Information coming out of Chechnya is hard to come by. It is controlled by the tight grip of the Republic’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov. This episode attempts to get insight into what the response to COVID-19 looks like in the Russian Republic of Chechnya. Adam interviews Lana Estemirova, a freelance journalist covering Chechnya. They talk about issues related to the heavy-handed response to the virus. They discuss media clampdowns, protests by medical professionals and the ongoing human rights situation there.

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Resources
"Chechen leader threatens journalist Elena Milashina over COVID-19 reporting". Committee to Protect Journalists. 18 April 2020: https://cpj.org/2020/04/chechen-leader-threatens-journalist-elena-milashin/

"Concern for Russian Journalist after Covid-19 Article about Chechnya." Netherlands Helsinki Committee. 29 April 2020: https://www.nhc.nl/concern-for-russian-journalist-after-covid-19-article-about-chechnya/

Music Featured in the Podcast:
Now We Feast by Alexander Nakarada. Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4768-now-we-feast License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 39: COVID clampdown in Chechnya