Inside Russia, with Galina Timchenko

Born and raised in Moscow, Galina Timchenko has experienced up close the importance of reporting on Russia and the difficulties faced by critical Russian journalists. Timchenko is co-founder, CEO and publisher of Meduza – the largest independent Russian media outlet still reporting on the war in Ukraine. Meduza was labeled a “foreign agent” by the state, but that did not stop her work. To this day, she works to provide honest reporting on the war. In a 1-on-1 interview, she talks with Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal about Russian journalism, honest reporting and how to proceed if you are banned from the country you work and report on.

Before Timchenko began her chapter at Meduza, she was editor-in-chief of the news portal Lenta.ru for 10 years. After critical coverage of Russia’s invasion of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014, she was fired under pressure from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Timchenko and part of the Lenta.ru. editorial staff left for Riga, where Meduza operates and publishes from.