Marina Ovsiannikova's anti-war protest on live TV triggers worldwide wave of recognition.

UPDATE 10/05/2022

Russian television editor Marina Ovsyannikova, who became known for her criticism of Russia's war against Ukraine, says she has escaped from house arrest . The 44-year-old wrote on the Telegram news service: “I consider myself completely innocent and since our state refuses to abide by its own laws, I have refused since September 30, 2022 to comply with the coercive measure imposed on me from house arrest, and I release myself from it.” According to earlier information, the house arrest was initially scheduled until next Sunday. Ovsyannikova is now on a wanted list. - Continue reading …

UPDATE: March 15, 2022 / 4:35 p.m

After her sensational protest on Russian state television against the war in Ukraine, the woman is now on trial. The prominent Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov a photo of Marina Ovsyannikova with her lawyer Anton Gashinsky in a courthouse on a Telegram channel Before that, there had been no sign of her for hours.

Russian media reported that the TV employee was being prosecuted for organizing an unauthorized public event. She is therefore threatened with an arrest sentence of ten days or a fine of 30,000 rubles (226 euros) or up to 50 hours of community service. Initially, there were fears that the editor could be convicted of defaming the Russian army under a controversial new law. This could result in up to 15 years in prison.


Last night Russian television viewers couldn't believe their eyes. Behind the speaker of the main evening news on the state broadcaster PERWY KANAL, the first channel, a woman jumped into the picture with a protest poster against the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. After a few seconds, the director switched to another image, but these few seconds brought Marina Ovsiannikova worldwide attention, recognition and, in the worst case, a few years in the Russian penal system. 10 hours after this action, the woman still could not be found ( HERE ).

Protest on the main newscast

During the live broadcast of the news program Vremya on the state broadcaster PERVY KANAL at 9 p.m. Moscow time (7 p.m. CET), a woman suddenly appeared from the backstage behind the news anchor Yekaterina Andreevna and held up a large handwritten poster.

The inscription, partly in Russian and partly in English, read: “Stop the war. Don't believe the propaganda. They lie to you.” She shouted “No to war” several times. The woman initially stood behind the news anchor so that the sign could not be seen, but then positioned herself to the right behind her so that the full-size poster could be easily read for several seconds. before the director interrupted the live broadcast and switched to a scene with a hospital hallway. The scene lasted just six seconds, but that was enough for some viewers to take screenshots and share them on social networks. In a very short time, this news reached the world and became THE news of yesterday evening. Even a Wikipedia article was created that evening ( HERE ).

MIMIKAMA
Photo: Twitter

Protest at the heart of propaganda

The first channel, PERWY KANAL, is one of the most important broadcasters in the country and regularly has 250 million viewers. The program is broadcast worldwide and is also received via satellite by parts of the Russian community in German-speaking countries.

The comparison with the public broadcaster Tagesschau on ARD is entirely appropriate in terms of its national relevance up to this point. But then comes the big difference. While the Tagesschau works independently and determines its own content according to journalistic criteria, Vremya is the direct mouthpiece of the Russian government and is actively used to spread the messages that the Kremlin wants to send. Especially in the current situation of the self-initiated war with Ukraine, Vremya is one of the main channels for Russian propaganda. To protest here with such an action against the war in Ukraine, which is not officially allowed to be called that in Russia, cuts to the heart of Russian propaganda.

Video message appeared

Before her action on Russian television, Marina Ovsiannikova recorded a video. Probably knowing that she wouldn't have the opportunity to explain herself in more detail later. This video also spread like wildfire on social networks.


In the video, Marina Ovsiannikova explains her motives for her sensational action. Her father is Ukrainian, her mother is Russian, and the war against the neighboring country is a “crime” for which Putin alone is responsible. “Unfortunately, I worked for the First Channel for several years and spread Kremlin propaganda. I’m ashamed of that,” Ovsiannikova says in the video. There have been protests in many Russian cities from the first day of the invasion. According to the human rights organization OWD-Info, more than 14,000 demonstrators have been arrested by the police since February 24th ( HERE ). A new media law banned, among other things, the threat of severe punishment from describing the war against Ukraine as such. Officially there is talk of a special military operation ( HERE ). Her video message was later subtitled in English by Russian-speaking journalists and made available worldwide.

“What is currently happening in the Ukraine is a crime.

Russia is a country-aggressor. All the 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. The necklace around my neck signifies that Russia should immediately stop this fratricidal war and our brotherly nations can make peace with each other. Unfortunately, for the last several years I worked at Channel One, promoting Kremlin's propaganda and for that I am very ashamed right now. I was ashamed that I was 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 has turned away from us. Teen generation of our descendants won't be able to wash away the shame of this fratricidal war. We, the Russian people, can think and are smart. It's only up to us to stop all this madness. Go demonstrate. Fear nothing. You can’t lock us all up.”

In German:

“What is currently happening in Ukraine is a crime.

Russia is a country that exercises aggression. The entire 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. The chain I wear around my neck means that Russia should immediately end this fratricidal war and that our brotherly nations can make peace with each other. Unfortunately, in recent years I have been working at Channel One and spreading Kremlin propaganda, for which I am now very ashamed. I am ashamed that I allowed lies to be told on television screens, that I allowed the Russian people to be zombified. We were silent when this all started in 2014. We didn't stand up to protest when the Kremlin poisoned Navalny. We continued to watch this inhumane regime in silence. Now the whole world has turned its back on us. The young generation of our descendants will not be able to wash away the shame of this fratricidal war. We, the Russian people, can think and are smart.
It's only up to us to stop all this madness. Go demonstrate. Don't be afraid of anything. You can’t lock us all up.” (translated with online translator Deepl)

Two conclusions can be drawn from this. Marina Ovsiannikova was fully aware that the logical consequence for her protest would be prison. And she calls on her fellow citizens to take the initiative and protest against the regime.

The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Neue Zeitung, illustrates the incident in a creative way. The spectacular scene is shown, but the contents of the poster are pixelated. And the text clearly states that the content may not be shown by law. Also a kind of silent protest...

MIMIKAMA

Ovsiannikova most likely in custody

It is unclear what happened to the woman. According to civil rights organizations, she has no longer been reachable since her action. Novaya Gazeta writes that she is in custody. The fact that thousands of Russians who have been publicly critical of the war in Ukraine have already been arrested and the wave of international attention Ovsiannikova has sparked make this seem extremely likely. There is no official confirmation yet.

Given the media significance of this event, at least in the West, it remains exciting to see what impact it will actually have on the Russian population. Was the world perhaps witnessing an initial spark that may sweep away the current regime? Or will the impact of Ovsiannikova's personally high-risk appearance evaporate under the pressure of the Putin regime's massively restricted freedom of expression? History will show.

Conclusion

The spectacular protest action by Marina Ovsiannikova on the main news of the state broadcaster PERWY KANAL caused enormous attention and approval around the world. Ovsiannikova condemns the war against Ukraine and publicly declares that, as an employee of the station, she actively and knowingly participated in Kremlin propaganda and disinformation among the population for years. She calls on the population to protest. She explains her reasons in a video. Her current whereabouts are unknown. She was most likely arrested. There is no official confirmation.


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )