No exception was made for the SZHR – Picture of the Day – Kommersant

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) notified the head of the Russian Union of Journalists (UJR) Vladimir Solovyov of the suspension of Russia’s membership in the organization. Mr. Solovyov himself told Kommersant about this, expressing regret at such a decision and calling it a political one. According to him, the IFJ executive committee went along with the journalistic associations of Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, which had previously delivered an ultimatum to the IFJ leadership: they declared their readiness to leave the IFJ due to the opening of UJR branches in Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. It will be possible to return to the issue of Russia’s return to work as part of the IFJ only in 2026.

IFJ Secretary General Anthony Bellanger notified the head of the UJR, Vladimir Solovyov, about the suspension of Russia’s membership in the International Federation of Journalists. “I received a letter saying that the executive committee of the federation is freezing Russia’s membership in this organization,” Mr. Solovyov told Kommersant. “We consider this decision absolutely unjustified – there is nothing to exclude or freeze our membership.”

The International Federation of Journalists was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Brussels. The federation currently includes more than 600 thousand journalists from 140 countries of the world (national unions – 187, since several countries from some countries, including Ukraine, the IFJ includes several associations). The Russian Federation has been a member of the International Federation since 1996, while the Russian Union is the largest component of the IFJ (about 70 thousand people).

• The IFJ certificate “costs a small fee and entitles you to benefits, such as free admission to museums,” but the IFJ document does not affect the work of Russian media abroad, media lawyers explained to Kommersant earlier.
• Nevertheless, the status of an IFJ member affects the protection of the rights of journalists from national unions and helps participating countries, among other things, to negotiate the release of captured journalists in the zone of military conflicts.

Recall that the discussion in the IFJ related to the intention to exclude the Russian Union of Journalists, became known January 31 from a Reuters report. It stated that the unions of journalists in Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland intend to leave the IFJ for two reasons: corruption in the international trade union and the presence in it of the national Union of Journalists of the Russian Federation. The ultimatum on the “Russian question” was delivered due to the opening of regional branches in the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions (in territories that the applicants do not recognize as Russian). The IFJ rejected allegations of corruption, but there were no statements regarding the Russian issue at that time. On February 16, it became known that the IFJ will hold a meeting of the executive committee to decide on plans for continued cooperation with Russia.

“In 2014, when Crimea became part of Russia, we created branches in Sevastopol and Simferopol, and our head of the international department, Timur Shafir, became IFJ vice president for the first time in history,” recalls Vladimir Solovyov. questions and problems, moreover, in 2021, the entire composition of the IFJ Executive Committee came to our forum in Sochi, bathed in hospitality, and we did not hear any complaints. Why are there questions now? Obviously, under the pressure and ultimatums of the northern trade unions, a political decision was made. Although the IFJ cannot and should not be involved in politics, its job and mission is to protect the rights of journalists. But the decision has been made and we can only express regret.”

This suspension will not affect the work of the SZHR, Vladimir Solovyov is sure. According to him, cooperation with the IFJ in Russia has practically ceased in the last year due to the foreign policy situation.

For this reason, the Russian delegation did not attend the 31st IFJ congress in Oman, trying “to avoid hysteria and incessant accusations from the Ukrainian, Scandinavian and Baltic unions,” says the head of the UJR. He emphasizes that it is impossible to completely exclude Russia from the IFJ now. Such a decision, as well as the decision to unfreeze the membership of the Russian Federation, can only be taken by Congress, the next meeting of which will be held in 2026. At the same time, members of Congress will hear the position of Russia, which “is already ready to present strong arguments” in favor of resuming membership. The IFJ said that they “initiated the process of expelling the Union of Journalists of Russia” from the organization.

Mr. Solovyov notes that “weighty arguments” include the size of the Russian union and, therefore, “huge membership fees that the federation is now losing.” Earlier, in an interview with Kommersant, he pointed out that the annual contribution to the IFJ from the Russian Federation is “about €20,000,” although he admitted that the total contribution of the northern unions that put the IFJ with an ultimatum is “much higher than the Russian one.”

Other arguments in favor of Russia’s return to work as part of the International Federation, the head of the UJR include “long-term fruitful cooperation” and successful cases of joint protection of the rights of Russian journalists. “Together with the IFJ, for example, we defended Vyshinsky (formerly the head of the RIA Novosti Ukraine portal, Kirill Vyshinsky, now a member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights, was accused of treason on the territory of Ukraine in 2018.— “b”) and through IFJ they could put pressure on the Baltic countries, too,” he recalls.

It is now impossible to influence the IFJ congress, however, Mr. Solovyov believes that in three years the issue can be decided in favor of Russia because of the composition of the congress: “It includes not only NATO countries, but also countries of Latin America, the Arab East, Africa and many others countries sympathetic to Russia.

Now the UJR, according to its head, will continue to work at other international platforms and “protect the rights of colleagues” without the support of the IFJ.

It should be noted that at the time of preparation of the material, the IFJ decision was publicly condemned by the Union of Bulgarian Journalists (BUJ). In conversation with TASS BUZh chairman Snezhana Todorova called the IFJ “not democratic enough”, and raising the issue of a possible exit of the BUJ from the international federation was a “big mistake”, a “political act” and “double standards”.

Maria Starikova