Meduza has had to rely more heavily on cryptocurrency donations for its independent journalism due to sanctions from West and pressures from Moscow. As the restrictions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have prevented its Russian readers from contributing in fiat currency, the Riga-based website now accepts several digital coins.
Meduza Pulls Journalists from Russia; Seeks Crypto Support
A Bloomberg report reveals that the war in Ukraine had impacted Russian-language news website Meduza in many ways. Soon after the Kremlin launched its “special military operation,” President Vladimir Putin’s administration clamped down on independent reporting on the conflict and the media outlet has sought help to resettle its 25 journalists in Latvia.
A small Baltic nation with a population of approximately 2 million has turned into a major hub for Russian exiles. Western sanctions, however, do not allow Meduza’s 30,000 Russian readers who supported it before the conflict to send funds through Stripe, after the payment processor suspended services in the Russian Federation to comply with the penalties.
Meduza was forced to reach out to international audiences to request financial assistance in U.S. Dollars, Euros, and cryptocurrency due to the war and sanctions. Card payments, bank wires, Paypal transfers and multiple currencies are now accepted by Meduza, which accepts bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin (ETH), ether(ETH), the stablecoin Tether (USDT), as well privacy-oriented Monero (XMR). It is noted that BTC and ETH wallets provided have already accumulated approximately $230,000 in cryptocurrency.
Commenting on the situation, the news portal’s editor-in-chief Ivan Kolpakov pointed out that Meduza is currently raising only around half of what it needs to develop. He declined to give the exact amount but noted that Meduza was currently asking for crypto donations and is relying solely on foreign funds.
We couldn’t predict that the sanctions of Western governments will come first and destroy our crowdfunding.
Moscow has placed unimaginable pressure on Russian media outlets, resulting in some shutting down and others being blocked by the Russian government. In March, Novaya Gazeta suspended its publication after being warned of its content. Ekho Moskvy’s FM frequency was also handed to Sputnik by the Russian state.
Meduza, which was founded in the Latvian capital after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, during another media crackdown, was labeled last year a “foreign agent” by the Russian government. This designation targets Russian media that receive funding from overseas. It already had a negative impact on its advertising revenues before the Russian government imposed new sanctions.
What do you think about other Russian newspapers using cryptocurrency donations for funding? Please leave your comments below.
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