The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office is classifying Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster, as an “undesirable organization,” according to Russian media reports.
The classification had been requested by the Russian parliament, the State Duma, back in August.
DW now joins several other media organizations, NGOs and foundations that have already received the “undesirable” label, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Bellingcat, CORRECTIV, Reporters Without Borders and TV Rain.
What does the classification ‘undesirable organization’ entail?
Under current Russian law, being designated an “undesirable organization” makes all cooperation with such an organization a criminal offense that can be punished with heavy fines or even imprisonment.
Even sharing content from such organizations, including on social media, is illegal.
What has DW said?
DW Director General Barbara Massing has said the move by Russian authorities is another sign that the Kremlin wants to quash any freedom of opinion in the country.
“Russia may label us an undesirable organization, but that won’t deter us,” she said in a statement.
“This latest attempt to silence free media highlights the Russian regime’s blatant disregard for press freedom and exposes its fear of its own citizens — those who seek information, think critically and are eager to learn. DW will remain steadfast in delivering journalistic content, enabling people to form their own opinions,” Massing said.
DW’s Barbara Massing: Russia’s stance ‘won’t deter us’
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Growing pressure on DW in Russia
Over the past three years and more, DW has increasingly felt the effects of the Kremlin’s crackdown on all organizations and media funded from abroad.
DW has been labeled a “foreign agent” in the country since March 2022, and prior to this faced a broadcast ban.
Its Moscow studio was forced to relocate, and its website was blocked across all languages throughout Russia.
DW Russian reached around 10 million weekly users in 2025, mostly through video content.
This makes DW Russian one of DW’s top 10 most-used services. DW also produces a daily 30-minute Russian-language video news program, DW Novosti, and the satirical show Zapovednik, produced in Riga, remains popular.
Since March 2024, DW’s Russian-language programming has also been included in the TV-Swoboda (“Freedom”) package by Reporters Without Borders. This package features around 20 independent Russian-language TV and radio channels, broadcast via Eutelsat-Hotbird satellites.
To circumvent censorship by Russian authorities, DW has increasingly relied on digital platforms and offering tools to bypass censorship, such as the Tor browser, VPN access, and the DW app.
“Despite censorship and blocking of our services by the Russian government, DW’s Russian-language service now reaches more people than ever before,” Massing said.
“We will continue to report independently – on the war of aggression against Ukraine and other topics about which little information is available in Russia. So that people can form their own opinions,” she added.
What is DW?
DW is Germany’s international broadcaster. As an independent media outlet, it provides unbiased news and information in 32 languages around the world.
DW focuses on topics such as freedom and human rights, democracy and the rule of law, world trade and social justice, health education and environmental protection, technology and innovation.
DW’s TV, online and radio services reach 337 million users every week.
