The list of sacrifices Alesya Marokhovskaya has made to continue reporting on Russia from exile is long: her home, her country, family, friends, culture, security.
Also this month, Russian authorities searched the home of the journalist’s parents in the eastern port city of Magadan and opened a criminal case against Marokhovskaya for violating Russia’s foreign agent law.
When she spoke to VOA in Prague about the case, Marokhovskaya searched for words to explain why the sacrifices are worth it. Ultimately, she settled on the Russian people.
“They are poisoning the Russians,” she said, describing how she sees Kremlin propaganda. “Information is one of the most important things in our world, and I am completely against manipulating people’s minds.”
As editor-in-chief of the exiled Russian investigative outlet iStories, breaking through propaganda to bring the truth to ordinary Russians is Marokhovskaya’s main focus. But in doing so, Marokhovskaya and her team face legal threats and surveillance, even while based in Prague.
Marokhovskaya did not plan to leave Russia, even after Moscow declared the journalist a so-called foreign agent in 2021.
Instead, reporters followed the strict rules that come with the designation. For months, she labeled all of her social media posts – even those featuring photos of her dog – as the work of a so-called foreign agent, and she turned over financial reports to the Justice Ministry.
“It was really humiliating,” Marokhovskaya said. But she followed the rules because she wanted to keep reporting from inside Russia.
“For me, it was important to stay in Russia as long as possible. Because I was thinking there was no way to become a Russian journalist inside Russia,” Marokhovskaya said.
But when Russia invaded Ukraine, Marokhovskaya said it became clear that Moscow would increase its harassment of independent journalists. Shortly thereafter, he and many of his colleagues at iStories fled for the Czech capital, Prague.
At the time, Marokhovskaya was concerned that the relationship between iStories and its primary audience inside Russia would not last.
“Our fear was of becoming the media for immigrants. We want to be media for Russians [inside Russia] First of all,” Marokhovskaya said. But iStories survived. “I still have this fear, but now I think we can work under such conditions.”
Marokhovskaya has worked for iStories, or “Important Stories”, since it was founded in 2020. In September, at the age of 29, she became editor-in-chief of the outlet. He took over the role from iStories founder Roman Anin, now the publisher.
an ex novaya gazeta Anin, the reporter, says he never expected a situation as extreme as a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but he predicted that journalists would eventually leave because of Moscow’s increasing repression.
“It was clear that at some point, they would come after us too,” Anin said.
For Anin, the focus on collaborative journalism is one of the things that makes iStories unique. The outlet also prioritizes publishing investigations and exclusive stories rather than daily news covered by other outlets.
“The main job of journalists is really to find the truth, not to republish it,” Anin said.
Russia has declared iStories a foreign agent and an undesirable organization. The latter exposes its employees, sources, and donors to potential fines, criminal charges, and jail time.
That harassment shows how influential iStories’ work has been, according to Karol Luczka, who covers Eastern Europe at the International Press Institute in Vienna.
He said, “Investigative journalism is certainly the kind of journalism that most angers political decision makers.”
As the outlet’s new top editor, Marokhovskaya is tasked with leading one of the most prominent exile investigative Russian news outlets at a time when the stakes are especially high, he said.
As the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war approaches, Kremlin-backed persecution against exiled journalists poses a daily threat, and Russia’s future remains uncertain, Marokhovskaya says her work is even more important.
Among his priorities is figuring out how to maintain the connection between iStories and its audience inside Russia – and, ideally, how to grow that audience.
“When you’re living in Russia, you’re surrounded by propaganda,” he said. “Many people in Russia need the truth.”
iStories isn’t having much trouble reaching people inside Russia who already oppose President Vladimir Putin and his wars. Marokhovskaya wants to focus her attention on those who are not necessarily supporters or opponents of Putin, but are somewhere on the fence.
“These people are of interest to us. Its [a] Potential audience,” Marokhovskaya said.
Part of that strategy, says Artem, head of the iStories video department, is to talk to people in a way that doesn’t alienate them.
“We don’t tell them you’re stupid, that you’re a war criminal,” Artem said. “We present real life in Russia as it is. We’re talking to real people. We are talking about their problems. We’re always trying to find something that’s interesting to the general public.”
Artem, a former journalist with Russian state media, requested to be identified only by his first name for security reasons.
Video is the primary focus in iStories. The site is published on YouTube, where iStories has approximately 720,000 subscribers, and where most of its videos reach nearly 1 million views.
In August, Russian authorities began reducing YouTube loading speeds in an apparent effort to limit access. Artem admitted that he was worried about how this would affect iStories.
YouTube channels and videos have made an impact. A 2022 documentary that featured a Russian soldier confessing to killing a Ukrainian civilian has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.
It also became the center of a lawsuit in Russia.
The documentary’s lead reporter – Ekaterina Fomina, who now works at TV Ren – and iStories founder Anin have been accused by the Kremlin of spreading misinformation about the Russian military. The pair are being tried in absentia and the charges have been dismissed.
The trial underscores the threats Moscow-backed journalists face in exile in a process known as international repression. Legal harassment – or “the law” – is common. Surveillance, hacking, and even suspected poisoning have also been documented.
Over the course of several months last year, Marokhovskaya and her colleague were sent threatening messages, telling them they were being monitored.
“I am in physical danger here. “I put my family in potential danger,” Marokhovskaya said. “It’s a big sacrifice.”
Russia’s Prague Embassy and Foreign Ministry did not respond to VOA’s requests for comment.
Due to the risks being high, many of the outlet’s employees work anonymously.
“It’s a pity, but it’s part of our job now,” said Artem. “We are fighting criminals in the Kremlin, and they do not follow the rules. “They do what they want and we will do the same,” he said.
The personal cost of that work is high. But, Anin said, “It is very important to preserve the truth about what was really going on in the country at these historical moments, to preserve the truth about the crimes of Putin’s regime.”
And for Marokhovskaya, it’s comforting to know she’s doing the right thing for her country.
“It’s really simple to me,” she said. “I am a patriot for my country, and the Russian government – they are not.”
