jinping would not be ecstatic if Putin chose that moment to invade Ukraine. So that may affect his timing and his thinking.”
Some analysts agreed with the assessment, noting Russia’s military logistics “have not yet been fully activated to start massive military operations.”
“The Winter Olympics in China, to be held between 4-20 February, might offer some respite,” said Mathieu Boulègue, a research fellow for the Russia and Eurasia program of London-based Chatham House. “To safeguard relations with Beijing, Moscow may avoid repeating its actions of August 2008, when Russia took military action against Georgia, literally during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics.”
In Kyiv, the U.S. embassy is urging American citizens in the country to consider departing now, citing an “unpredictable” security situation that “can deteriorate with little notice.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian officials rejected the prospect of U.S. sanctions against President Putin, one of several proposed responses if Russian forces were to invade neighboring Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that such sanctions would be “destructive” but not politically painful.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned of “severe” and “enormous” consequences for Putin — including personal sanctions against Putin himself — if the Russian leader mobilizes troops standing ready to strike along the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian intelligence officials put troop estimates at 127,000.
Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $5 billion in both security and non-security assistance to Ukraine, including more than $351 million in assistance to those displaced or affected by “Russia’s aggression,” according to Deputy Secretary of State Sherman.
Jeff Seldin contributed to this report; some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
