Russian Independent Media Archive

58 Outlets. 3.5 Million Documents.

The Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA) is preserving the last two decades of independent Russian journalism, guarding this irreplaceable historical record against erasure as media outlets not aligned with the regime of President Vladimir Putin are shuttered and their reporters and editors are cast into exile. The archive will make the journalism of this pivotal period accessible to the reporters, historians, political scientists and other researchers who will make sense of Russia’s past and whose work counters propaganda-driven manipulation of the historical narrative.

Journalists say their work is the ‘first draft of history.’ My fear was – and remains – that in Russia, this draft is being deleted.

Masha Gessen

What You Need to Know

Launched in 2023 with the content from more than a dozen outlets, the digital archive will eventually include more than 70 independent national, regional, investigative, and cultural news outlets publishing since President Putin took office in 2000.

More than 1,500 journalists have been forced to leave Russia, and others remain imprisoned. The result is a new kind of iron curtain, shielding what happens inside from view for the rest of the world.

RIMA is a project of PEN America, inspired by former PEN America Trustee and author Masha Gessen and made possible with the support of Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust, advised by PEN America Trustee Peter Barbey. 

Our Partners

The Gagarin Center at Bard College

The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine

Mass Media Defence Center