University of Bremen: Grimme Online Award for Research Center Eastern Europe

Russia’s politics are at the center of the public debate. Allegations of Russian fake news and propaganda are sometimes difficult to verify. “Media reports and polarizing debates further stimulate the climate. The western media also often present the situation in Russia in shortened form, ”said Professor Heiko Pleines from the Research Center for Eastern Europe at the University of Bremen.

Bridge between science and journalism
With the project “Knowledge transfer to the power of two: Russian Studies”, the Research Center Eastern Europe, in cooperation with “decoder – Decrypt Russia” and the University of Basel, is making scientific studies the subject of public debate. To this end, new formats for science communication were developed and tried out. The online dossiers developed in the project, including the annexation of Crimea, issues of national pride and the identity of Russia, have now been awarded the Grimme Online Award in the “Special” category.

According to the Grimme jury, the team succeeds in “building the bridge between scientific and journalistic work. The portal, financed by a private sponsor and from donations, not only offers current articles from independent Russian media as a translation, but also puts them in context and provides explanations where they appear necessary. “

Professor Heiko Pleines is pleased about this recognition: “Science communication has been very important to us for many years – especially with the many polemically discussed questions that we deal with at the Eastern Europe Research Center. The many misunderstandings in the public debate about the annexation of Crimea by Russia have given us new impetus. That is why we have created the first online dossier on this topic with our partner dekoder.org. We are very pleased that this work has now been honored with the Grimme Online Award. “