Today, Russian authorities have labeled the independent news agency Meduza an “undesirable organisation,” effectively banning the website from operating in Russia and banning any Russian from working with the agency or its journalists.

This is another Kremlin ban in a years-long campaign to suppress independent media and prevent their reporting from entering the country.

The crackdown on independent media has intensified since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

The Russian Prosecutor General, in his statements regarding the decision, argues that the Latvia-based news agency “poses a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the Russian Federation.”

There was no immediate response from Meduza, one of Russia’s most widely read independent news sites. The publication posted a news item on its website that details what the status of an “undesirable organization” might mean.

“The action of undesirable organizations on the territory of Russia is prohibited under the threat of committing a crime,” the article, published in Russian and English, says.

“Anyone who ‘participates in or collaborates’ with such groups could face criminal prosecution – a particularly severe restriction for journalists who must speak to sources to report news,” it added.

People who are prosecuted for working with an undesirable organization face heavy fines or even years in prison.