The watchdog group lowered Tallinn's ranking from 11 to 14. Among other reasons for lowering Estonia's rating that were listed by the RSF are verbal attacks on journalists by the far-right populist party EKRE, as well as allegations of the owner of the Postimeesi newspaper interfering with the outlet's work.
Press Freedom Watchdog RWB Lowers Estonia's Rank After Tallinn's Pressure on Sputnik Estonia
© Sputnik / Konstantin Chalabov
/ In late 2019 Sputnik Estonia was pressured by the country's authorities into shutting down its operations in the country. The authorities cited EU sanctions imposed on Dmitry Kiselev, the head of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, which includes Sputnik Estonia. However, the outlet itself has not appeared on any sanctions lists.