See no evil: A Chechen journalist on the current climate of fear and intimidation that is stopping real news getting out

A backlash against reporters covering Chechnya’s persecution of gay men highlights the dangers of getting truth out in this corrupt state. A Chechen journalist speaks out about the challenges

Chechenya’s head of the republic Ramzan Kadyrov speaks to the media after a suicide bombing in 2014

CREDIT: Elena Fitkulina/AFP/Getty Images

ONLY ONE RULE governs journalists’ work in Chechnya: we are all part of Ramzan Kadyrov’s press service. After Kadyrov came to power in 2007 as the country’s head of the republic, the media was turned into his personal propaganda tool. I almost lost my job once for using footage in a news story showing former president of the republic Alu Alkhanov, Kadyrov’s predecessor. Alkhanov is politically sound, but Kadyrov doesn’t like him. Because of this, Alkhanov’s name cannot be mentioned. In another instance, I recorded an interview with a man who was tortured by the Chechen authorities. After the interview came out, the man had to flee the country to ensure his safety. I still think it’s my fault.

Journalists here now know what they can and cannot write in order to stay safe and survive. Sadly, what they can write doesn’t amount to much. The main news topic for any publication is Kadyrov, his family and his relatives. There is virtually no story emanating from the Chechen media that fails to mention the name Kadyrov. It might refer to the head of Chechnya himself; his father, who was assassinated in 2004; his mother, who heads a charitable foundation; or his wife and children. This is the case for stories on politics right the way through to sport. For example, a headline might run saying Kadyrov attended the rehearsal of a dance ensemble, praised the artists or handed the soloist the keys to a car or even an apartment. Another might say Kadyrov attended the annual mixed martial arts tournament in Grozny or show Kadyrov visiting a hospital and distributing envelopes containing money to patients. The only time when the head of Chechnya is not mentioned in the news is during the weather report.

Television is used not only as propaganda but as a tool of intimidation. The stories that appear to get the most attention show people apologising to Kadyrov for having complained about the authorities. This is how it goes: on social media, someone complains about the authorities, talking about corruption, salaries being withheld or a kidnapping. The complaint is seen by the authorities, who find and beat up or threaten the author, turn on a camera and force an apology.

Here’s another example. When Kadyrov started using Instagram, Chechens saw his presence on the social network as an opportunity to address him directly. Seeing that he gave apartments, cars and expensive gifts to distinguished people, citizens told him about real problems, such as being homeless, having a sick child or being unemployed or severely underpaid. Kadyrov responded to almost every message. A special group contacted the author of each request, went to the relevant address and found out what the situation was. At first glance, everything looked humane, but in fact this group was created in order to protect Kadyrov from the authors’ problems. Often “verification” ended with a report, aired on TV, claiming the person was an idler or an imposter.

There is also a troll farm in Chechnya. The organisation is located in one of the buildings of the Grozny-City complex. It employs a dozen people who monitor the Chechen and Russian media constantly and write comments on anything concerning Kadyrov or Chechnya. If the news is positive, the organisation’s employees confirm it. If the news is bad, they refute it. In one instance, a “comment” written by someone who went by the name of Nikolai from Arkhangelsk read: “I came back from Chechnya yesterday. There are no kidnappings. People all love Kadyrov. Grozny is the safest city in the world.”

For the work of trolling, employees are paid handsomely. Some media employees also receive bonuses if they post good news about Chechnya on social media.

There are independent media outlets from Russia and elsewhere who operate in Chechnya, but their work is difficult, too. Kadyrov repeatedly says that media outlets such as Russian Ekho Moskvy, Novaya Gazeta, RBC, Dozhd and Latvia-based Meduza are treacherous, hostile and pursuing the collapse of the country. For example, when, in March, Novaya Gazeta published a series of investigative articles reporting that men suspected of being homosexual were being rounded up and tortured in secret prisons, the news was quickly denied. Alvi Karimov, Kadyrov’s spokesman, called Novaya Gazeta’s report “an absolute lie” in an interview with Russia’s state-funded Interfax news agency, saying there were no gay men in Chechnya to be persecuted.

It’s not just being discredited that is a threat. There are real dangers to reporters. Journalists from these publications are almost always watched and intimidated, and are sometimes killed. Two journalists at Novaya Gazeta have been murdered while covering stories from Chechnya over the past two decades, and the reporter who covered the homosexuality stories has been threatened. At a gathering on 3 April of about 15,000 men, Kadyrov’s adviser Adam Shahidov called the Novaya Gazeta journalists “enemies of our faith and our motherland” and promised “vengeance”, according to the CPJ.

Then there are the difficulties of finding people to interview. Ordinary people are too afraid to talk to journalists and officials simply refuse to do so. These news outlets cannot have anonymous stringers in Chechnya because it is almost impossible to maintain anonymity. Chechnya is small; everybody knows everybody. Journalists can hide their own name, but in order to do normal journalistic work they need to interview people, to provide details, to describe an event that took place. Through details it is very easy to understand about what and about whom an article was written. Knowing what the Chechen authorities are capable of when quashing dissent, no one wants to put at risk someone who merely agrees to be interviewed.

Even the foreign press is suffering. Until recently, it was well represented and foreign journalists often came and conducted interviews. People spoke more easily with them, perhaps because the articles were published in foreign languages and were rarely translated. But the situation changed dramatically in March 2016 when a group of journalists travelling with human rights activists were beaten up and severely injured in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia. Their vehicle was burned and they ended up in hospital. No one had any doubt the attackers had acted on the order of the Chechen authorities. After this incident, few foreign journalists have risked going to Chechnya. Without them, there’s even less hope for reporting what is going on honestly in Chechnya.