Russia still has one of the lowest levels...

Russia ranks 175th, along with Gambia, in a 196-country list.

The survey shows the level of press freedom in Russia in 2009 almost unchanged from 2008, with the press in the country described as "Not Free".

Nordic countries - Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - rank first in the list as the states with the freest media. The United States occupies the 24th position, along with the Czech Republic.

The ten countries where the press freedom situation is the worst are North Korea (the 196th position), Turkmenistan, Burma, Libya, Eritrea, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Equatorial Guinea and Iran.

"In these states, which are scattered around the globe, independent media are either nonexistent or barely able to operate," the survey said.

In a list of 29 central and eastern European countries and former Soviet states, Russia occupies the 26th position.

"Russia, which serves as a model and patron for a number of neighboring countries, continues to

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