voices
voices
records
records
stories
stories
testimonies
testimonies
How our archives work
How our archives work
Kronika preserves endangered journalism and public records that might otherwise disappear — bringing together voices, testimonies, stories, and records threatened by censorship, institutional collapse, war, and the passage of time.
Kronika preserves endangered journalism and public records that might otherwise disappear — bringing together voices, testimonies, stories, and records threatened by censorship, institutional collapse, war, and the passage of time.
Preserving archives protects the public’s ability to remember, investigate,
and understand.
When records disappear, communities lose evidence of what happened and access to their own past.
When records disappear, communities lose evidence of what happened and access to their own past. Preserving archives protects the public’s ability to remember, investigate,
and understand.
How we build archives
How we build archives
We work with journalists, media organizations, researchers, and communities to identify collections at risk and preserve them before they disappear. Across different regions and types of material, our approach follows the same principles — we call it Kronika Preservation Model:
We work with journalists, media organizations, researchers, and communities to identify collections at risk and preserve them before they disappear. Across different regions and types of material, our approach follows the same principles — we call it Kronika Preservation Model:
Preserve
Capture endangered material across formats before it is lost
Reconstruct
Bring fragmented collections together and restore their context, structure, and metadata
Create access
Make collections searchable, understandable, and useful for journalism, research, education, and public memory
Build with communities
Develop archives in partnership with the people and institutions whose histories they preserve
Preserve
Capture endangered material across formats before it is lost
Reconstruct
Bring fragmented collections together and restore their context, structure, and metadata
Create access
Make collections searchable, understandable, and useful for journalism, research, education, and public memory
Build with communities
Develop archives in partnership with the people and institutions whose histories they preserve
Russian Independent Media Archive
Russian Independent Media Archive
A living record of Russian independent journalism under threat.
A living record of Russian independent journalism under threat.
Preservation
RIMA preserves the archives of Russian independent media whose work has been blocked, erased, shut down, or forced into exile
Urgency
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, pressure on independent journalism has intensified dramatically, making the preservation of this record especially urgent
Scope
The archive spans from the early 1990s to today and brings together online publications, newspapers, magazines, zines, YouTube channels, and other media
Beyond individual publications
RIMA preserves not only individual articles and recordings, but the broader record of the media organizations, journalists, dates, and circumstances through which independent journalism was produced, attacked, and forced to survive
Technologies
By reconnecting fragmented collections and using OCR, automatic transcription and translation, structured metadata, and full-text search, RIMA creates new ways to search, study, and use the archive
Impact
RIMA creates new ways for journalists, researchers, educators, and the public to search, study, and use one of the most important records of Russia's recent history
Preservation
RIMA preserves the archives of Russian independent media whose work has been blocked, erased, shut down, or forced into exile
Urgency
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, pressure on independent journalism has intensified dramatically, making the preservation of this record especially urgent
Scope
The archive spans from the early 1990s to today and brings together online publications, newspapers, magazines, zines, YouTube channels, and other media
Beyond individual publications
RIMA preserves not only individual articles and recordings, but the broader record of the media organizations, journalists, dates, and circumstances through which independent journalism was produced, attacked, and forced to survive
Technologies
By reconnecting fragmented collections and using OCR, automatic transcription and translation, structured metadata, and full-text search, RIMA creates new ways to search, study, and use the archive
Impact
RIMA creates new ways for journalists, researchers, educators, and the public to search, study, and use one of the most important records of Russia's recent history
166
166
166
sources
sources
25+
25+
25+
years
years
8.5M+
8.5M+
8.5M+
web, print & video documents
web, print & video documents
Central American Independent Media Archive
Central American Independent Media Archive
A growing regional archive built with journalists whose work is under threat.
A growing regional archive built with journalists whose work is under threat.
CAIMA preserves independent journalism that is at risk of disappearing through censorship, political persecution, forced exile, newsroom closures, and the loss of digital infrastructure. Its purpose is not only to save individual articles, but to protect the accumulated record through which journalists documented corruption, authoritarianism, human rights abuses, social movements, and democratic change across the region.
CAIMA preserves independent journalism that is at risk of disappearing through censorship, political persecution, forced exile, newsroom closures, and the loss of digital infrastructure. Its purpose is not only to save individual articles, but to protect the accumulated record through which journalists documented corruption, authoritarianism, human rights abuses, social movements, and democratic change across the region.
The archive began with the preservation of Guatemala’s elPeriódico, which was forced to close in 2023 after nearly three decades of investigative journalism and the judicial persecution of its founder, José Rubén Zamora. CAIMA now brings elPeriódico together with other independent media collections from Guatemala and Nicaragua, while expanding toward a truly Central American archive covering Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
The archive began with the preservation of Guatemala’s elPeriódico, which was forced to close in 2023 after nearly three decades of investigative journalism and the judicial persecution of its founder, José Rubén Zamora. CAIMA now brings elPeriódico together with other independent media collections from Guatemala and Nicaragua, while expanding toward a truly Central American archive covering Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
539,400+
539 400+
539,400+
documents
documents
1996
1996
1996
until present
until present
11
11
11
media collections
media collections
Witnesses of War — Helpdesk Media Archive
Witnesses of War — Helpdesk Media Archive
A primary-source archive of how ordinary people experienced Russia’s war against Ukraine.
A primary-source archive of how ordinary people experienced Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Beginning in 2022, Helpdesk Media recorded the stories of people living through occupation, bombardment, captivity, displacement, bereavement, political persecution, volunteering, and forced emigration. Many of these testimonies first appeared in shortened form on social media; behind them remained full interviews, original audio recordings, photographs, videos, and correspondence documenting the everyday reality of war.
Beginning in 2022, Helpdesk Media recorded the stories of people living through occupation, bombardment, captivity, displacement, bereavement, political persecution, volunteering, and forced emigration. Many of these testimonies first appeared in shortened form on social media; behind them remained full interviews, original audio recordings, photographs, videos, and correspondence documenting the everyday reality of war.
Witnesses of War preserves this material in its fullest available form. Wherever possible, the archive reconnects the published story with the original recording and complete transcript, preserving not only what people said, but their voices, language, emotion, and the context in which their testimony was given.
Witnesses of War preserves this material in its fullest available form. Wherever possible, the archive reconnects the published story with the original recording and complete transcript, preserving not only what people said, but their voices, language, emotion, and the context in which their testimony was given.
150
150
150
testimonies in the archive
testimonies in the archive
~500
~500
~500
collected by Helpdesk Media
collected by Helpdesk Media
100+
100+
100+
hours of audio
hours of audio
Lenta.doc Archive
Lenta.doc Archive
A lost experiment in documentary journalism, reconstructed by RIMA and Meduza.
A lost experiment in documentary journalism, reconstructed by RIMA and Meduza.
Lenta.doc was a groundbreaking video project published by Lenta.ru in 2013–2014. Created by Alexander Rastorguev and his collaborators, it developed a distinctive form of “documentary news” that captured political events and everyday life in Russia from inside the action.
Lenta.doc was a groundbreaking video project published by Lenta.ru in 2013–2014. Created by Alexander Rastorguev and his collaborators, it developed a distinctive form of “documentary news” that captured political events and everyday life in Russia from inside the action.
After Lenta.ru’s independent newsroom was dismantled in 2014, the Lenta.doc section disappeared from the website. As a special project of RIMA, the archive reconstructs this lost collection from surviving originals and scattered copies, restoring its chronology, context, and public access.
After Lenta.ru’s independent newsroom was dismantled in 2014, the Lenta.doc section disappeared from the website. As a special project of RIMA, the archive reconstructs this lost collection from surviving originals and scattered copies, restoring its chronology, context, and public access.
309
309
309
videos recovered
videos recovered
~1,600
~1,600
~1,600
originally produced
originally produced
2013–2014
2013–14
2013–14
years of recontruction
years of recontruction
A growing network
of archives
A growing network
of archives
Kronika continues to develop new archives with media organizations, institutions, and communities whose records are at risk. Each collection is different in scale, format, language, and political context, but all are built around the same principle: endangered records should remain accessible to the people who will need them in the future.
Kronika continues to develop new archives with media organizations, institutions, and communities whose records are at risk. Each collection is different in scale, format, language, and political context, but all are built around the same principle: endangered records should remain accessible to the people who will need them in the future.
Is a collection you care about at risk?
Is a collection you care about at risk?
We are Kronika, a civic technology project dedicated to preserving independent journalism under threat
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© 2026 Kronika. All rights reserved
We are Kronika, a civic technology project dedicated to preserving independent journalism under threat
Subscribe to the newsletter
© 2026 Kronika. All rights reserved
We are Kronika, a civic technology project dedicated to preserving independent journalism under threat
Subscribe to the newsletter
© 2026 Kronika. All rights reserved