Russian Union of Journalists

The three-year grant of $300,000 to the Russian Union of Journalists will support a project to raise the legal awareness of journalists and develop a national strategy to protect media workers’ rights. The non-profit Russian Union of Journalists is the largest professional organization of journalists in Russia, with 80 sections and about 100,000 members. The purpose of project is to develop sustainable strategies to enhance the projection of journalists’ rights in Russia. There will be five main areas of project activity: conducting training seminars to promote legal awareness, solidarity, and a commitment to campaigning among journalists; building a comprehensive database on violations of the rights of journalists and the media; conducting journalistic investigations into violations of journalists’ rights; providing legal support in selected cases; and running regional and national educational campaigns on journalists’ rights. Foundation dollars will be used to pay for salaries, seminars, travel expenses, publications, and legal support.