Russian state-affiliated journalists have complained that they were made to stay overnight in a makeshift camp at a local stadium with folding beds and little internet access ahead of Friday’s Alaska talks.
When journalists from Russia’s state media organizations flocked to Alaska on Thursday to report on the Ukraine war summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, they were told that hotels in Anchorage were booked up.
As a result, they were housed in the Alaska Airlines Center, a 5,000-seat arena in Anchorage, which was once used as a temporary COVID-19 hospital, according to The Moscow Times.
More than 50 media personnel from the Kremlin pool are thought to have slept in the open-plan stadium, which has two folding camp beds in each small section separated by thin partitions made from semi-transparent black material.
The scenes were reminiscent of the experiences of the thousands of Ukrainians who have been forced to regularly sleep in the metro during air raids, some no longer with a home to return to after Russian strikes, for more than three years.
This irony looked to have been lost on the entourage, who responded with dismay and exasperation to the conditions on social media, complaining of a lack of sleep and little privacy.
Egor Piskunov, a correspondent for the Russian state media agency Russia Today (RT), gave a tour of the stadium where Russian journalists were strewn haphazardly with their luggage.
“I’ve been to a lot of places in my career, I’ve spent the night in a lot of different places, but here in Alaska, this is something new even for me,” Piskunov said in a clip.
“At first I thought it was a joke, but we were told that because the presidents are meeting here and because it’s high tourist season, all the hotels in Anchorage are booked,” he said.
In a subsequent clip from Friday morning, Piskunov gave a tour of the breakfast facilities consisting of a vat of tuna mayonnaise – which he said had been left out overnight – plus some bread and fruit, and a box of potato chips.
Gleb Ivanov of Russia’s pro-Kremlin Arguments and Facts newspaper described the setup as “Spartan” and wrote that “it’s like something from the Red Cross.”
Ivanov wrote that “on the day of our arrival, they did not organize a hot lunch for the journalists, though the choice of snacks was not meager.”
Sharing pictures of his sparse sleeping space, Kommersant correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov wrote on Telegram: “Double rooms at the sports arena in Anchorage for Russian journalists,” adding “beyond all expectations!”
The Moscow Times also reported that towels and toilet paper were handed out in boxes, and journalists had to queue to brush their teeth in the poor and limited facilities.
The state media representatives also complained that the WiFi in the facility was extremely slow and that, due to sanctions, they were unable to use roaming to connect to the internet.
To make matters worse, Russia blocked most calls on WhatsApp and Telegram earlier this week, leaving them with few options to make contact with home.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Russian government has imposed tight control over the media landscape.
Independent outlets have largely been silenced through bans, censorship or being labeled “foreign agents” while state media has been boosted in expanded propaganda efforts.
Members of the official US and Russian delegations at the summit may also have complaints about their living conditions during the stay, after it was reported that they would be housed in student dormitories on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus.
“There may be up to 750 people staying on campus between the US and Russian delegations,” university Vice Chancellor Ryan Buchholdt wrote in an email seen by Anchorage Daily News.
Buchholdt said that the request for the university to host delegates for the summit came from the White House, clarifying that the delegations were being kept in separate locations.