Russia continues to wage war on Ukraine while billionaire Elon Musk strangely challenged Vladimir Putin to a physical fight. Over on Russian State TV, as well, the overriding tone has been surreal, although in compliance with the Kremlin’s wishes. They also grew absolutely giddy when a Fox News commentator suggested that Ukranians bend over and let Putin do, well, whatever. There’s been solidarity-resistance from the outside world when Anonymous claimed to have hacked into Russian TV stations to air graphic battle footage, but there are cracks coming from within now.
Via Meduza editor Kevin Rothrock, here’s a clip of the moment when a then-unidentified woman dashed onto the soundstage of a Channel One broadcast with a sign reading, “Stop the war! Don’t believe propaganda! They’re lying to you here!”
Apparently, a woman just ran onto the stage during a Russian state television news broadcast with a sign that said, “Stop the war! Don’t believe propaganda! They’re lying to you here!” pic.twitter.com/nn5XWsh4Wn
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 14, 2022
BBC One Russia editor Steve Rosenberg also noted the incident, calling it “absolutely astonishing.”
Absolutely astonishing. During Russian Channel 1’s evening news broadcast, a woman ran onto the set with a sign: “No war…Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here.” pic.twitter.com/wBdFGtzTsg
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) March 14, 2022
Via Mediaite, the story took a turn when Financial Times Moscow Bureau Chief Max Seddon identified the woman as Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova, who was promptly taken into police custody and charged with “discrediting the Russian armed forces.”
The anti-war protester who crashed the news broadcast is Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at Channel One, says @pchikov, whose legal defense foundation is going to defend her against charges of “discrediting the Russian armed forces.” She’s already at the police station. pic.twitter.com/h0uyDmMKdF
— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 14, 2022
From there, The Daily Beast’s Julia Davis published a Twitter thread with a video statement (clearly recorded before her on-set move) from Ovsyannikova, who expressed regret in helping to spread misinformation and Kremlin propaganda as part of her job:
“What is currently happening in Ukraine is a crime. Russia is a country-aggressor… All responsibility for this aggression lies on the conscience of one person: Vladimir Putin. My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian. They were never enemies… Unfortunately, for the last several years I worked at Channel One, promoting Kremlin propaganda and for that I am very ashamed right now… I am ashamed that I allowed lies to be told from TV screens, that I allowed Russian people to be zombified. We stayed quiet when all of this was just getting started in 2014…. We didn’t come out to protest when the Kremlin poisoned Navalny. We continued to quietly watch this inhumane regime… Now the whole world turned away from us.”
Marina Ovsyannikova remains in custody and will likely remain there for some time. As noted by The Guardian, a rogue independent news broadcasting of this kind could land her in prison for 15 years per a criminal law against so-called “fake news.”
(Via Mediaite & The Guardian)