Indie Russian news firm raises $250K in crypto after sanctions cripple finances

A Russian autarkic quality institution has raised much than US$250,000 successful cryptocurrency donations from supporters successful bid to proceed reporting autarkic quality nether a barrage of Russian authorities propaganda and censorship. 

Meduza, a Latvian-based Russian-language quality tract that claims to study connected “the existent Russia, today” has been asking for donations since March successful the signifier of USD, euros and cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance (BNB), Tether (USDT), Monero (XMR) and zcash (ZEC).

Since publishing their donations plea, the quality institution has received astir US$250,000 successful crypto donations done 146,000 idiosyncratic transactions. Around 93% of the full donation magnitude came successful the signifier of 3.75 BTC ($116,954) and 49.9 ETH ($117,767).

Folks, Meduza has redesigned its crowdfunding aft being disconnected from our supporters successful Russia. We present crook to you—our planetary audience—to regenerate those 30k donators. Help america support Russians & the satellite informed astir the monstrous warfare against Ukraine. https://t.co/y83ieV9LuT

— Meduza successful English (@meduza_en) March 14, 2022

Meduza’s wealth troubles really began successful April 2021, aft it and respective different autarkic media outlets got labelled by Russia’s Justice Ministry arsenic “foreign agents,” requiring the institution to spot a ample font informing successful each of its Russian-language articles informing readers of its “foreign agent” status. The aforesaid informing besides has to look successful each advertisements, starring to a nonaccomplishment of astir each its advertisers. It wrote connected its donations FAQ:

“As you tin imagine, fewer companies volition wage to beforehand their products beneath a informing that the contented was “created by overseas agents.”

Being labelled arsenic a overseas cause did not forestall readers successful Russia from donating to the enactment however, arsenic the institution promptly acceptable up an avenue for contributors to supply regulator donations done their banks utilizing outgo processor Stripe.

But successful March, Meduza recovered itself pincered by some Russian authorities censorship and the interaction of Western sanctions. Its website was blocked by Russian authorities for “disseminating accusation successful usurpation of the law,” and its lone avenue of receiving donations from Russian supporters blocked by a ban connected the SWIFT web for Russian banks connected February 26.

SWIFT is simply a planetary fiscal messaging web utilized by fiscal institutions to execute planetary wealth transfers.

Meduza wrote connected its donation website that the fiscal restrictions had made it intolerable for them to tract donations from their supporters successful Russia.

Since February 25, the quality enactment and its journalists person been publishing regular updates connected Russia’s warfare against Ukraine, sharing images and stories astir Ukrainian civilians impacted by the warfare and different large events not reported by section Russian media.

“Millions of radical successful Russia present trust connected our reporting,” wrote Meduza, noting its journalists were forced to permission the country.

“Since the outbreak of this war, transferring wealth from Russia to Europe has been impossible. We mislaid 30,000 donators. At the moment, we get nary wealth from Russia astatine all.”

Ivan Kolpakov, editor-in-chief of Meduza told Bloomberg the donations volition assistance their 25 journalists, who person since fled the state to resettle successful Riga, Latvia, wherever the company’s office is located.

Related: The Ukraine penetration shows wherefore we request crypto regulation

Meduza and its journalists are not the lone unintentional victims of the Russian sanctions. Media reports implicit the months person pointed to mundane Russians, students studying abroad, planetary students successful Russia, and adjacent entire nations’ civilian populations arsenic having been severely impacted by Russian-facing sanctions.