Russian Authorities Label Deutsche Welle an ‘Undesirable Organization’

Under Russian law, involvement with an “undesirable organization,” including sharing its content, is a criminal offense.

Deutsche Welle was added to the Russian Justice Ministry’s list of undesirable organizations following an announcement on Saturday by lawmaker Vasily Piskaryov, who leads a parliamentary commission on foreign interference in Russian affairs.

Piskaryov also criticized the broadcaster's academy program, accusing it of training “disinformation specialists.”

In a statement, Deutsche Welle Director General Barbara Massing called the designation Russia’s latest attempt to silence independent media.

“We will continue to report independently on the war of aggression against Ukraine and other topics about which little information is available in Russia, so that people can form their own opinions,” she said.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry shuttered Deutsche Welle’s Moscow office shortly before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It also withdrew accreditation for its staff in retaliation for a German move against Russia’s state-funded RT TV.

Deutsche Welle is Germany’s international public broadcaster. It is funded by taxpayer money but is editorially independent. It says it provides content in 32 languages.

Russia's crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists and activists has intensified to unprecedented levels since the invasion.

Russia’s list of “undesirable organizations” currently covers more than 275 entities, including prominent independent news outlets like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, think tanks like Chatham House, anti-corruption group Transparency International and environmental advocacy organization WWF