Documentary Tracks Exiled Russian Journalists Amid Ongoing Ukraine War

Part two of Julia Loktev’s extensive documentary chronicles the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, focusing on a group of independent reporters, most of them women, labeled "foreign agents" by the Kremlin. As the war escalates, they scatter across Turkey, Latvia, the Netherlands, New York and other locales, battling visa hurdles, job loss and threats from Russian authorities. The TV Rain team, whose Moscow outlet shut down, faces a seven-and-a-half-year in-absentia sentence for working with an "undesirable organization" and a suspended broadcasting licence after a controversial on-air comment.

Reporter Peter Ruzavin even enlists in the Ukrainian army, serving as a drone operator, sustaining injuries and earning a medal. The documentary interweaves personal hardships—loneliness, guilt, fear of assassination—with their unwavering commitment to deliver truth, ending with a scene of a journalist interviewing U.S. voters during a presidential inauguration, underscoring the global reach of authoritarian threats.