Short answers, pulled from the story.
Russia ranked 164 out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders. The Committee to Protect Journalists has stated that Russia is a more dangerous place for journalists now than it was during the Cold War.
Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist known for her criticisms of Russia's actions in Chechnya and the pro-Russia Chechen government. She was shot in the lobby of her Moscow apartment building on the 7th of October 2006, triggering international criticism of the Russian government's failure to protect independent media.
Russia's System of Operational-Investigatory Measures (SORM) requires telecommunications operators to install FSB-provided hardware that allows the agency to monitor phone calls, email, and web browsing without a court order. The European Court of Human Rights found this legislation in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights in its 2015 Zakharov v. Russia ruling.
On the 4th of March 2022, Putin signed a law imposing up to 15 years in prison for publishing information deemed false about Russian military operations, causing several outlets to halt their Ukraine coverage. On the 1st of March 2022, authorities blocked Echo of Moscow and TV Rain, Russia's last independent television station. BBC News Russian, Meduza, Facebook, and Twitter were also blocked on the 4th of March 2022.
On the 25th of November 2017, Putin signed legislation allowing authorities to designate foreign media outlets as foreign agents, forcing them to brand their content accordingly. The law was enforced on a large scale in 2020 and 2021, with outlets including Meduza and TV Rain receiving foreign agent designations despite their foreign funding consisting mainly of advertising contracts.
Evan Gershkovich is a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained by the FSB on the 29th of March 2023 on charges of espionage. He became the first American journalist to be detained in Russia since the Cold War.