Let’s keep the lighthouse on Supporting Meduza from inside Russia is impossible. Our readers there are counting on you.

We recently invited readers from Russia to share what Meduza means to them and asked those living abroad to help support our work through donations. We’ve spent years explaining why this assistance is so crucial, and now it’s our readers’ turn! Meduza is publishing a handful of these responses, translated into English with light editing and enormous gratitude for these important and heartfelt words. 

These messages are for you, our audience outside Russia. Please consider answering the call of our Russian readers by making a recurring donation to Meduza. Your support helps keep hope — and sanity — alive for millions of people without easy access to reliable news and information. If you would like to dedicate your donation, please contact us directly at [email protected].

Svetlana

St. Petersburg

I live in Russia and cannot send donations to Meduza, which is incredibly important to me as a source of reliable information.

I have no friends abroad, and I ask you, a stranger to me, to support Meduza, and with it, hope for a normal future for Russia. This hope fades with each passing day. It’s unbearable to listen to propaganda and encounter people poisoned by it, especially children.

Everyone around me either genuinely believes or pretends that nothing terrible is happening in Russia or the world — “everything is going according to plan.” People have completely stopped discussing politics, which didn’t happen even in the late Soviet Union. This is why Meduza and other independent sources of information are so important. You can read Meduza without a VPN, even with poor Internet quality, and the app never fails. It’s a high-quality project that deserves support.

Dear stranger, if you decide to make a donation to Meduza on my behalf, please dedicate it to Svetlana from St. Petersburg. You have my deepest gratitude.

Sergey 

Imagine a boy who hated reading as a kid and spent every summer herding cows, whacking every bush with a stick out of anger that he had to chase the herd for 12 hours, swatting at mosquitoes and gnats. He grows up, goes to college, but never becomes a specialist in his chosen field. He spends a long time looking for work, and then a war begins. And now he thinks that a guy like him, logically, should be one of the first to enlist.

But this guy’s parents raised him right, and most importantly, he was fortunate to meet people in life who sparked his interest in Russia’s political scene. Meduza became his primary source of news then and remains so today.

I wouldn’t want you to send a donation “for me” — send it from yourself. Someday, the time will come when I’ll be able to support all those news outlets that have given us so much help understanding this world over the years.

Yulia

St. Petersburg

(Yulia seeks a donation dedicated to all those who strive for humanity, respect for the interests of different people, and nonviolence.)

I donate to organizations that continue to operate in Russia, but I can’t donate to Meduza. Even so, this is where my morning reading begins every day. Meduza helps me stay up to date on what’s happening, reporting on events from a viewpoint I can relate to and with values that are important to me. Meduza plays a huge part in how people like me see the world, and I honestly can’t picture life without it. Even though I read other independent news sources and English-language media, Meduza covers what is important specifically to me, and in a way that matters to me.

Dear stranger, if you can support Meduza on our behalf, please do. And we’ll be here supporting our fellow citizens who are being persecuted and stripped of their freedom by Russian authorities. Thank you to everyone who helps journalists tell the truth, talk about things that matter to society, and give us the information we need to grow and persevere.

Ira

(Ira seeks a donation dedicated to her and her granddaughter.)

Thanks to Meduza’s investigative work in 2018–2019, I was able to find information about my [Stalinist repression victim] great-grandfather. I sent a copy of his arrest file to my grandfather; he’d just turned 91, and the last time he saw his father was before the arrest, when he was 21. I’m still grateful I managed to do this and got it to him in time.

And I’d be lost without Chto Sluchilos [Meduza’s daily news podcast], the calming soundtrack for my cooking ritual that has been a lifeline keeping me sane.

Katya

Nizhny Novgorod

Help preserve a ray of hope and faith in justice — in the belief that someday Meduza will be able to write: “The war is over!”

An anonymous reader

In Russia, ages ago, we used to donate to Meduza during Covid, in those “great” Covid times that we sadly find ourselves missing. We can no longer offer that help, but you can. Whether by some miracle or hard-won circumstances, you have the chance now. The chance to keep alive what’s left of the Russian-language media. Just look around — what’s left of the Russian Internet? It’s not in broken pieces or ruins, but burned to the ground and salted over. You can support podcasters, bloggers, and musicians — that would be good. And you can also support Meduza.

Vika

Vyborg

Over the years, Meduza has become a trusted friend. I used to have no interest in politics, and I began reading Meduza because of [film critic Anton] Dolin and [literary critic Galina] Yuzefovich. Of course, politics is very important to me now, and Meduza provides answers to many of my questions — thoughtfully, in a European style with real respect for readers. If I lose access to Meduza, another window in the heavy curtain surrounding our country will close, and my world will shrink even further.

Maria

St. Petersburg

I remain in Russia and continue to receive objective, verified, uncensored information, thanks above all to Meduza. I also teach journalism at a university and try to pass on to my students the standards of independent, quality journalism — the way I remember it being. I still hope this isn’t Sisyphean work and that this knowledge will someday benefit my students. And we need Meduza as a guide for what good journalism looks like.

An anonymous reader

I can’t leave Russia. I exist in profound discomfort, essentially isolated. I have a thousand good reasons not to leave, but the real one is that I’m a lazy coward. I try not to lose hope and honestly won’t lose it even if everyone in the world starts fighting. But still, when I see some amazing people or read independent news, even when it’s horrible news, I get that I’m not alone — and that really helps. Sorry, I love you guys.

Maxim 

I’m still in Russia, and I can’t send donations to people the Russian government calls “enemies.” Back when it was possible, I used to support Meduza financially. I have to say, I’m not always happy with how Meduza writes their stories, and there are some things I honestly just don’t like. But whether I like it or not doesn’t matter at all — reality and journalists don’t have to make everyone happy. Meduza is pretty much the only Russian-language news outlet that tries to be objective and professional. It’s basically the last reliable source of real information for those of us stuck here with a crazy dictator and his cronies.

An anonymous reader

(This reader seeks a donation dedicated to a student.)

I’m just a regular guy who recently graduated from college and used to send Meduza a hundred rubles every month. Putin stole my country from me, took away my ability to speak out, and even my freedom to spend my own hundred rubles. Please help Meduza! Freedom for Russia!

Galina 

I’m still in Russia, working in palliative care. It’s super important for me to hang onto my humanity and whatever sanity is left! Meduza’s voices keep me from suffocating in this propaganda bubble.

An anonymous reader

I used to support Meduza every month, but I feel terrible that I can’t donate more. I’ve got a single income, three kids, and mortgage payments, but I still feel it’s my civic duty to do whatever I can to keep free media alive in the Russian-language space. That’s incredibly important to me. Sadly, I don’t see how foreign-language news outlets could ever fill this niche.

I’m absolutely thrilled by what Meduza does. Sometimes, I disagree completely with certain articles and even with Meduza’s general take on an issue. Sometimes, it’s a fundamental disagreement. But that doesn’t change what I said before. We all need Meduza. If Meduza disappears, it would be a disaster (and a deeply personal one for me). Ideally, we’d have three or four different Meduzas, but there’s only the one. And we can’t lose it.

An anonymous reader

(This reader seeks a donation dedicated to a shoreman.)

Russia right now is like a black ocean. It’s this huge stretch of land, swept by cold winds, where the sun never rises. And Meduza is like a lighthouse. It’s all alone, but it cuts through the darkness for thousands of miles. I’m floating across this black ocean in a little boat, getting tossed around by crazy waves, and I’d be utterly lost without that lighthouse.

But a lighthouse is still infrastructure that needs to be maintained. You’ve got to change the light bulbs, clean the glass, and keep the troublemakers away. All of that takes resources. I’d be happy to provide them myself, but I can’t reach the lighthouse, and it runs on imported parts. So please, help.

Lydia

Dear friend! We don’t know each other, but if you’re reading this, we’ve got something in common: Meduza. Today I’m asking you to support Meduza, which is an important part of my life. I’ve been reading it regularly for six years (crazy, I didn’t even realize it has been that long). Every day in Russia, it gets harder to find reliable information, and I’d love to help keep independent media alive. But I can’t do this, while you can. Please support Meduza with whatever amount works for you, and you’ll make this world a tiny bit better ❤️.

Lyu

St. Petersburg

(Lyu says hello and sends hugs!)

I’ve literally been with Meduza since day one. Yes, I’m aware of the scandals and drama, but for me, the entire editorial team — past and present — are like pieces of a puzzle that make up my life. They might be tiny, but lose even one, and the puzzle no longer fits together. By supporting Meduza, I’ve been investing in my mental health. I’d keep doing it, too, because for me, it’s all out of love.

You guys! For years, Meduza’s been one of the only news outlets keeping me from going nuts. I’m still in Russia, still holding it together, but just barely. I know I’m not the only one. So, please show some love for Meduza and help keep us from going cuckoo! Sending a big, supportive hug ❤️.

Varvara

Novosibirsk

I’m in Russia, with no real way to leave. And honestly, I don’t think it’s my place to go. I don’t have any special skills that would be super useful [abroad]. Also, from what I’ve seen, things are pretty tense for migrants in Europe anyway. I’d rather see asylum and assistance go to those with greater need, to Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Living in Russia is tough under constant propaganda and no free speech. When you consume state-run media, it seems like there’s nothing but evil everywhere. That’s why the work of independent journalists is so crucial — not only does it uncover the truth (which is critical), but it also reminds us that there are still people in Russia who haven’t been brainwashed. We may be few, but we’re here. And knowing that is incredibly important.

I make a point to read all the letters published from Meduza’s readers, because I honestly feel the same way as so many of them. When I see a letter from Russia, I know there’s someone out there like me who’s also against the war and this criminal government. Maybe in this very moment, they’re reading Meduza too. That knowledge keeps me from sinking into despair and hatred.

Meduza’s team — and especially our readers in Russia — are deeply grateful for your support. Even small monthly pledges go a long way! If you’d like to dedicate your donation to someone mentioned in this story, email us at [email protected].