Free Media Awards 2025
Alexandra Astakhova (Russia)

While many independent journalists and photographers left Russia when the country initiated a full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, many others were arrested and convicted, or are still awaiting sentencing in Russian prisons for their professional journalism. Alexandra Astakhova remained behind in Russia. As a freelancer, she uses images and words to tell the story of people prosecuted in Russia in wartime. From 2022 to 2025, she covered the vast majority of the trials of those being persecuted by the state for their work or for their words. She documents the harrowing conditions experienced by people caught in a battle against the machinery of government. Always maintaining a human touch, Alexandra Astakhova photographs the lives of political prisoners for the world to see, exposing what they go through, politically and socially in these extraordinary times. This important work translates into significant personal and professional risk.