ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the fieldwork in Russia in May 2014, and subsequent developments up until the point of submission of the manuscript in December 2017. It is organised around three key headings: Ethnographic Observations and the Coverage of Ukraine; Common Challenges – Safety Issues, Legal and Administrative Measures; and From the Voice of Freedom to the Voice of the Enemy. The chapter provides an empirical account of the daily routine journalists follow, including the virtual editorial meetings with their colleagues in Prague. It outlines the coverage of the situation in Ukraine as well as a detailed account of the decision-making process. The chapter focuses on some wider issues – the diminishing role the radio plays in Russian society, recent challenges and changes that the editorial staffs have experienced, and a few new laws that jeopardise the future of Radio Svoboda in Russia. It presents the journalists' views on the role they see themselves as playing in Russian society.
