Russia’s journalist union expelled from the International Federation of Journalists

The Russian Union of Journalists has been expelled from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) by decision of the IFJ Congress.

The Congress approved the IFJ Appeals Committee’s recommendation to expel the Russian organization. The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine noted that the Russian Union of Journalists was expelled because of its close cooperation with the state and the establishment of branches in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Prior to this, the Russian organization’s membership had remained suspended. The IFJ Executive Committee had made this decision back in 2023. In accordance with the federation’s bylaws, only the Congress which convenes once every three years had the authority to permanently expel the organization.

A prominent British journalist and trade unionist Jim Boumela, the former long-time president of the IFJ and the federation’s honorary treasurer, described the expulsion procedure as a formality, but a revealing one.

“The Appeals Commission recommended expulsion; the Congress endorsed that decision. The Russian Union of Journalists is no longer a member of the IFJ,” said Boumelha. “The Commission had no other choice,” he added.

According to him, the Russian side did not take advantage of the opportunity to fully challenge the decision. Representatives of the Russian Union of Journalists did not attend the Congress and did not file a substantive appeal. The day before, they sent a letter containing general explanations.

President of the Swedish Union of Journalists Ulrika Hyllert, called the decision crucial for upholding IFJ standards. “We cannot have organisations so close to the state in the IFJ,” said Hyllert. She also noted that the Congress’s decision sparked no debate and that the federation will be able to focus on defending freedom of speech, professional ethics, and supporting journalists, particularly in wartime.

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine described the expulsion of the Russian Union of Journalists as “the only possible and long-awaited” decision.

In her comment to Detector Media Lina Kushch, a representative of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, stated that even after the suspension of its membership in 2023, the Russian organization could technically have attempted to remain part of the federation by appealing to the delegates at the Congress.

“According to the charter, the decision on expulsion rested with the Congress. And so the Russians could have come to the Congress as delegates and appealed to be allowed to remain in the federation. It was a big risk, and we, as the NUJU delegation, were preparing for this, gathering certain arguments. But shortly before the Congress, it became known that there were no Russian delegates, even though six months earlier I had seen reports in the Russian media that the head of the Russian Union of Journalists, Vladimir Solovyov, had announced that they had received an invitation to participate,” said Kushch.

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine emphasized that, even after the suspension of the Russian Union of Journalists membership, Russia has not stopped its aggression against Ukraine, and the Russian journalists’ organization has not distanced itself from the activities of occupying media outlets.

International Federation of Journalists is the world’s largest journalists’ body with more than 600,000 members in 120 countries. It has member organizations covering journalists’ unions and journalists’ associations. It operates programmes in support of independent media and journalists’ rights in 30 countries and has global projects covering media and globalization, public broadcasting policy and the safety of journalists. It has its headquarters in Brussels.

National Union of Journalists of Ukraine is the largest journalists’ organization in Ukraine. It currently has around 10,000 members (as of February 2022 – 19,000 members). The Union has branches in all regions of Ukraine. The NUJU was registered on 9 June 1992. Since then, the organization has been operating continuously. Even at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Union did not suspend its activities and provided continuous assistance to Ukrainian and foreign journalists.

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Main image: Serhii Shturhetskyi