Artists under Siege: Deterioration of digital spaces and state-led erasure of dissident voices

Artists in the region, many of whom come from already marginalized communities, will face devastating sociopolitical and financial precarity as a result of these actions. Despite the numerous political, social, and cultural differences exhibited throughout the region, there is continuity in the legal imposition of censorship against dissidents directly challenging artists, who, through their craft, exhibit the realities and abuses endured within their respective countries. Artists are activists, human rights defenders, cultural rights defenders, and just like any other human being, have political beliefs and opinions. Given the power of art to question social and political constructs, actions such as those in Russia call attention to artistic expression online and how it has increasingly come under attack. In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, dissident Russian artists face an even more severe crackdown on their free expression as the Russian government clamps down viciously on anti-war sentiments. These efforts have included foreign agent laws made to target news outlets and silence dissent that receives support from abroad, to the creation of fake news laws in March of 2022 and amendments used to fine or jail opposition for critiquing the military, among other actions.