A new satellite bouquet offering independent news and information to Russian language speakers could be on air before the end of the year.
An unprecedented development, it will be the result of a so far little-publicised agreement signed on November 7 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), whose stated mission is “to act for the freedom, pluralism and independence of journalism and those who embody these ideals”, and the satellite operator Eutelsat.
The idea behind ‘Svoboda’, which means freedom in Russian, was originated by the Denis Diderot Committee, a collective founded by media experts to promote the free flow of information and counter war propaganda. It has been particularly active since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and works closely with RSF.
Although we at this stage have few details about Svoboda other than it will offer “news programmes to offer a comprehensive and objective view of global events”, it is safe to assume its target audience will be viewers living throughout what was the former Soviet Union. Aside from Russia itself, this will include Belarus, the Baltics, Ukraine and the stans. Most probably, it will be blocked by the authorities in at least some of these countries – certainly Russia and Belarus – and promoted in others, especially the Baltics.
Its appearance will certainly be a welcome development for those seeking to provide Russian language speakers with a more balanced view of world affairs than that current offered by Russian media. It will also mark a major success for the Denis Diderot Committee and, just as significantly, a shift at Eutelsat, which was initially reluctant to cease distributing Russian-operated services on its satellites and, quite probably, offer ones such as Svoboda.
However, as the Denis Diderot Committee points out, “much remains to be done to prevent the satellite capacities of European satellite operators from being used by media controlled by non-democratic regimes or organisations”.
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