Gallery: Here's What It's Like to Be a Russian Journalist

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    A reporter uses a paper airplane to try to get the attention of Russian president Vladimir Putin during Putin's annual press conference in Moscow, Russia. The press conference lasted 5 hours. Throughout the press conference, reporters waved banners, pieces of paper, and other things to get called on to ask a question.
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    Photo: M. Scott Brauer
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    Journalists wait for the arrival of Russian president Vladimir Putin at his annual press conference in Moscow, Russia. The press conference lasted 5 hours.
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    Photo: M. Scott Brauer
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    Journalists listen to a press conference on the new Wow Moscow tourism initiative in the Museum of History in Red Square in Moscow, Russia.
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    Jackie Chan poses for the media while promoting a the film "Armor of God 3: Mission Zodiac" (also known as "Chinese Zodiac") in Moscow, Russia.
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    Photo: M. Scott Brauer
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    On-air personalities arrive for a nightly news discussion show at Telecenter, the offices and studios of Bashkir state television and radio, in Ufa Bashkortostan, Russia.
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    Photo: M. Scott Brauer
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    Reporters and editors work in the editorial offices of Russia Beyond the Headlines in Moscow. RBH is a publication produced by Rossiskaya Gazeta and the Russian government to produce foreign language news about Russia. The publications, which look like newspapers, are distributed as paid advertising inserts in major publications throughout the world.
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    State Duma member Dmitry Gudkov speaks to the media during the kickoff party of the new 5th of December opposition political party in Moscow, Russia. Gudkov is a well-known anti-Putin activist from the political party A Just Russia.
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    Pavel Gusev, Editor in Chief of the independent Moskovskii Komsomolets, meets with foreign journalists in his offices in Moscow. In March 2013, MK and Gusev came under fire for criticizing the Duma and a number of MPs who switched from opposition to pro-government parties, calling the switch "political prostitution."
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    Television producers monitor broadcasts, including a live nightly news program, at the Telecenter (Teletsentr) studio of Bashkir state television and radio in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia.
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    Moscow media interview Dina Gazaliyeva, a television reporter from Tatarstan, before Russian president Vladimir Putin's annual press conference in Moscow. The woman's sign reads "Heart Tatarstan" and is used to get the attention of President Putin. The woman asked Putin a question about the regional organization of Russia's territory.
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    Photo: M. Scott Brauer
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    Reporters ready equipment to cover an opening for Italian artist Michele Ceppi's 7 Deadly Sins project attended by music and television stars in Moscow, Russia.
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    A news photographer waits for the arrival of Jackie Chan on a rooftop overlooking Red Square during a press conference in Moscow, Russia.
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    Photo: M. Scott Brauer
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    A press technician inspects printing in the Moskovskii Komsomolets press in Moscow, Russia.
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    Back issues of one of Moskovskii Komsomolets's regional editions hang on a wall in the paper's offices in Moscow, Russia. Moskovskii Komsomolets is one of Moscow's largest daily newspapers.
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    An image of Putin looks down on the editorial meeting room in the offices of Komsomolskaya Pravda in Moscow, Russia.
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