The Russian Justice Ministry has added the international non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders to the register of “undesirable” in the country. This follows from the updated list on the website of the Russian ministry.
The Russian prosecutor’s office made the decision to declare the human rights organisation undesirable on 23 July 2025. The reasons were not given.
The organisation Reporters Without Borders was established in France in 1985.
The organisation calls its goals the fight against censorship, ensuring freedom of speech, and the release of journalists imprisoned through their professional activities.
Since 2002, Reporters Without Borders has published an annual press freedom ranking.
In the rating for 2025, published in early May, Russia dropped nine positions compared to the previous year, ranking 171 out of 180. this was the worst result for Russia over the entire time of the rating.
Recognition of an organisation as undesirable means a ban on its work in Russia and the threat of criminal prosecution for people who cooperate with it.