Journalism Under Authoritarian Regimes

This course explores the role, challenges, and evolution of journalism under authoritarian rule, with a primary focus on Russia from the late-Soviet era to the present day. We begin with an examination of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), a time when the state's repressive apparatus left no room for independent journalism and dissent was punishable by imprisonment or worse. Students study the impact of perestroika and glasnost—why Mikhail Gorbachev introduced relative freedom of speech and dismantled institutional censorship—and trace the rise and fall of journalistic freedom in the years that followed. As the course moves into post-Soviet Russia, we analyze the corruption of the media in the 1990s, followed by the consolidation of power under Vladimir Putin, who systematically dismantled independent institutions, captured national resources, and curtailed press freedoms under the guise of sovereign democracy, followed by all-out war against the society, and then a hot war—whole scale military aggression against the sovereign Ukraine. Drawing on real-world examples, interviews, and case studies, this course also offers practical lessons in resilience and survival—skills honed by Russian journalists facing censorship, surveillance, and violence. While we hope such tactics remain unnecessary in democratic societies, the course prepares students to think critically and act ethically in times of both political stability and crisis.