You’ll get no argument from me.
Russia is ranked #152 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index.
“While Russia’s leading TV channels continue to inundate viewers with propaganda, the Ukrainian crisis led to an increase in pressure on independent media, with a string of draconian laws, website blocking and leading independent news outlets either being brought under control or throttled out of existence. The climate has become very oppressive for those who question the new patriotic and neo-conservative discourse and, in some regions, local despots have taken advantage of this new climate to step up their persecution of critics.”
https://index.rsf.org/#!/index-details/RUS
The headline is a lie. Period.