In 2017, almost simultaneously with the Media Alliance of Russian Communities (MARS), another organisation very similar to it was established – the ‘Association of Journalists and Media Abroad’. Its website only went live in 2019, but it remains active in 2024.  Like MARS, it was established during another event for ‘compatriots’: ‘Presentations by the Association took place at the World Thematic Conference of Compatriots in Moscow and at the Assembly of the Russian World in Nizhny Novgorod in the autumn of 2017. The Association played an active role in the preparations for the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi.”  
As stated on the Association’s website before the war (why did the ‘Editorial’ button disappear in 2024?), “The Association of Journalists and Media Abroad (‘Association for Media and Press’) is an international organisation bringing together representatives of Russian-language media and cultural organisations from 54 countries. The ‘Association’ was established with the aim of fostering dialogue between states, developing links between civil society institutions and public diplomacy, and implementing and supporting socially significant projects in the cultural, educational and environmental spheres. “According to the Association’s mission statement and constitution, membership is open not only to journalists but also to those involved in organising cultural events for their compatriots.”
Svetlana Konev – President of the ‘Association of Journalists and Media Abroad’, Editor-in-Chief of the online portal ‘All of Switzerland at Your Fingertips’ 
Andrei Pyadushkin – Executive Secretary of the ‘Association of Journalists and Media Abroad’, journalist, special correspondent for the ‘Association for Media and Press’
Natalia Guggenheim – Journalist for the ‘All of Switzerland at Your Fingertips’ online portal, special correspondent for the ‘Association for Media and Press’ in Switzerland
Anna Nerman – Administrative Department, journalist, special correspondent for the ‘Association for Media and Press’ in Iceland
Svetlana Agoshkova – Department of Digital Technologies and the Development of Multilateral Cooperation with European and CIS Countries
Judging by the list of editorial staff, the association originated in Switzerland. Its objectives are the same as those of all such artificial organisations – to recruit anyone who wishes to join. 
Ekaterina Toporkova – Department of Tourism: President of the ‘Association of Russian-speaking Guides and Interpreters in Switzerland’.

 In April 2019, the website of the Foundation for the Protection of the Rights of Compatriots (Pravfond) published a completely different editorial board: ‘The President of the Association is Svetlana Konev, Editor-in-Chief of the internet portal “All of Switzerland at Your Fingertips” and a member of the Swiss Council for the Rights of Compatriots (KSORS).’
The editorial board of the ‘Association of Journalists and Media Abroad’ comprises: Sergey Burdaev – Executive Secretary of the Association, special correspondent in Moscow; Alevtina Zakharova – Director of the ‘Matryoshka’ network of general education centres in Switzerland and the Netherlands, member of the Swiss Committee for the Co-ordination of Russian-Speaking Communities (KSORS); Elmira Shcherbakova – Chair of the Culture Committee of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation; Natalia Guggenheim – journalist for the ‘All of Switzerland at Your Fingertips’ online portal; Furkat Davronov – President of the ‘Association of Russian-speaking Doctors in Switzerland’, member of the Swiss branch of the Russian Union of Journalists; Ekaterina Toporkova – President of the ‘Association of Russian-speaking Guides and Interpreters of Switzerland’; Barbara Agani – representative of the Chamber of Commerce; Svetlana Tetenkina – Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the online portal ‘All of Switzerland at Your Fingertips’; Stanislav Epifantsev – international expert, publicist, member of the previous composition of the World Council of Compatriots from Kyrgyzstan; Natalya Kupcha – member of the World Council of Compatriots, Secretary-General of the Council of the Association of Russian Compatriots of the ‘Zharkiy’ Club in Tunisia 
The ‘Swiss’ were joined by Muscovites – a ‘special correspondent’ in Moscow, an official from the Public Chamber and a representative of the Chamber of Commerce – as well as members of the World Congress of Compatriots from other countries. 
Back in 2018, Svetlana Konev, on behalf of the Association, set up a Facebook page dedicated to the Russian presidential election and for several years ran the page ‘The Immortal Regiment in neighbouring and distant foreign countries’ (both pages are currently unavailable). 
It appears that the Association has shown no further public activity since its creation. Only the ‘News’ section on its website is updated. In the ‘Articles’ section, the most recent posts date from 2021, whilst in the ‘Events’ section, they date from 2023. 
One gets the impression that the Association was set up for some other purpose, far removed from journalism. Perhaps for money laundering in Switzerland, but the war and sanctions have made this task considerably more difficult. Or perhaps they haven’t; we simply don’t know about it. In any case, the agents involved in the operation have not gone anywhere and could be deployed in a different way at any moment.