Tikhon Dziadko came back from Washington stunned. This figure of the anti-Kremlin Russian press, now exiled in Europe, met with about 10 prominent Americans shortly after Donald Trump's return to the White House. "They asked me for advice – on how to protect their democracy! It was a surprising question coming from a country that has been democratic for over 200 years. As a Russian, I come from a country that has known so little of that," said the editor-in-chief of Dojd, the independent TV channel founded in 2010.

Dziadko knows what he's talking about: For over a decade, he fought against increasingly stifling repression in Moscow. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he was forced to shut down his offices. Now in exile in Amsterdam, he broadcasts online and estimates his audience at 25 million people, including 15 million in Russia. "My advice to Americans? Stay vigilant: The first restriction on freedoms is always followed by more," said the 37-year-old, who has spent 25 years under Vladimir Putin's rule.

From March 7 to 9, Dziadko was among around 100 journalists gathered in Vienna for the annual Redkollegia conference, an informal community of independent Russian media. "Our main problem is funding," he said, as his colleagues fear the impact of President Trump's decision to end foreign financial aid.

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