An international human rights organization Amnesty International has published an annual report about the respect for human rights in different countries, which says Russian media is even less free and independent than a year ago.

      The chapter of the reports dedicated to Russia reveals that it has become much harder for Russian press and television to express pluralism and opinions opposed to Russian authorities's policy.

      Amnesty International notes that in 2014 Russia continued to support and widen the measures taken in 2012 for the limitation of the free expression of political and social opinions. Many Russian political activists were condemned to big jail terms as a result of fabricated trials, while several cases of police officers torturing people were hushed up.

      A separate part of the report is dedicated to the situation in Russian media. In particular, it is said that the Russian government has tightened  supervision over main media channels, and the most popular and state supported Russian media sources are now used for blackening political opponents, oppositional figures and leaders of other countries.

      Many Russian oppositional and independent media resources were closed or obstructed in 2014. As an example, Amnesty International says about Russian independent TV-channel "Dozhd", which has been cut off all cable networks for a public opinion poll about the results of World War II. Other examples are the dismissal of an editor-in-chief of "Lenta.ru" online newspaper and its editorial staff's dissolution and also the blocking of "Daily Journal", "Grani.ru" and "Kasparov.ru" websources in the Russian Internet.

      Amnesty International also mentions that the amount of protest actions has become much less as compared with 2013, against a background of growing people's support of Russian authorities and the country's foreign policy.