Russian journalist joins CIS as the 2026 Neuffer fellow

Cambridge, Mass. – January 16, 2025 — The MIT Center for International Studies (CIS) is pleased to welcome Lilia Yapparova, an exiled Russian journalist and correspondent for Meduza, as the 2026 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow.

Selected from a competitive pool of 133 journalists from 60 countries, Yapparova is the 21st recipient of the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, which supports outstanding women journalists reporting on human rights and social justice. The fellowship is administered by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) in partnership with MIT CIS, The Boston Globe, and The New York Times.

Beginning in early 2026, Yapparova will be based at CIS as a research associate, while also working with The Boston Globe. At the end of the spring semester at MIT, she will transition to The New York Times. During her time at MIT, she will engage with faculty, students, and researchers while continuing her reporting on human rights and conflict.

Throughout her 11-year journalism career, Yapparova has documented Russia’s persecution of marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQI+ populations, as well as the country’s war on Ukraine. She was the only Russian journalist reporting from Kramatorsk at the start of the invasion and one of the few journalists to report from inside occupied Chernihiv. In 2022, she led Meduza’s investigations into civilian killings in Bucha and Bohdanivka.

Yapparova currently lives in exile in Latvia following a sweeping media crackdown in Russia. Despite censorship and threats, she continues to investigate alleged war crimes and government corruption.

Reflecting on the fellowship, Yapparova said, “My access to readers in Russia is restricted, and my work feels like fighting a shadow or punching into the void. Thirty years ago, Elizabeth reported on young post-Soviet states’ first steps toward creating their own armies; now, I will be covering those armies. How does a Russian journalist reach home-country audiences? I hope to find the answers through the fellowship.”

The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, established in 2004, honors the legacy of Boston Globe journalist Elizabeth Neuffer, who was killed while reporting in Iraq in 2003. The fellowship enables one journalist each year to pursue academic research at MIT while reporting on human rights and social justice issues in the United States.

The 2026 fellowship runner-up is Lian Buan, an investigative reporter with Rappler in the Philippines, recognized for her extensive reporting on human rights, criminal justice, and government corruption.