This is a happy follow-up to an earlier story (April 27th) about a woman in danger of being imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against Vladimir Putin.

In February of this year, Russian journalist and film critic Yekaterina Barabash was arrested and charged with “spreading lies” about Russia’s war against Ukraine. In April, she was sentenced to two months of house arrest. She had already been designated a “foreign agent” by the Russian Justice Ministry, and knew that it was just a matter of time before more serious charges — likely carrying a prison sentence — would be levied against her.

As a film critic who has worked for Radio France Internationale, and has been an occasional guest on RFE/RL’s Russian Service programs, she has been openly critical of Vladimir Putin’s clampdown on any and all criticism of his war against Ukraine.

On April 13th, when authorities went to her apartment to carry out a routine check, Barabash was not at home — a violation of the terms of her two-month confinement — and a warrant was issued for her arrest. Nothing had been heard from her since then.

And finally, yesterday — May 5th — Barabash appeared at a news conference in Paris, organized by advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), to reveal that she had fled Russia across multiple borders, by way of secret channels arranged by unnamed activists, and remained in hiding for two weeks before making her whereabouts known.

RSF’s director, Thibaut Bruttin, said: “Her escape was one of the most perilous operations RSF [has] been involved in since Russia’s draconian laws of March 2022.” [RFE/RL, May 5, 2025.]

While it is certainly encouraging to know that resources exist through which people like Barabash are able to escape Putin’s purge of those who dare to speak out against his repressive regime, it is nonetheless heartbreaking to realize what his measures have meant to his victims. In Barabash’s case, she had to leave behind her 96-year-old mother, whom she could not even contact before fleeing.

“I just understood that I’d never see her again,” she said.

And she told the news conference that now, “There are no Russian journalists. Journalism cannot exist under totalitarianism.” [Id.]

*. *. *

As I congratulate Yekaterina Barabash on her courage and her successful escape, at the same time I fear for all of the others still in harm’s way.

And I have to wonder: Could that happen here?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/6/25