Rachel Danna
deputy managing editor Project Syndicate
Arzu Geybulla
founder Azerbaijan Internet Watch
Alexei Lazarov
managing editor Capital
Maxim Tucker
Open Society Foundations
It has been nearly thirty years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. But we are still seeing the legacy of its reign in former Eastern bloc countries, especially when we look at the media. According to Reporters Without Borders, Eastern Europe and Central Asia experienced an overall decline in press freedom 2018, and more than half of the region’s countries are ranked near or below 150th (out of 180 countries) in the World Press Freedom Index. Why? What are the historical and current factors that have contributed to this situation, what can be done to support press freedom in the region, and what lessons learned in other post-authoritarian countries can be applied?
Organised in association with Project Syndicate.