Vadim Shtepa was forced to leave Russia in 2015 after threats of arrest and repression because his comments on the Russian social media platform Vkontake were considered "extremist" by the government of the Republic of Karelia.

[2] In 2006–2008, he wrote a column on Garry Kasparov’s website, which gave opponents a reason to call him "a true idialogue of ‘National Orangeism’.

According to Igor Sid’s review, Shtepa is one of the leaders and conceptualizers of the Russian intellectual movement for the cultural self-determination of regions.

[4] Shtepa also contributed to various Russian news websites, such as Radio Svoboda and various local Karelian newspapers.

[7] Vadim Shtepa also works as an analyst of Russian regions for Eesti Päevaleht.