Fresh Air Best Of: Fighting for free press in Russia / ‘Fear and Fury’
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Feb 7, 2026 Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer-winning historian who wrote Fear and Fury, and Julia Loktev, filmmaker who documented independent Russian journalists, speak candidly. They explore journalism under Russia's crackdown, intimate reporting choices, and the cultural forces behind vigilante violence in 1980s New York. Short, vivid conversations about press freedom, exile, and how fear reshapes public memory.
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How War Laws Crushed Independent Reporting
- After the invasion, Russian laws made calling the conflict a war illegal and required reporting to echo the Ministry of Defense, effectively ending independent journalism.
- Journalists chose exile over jail so they could continue reporting from abroad rather than be silenced in prison.
Profiles Of Young Russian Journalists
- The film follows young, mostly female journalists like Anya and 23-year-old Xuxia who came straight from journalism school into independent media.
- Many now live in exile, face criminal cases, and some are labeled extremists or charged for reporting on war crimes.
Community, Humor As Forms Of Resistance
- Community and dark humor sustained these journalists; social gatherings and laughter functioned as resistance and resilience.
- Joy and everyday life became tools to persist against repression rather than signs of complacency.
