More than 500,000 Russians were granted visas to the European Union’s Schengen zone in 2024 — nearly half of which allow for multiple entry over many years. The visitor numbers are down by 90 percent compared with pre-pandemic 2019, but half a million people still isn’t nothing. And it’s about to seem astronomical, following a recent decision by the European Union to introduce a ban on multi-entry visas to the Schengen zone for Russian citizens.

Many have welcomed the E.U.’s new policy as long overdue, justifying the restrictions as a commonsense security measure and a morally righteous punishment for the citizens of a state terrorizing the continent and making war in Ukraine. That has not been the response from most Russian activists and journalists, however. For these people, Europe’s new multi-entry visa police will shatter the workflows and evacuation plans that had made it possible to continue limited forms of independent reporting and activism inside Russia.

To learn more about these repercussions, The Naked Pravda spoke to journalist and activist Elena Kostyuchenko, author of the 2023 book I Love Russia: Reporting From a Lost Country. In a November 10 social media post, Kostyuchenko laid out why her colleagues are “panicking” about the new E.U. visa policy. She joined Meduza’s podcast to break it down further.

Timestamps for this episode:

(4:18) Challenges faced by Russian activists investigating war crimes against Ukraine
(9:10) The European Union as a safe haven
(19:14) Middle-class Russians and visa policies
(25:16) Security concerns about the exiled opposition and espionage in Europe

Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

Elena Kostyuchenko explains why E.U. multiple-entry visas were so crucial for Russian dissidents and journalists