TV Rain, a Russian liberal-leaning independent television station, has resumed operations after being forced to shut down following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The station has received an EU broadcasting license and will be working from studios in Latvia, France, the Netherlands, and Georgia, according to Reuters. Many Russians uncomfortable with the Russian invasion have also moved to Georgia. On Monday, June 6th, the Latvian National Electronic Mass Media Council issued a broadcasting permit to the TV station, allowing it to broadcast from Riga, the capital of Latvia. The station will also be releasing its content on YouTube, which isn’t censored in Russia, making it one of the few ways Russians will be able to see TV Rain.

The station released a statement about beginning to broadcast again, saying, “Due to the repressive laws and military censorship adopted in Russia, we were forced to leave our homes. Now we are resuming our work from outside the country,” according to Reuters. TV Rain had originally been shut down for describing the events in Ukraine as “war,” and, the Russian telecommunications regulator said, “inciting extremism, abusing Russian citizens, causing mass disruption of public calm and safety, and encouraging protests,” according to the BBC.

It is very important that this station is reopening, providing more diversity in the news that Russians are getting and diminishing the power of the Russian government in informing the population. However, it is not enough to have stations like TV Rain operating from outside the country. According to the BBC, Russians would have to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to watch TV Rain’s videos, making it even more difficult to access. This cuts down the number of people who are able to watch TV Rain not only to those with internet access and literacy, but to those who know how to acquire and use a VPN, most likely those who are actively seeking out this content.

When TV Rain first began, it called itself the “Optimistic Channel” and was largely apolitical, according to Reuters. However, as suppression increased, particularly around the protests in 2012, the station was no longer able to ignore politics and became more liberal-leaning. It was criticized heavily by Vladimir Putin once he was elected, and in March of 2021 TV Rain was expelled from the Kremlin’s press pool and labelled a foreign agent, confining their content to the internet. Then, in March of 2022, Russia blocked their output, citing new laws which indirectly forced all independent and liberal-leaning media outlets to shut down or move abroad.

TV Rain is doing important work providing the Russian and world populations with varying perspectives on Russian news, although they are limited in their scope by the restrictions the Russian government has placed on all media outlets. While it is commendable that these stations are continuing to work to provide their content, it is also up to world governments to ensure that journalists in all countries are protected and able to do their work safely, regardless of whether they disagree with their country’s government.