Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV editor turned Kremlin critic, has been sentenced in absentia to eight and a half years in prison by a Moscow court.
The Basmanny District Court found Ovsyannikova guilty of disseminating false information about the Russian army, state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday, citing the Moscow prosecutor’s office.
The charges related to Ovsyannikova’s protest near the Kremlin in July 2022, where she held a poster saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “is a murderer” and “his soldiers are fascists.” The journalist was placed on pre-trial house arrest, but later fled to Europe with her daughter, which landed her on the Kremlin’s wanted list.
Ovsyannikova first made headlines around the world in March last year when she denounced Moscow’s war on Ukraine during a live Russian TV broadcast. The former Kremlin propagandist stormed the set of Russia’s top evening newscast Vremya brandishing a poster that read “Stop the war” and “They are lying to you.”
Ovsyannikova received a 30,000-ruble fine (at that time, around €250) over that protest. She fled Russia and worked for a time for Germany’s Die Welt newspaper (which is owned by POLITICO’s parent company Axel Springer), before returning to the country to fight a child custody battle.
Ovsyannikova subsequently escaped Russia with her daughter, and according to recent social media posts and reports, appears to now live in France.
How the fuck could anyone willingly choose to support dystopian shitholes like Russia or China?
Propaganda induced brain damage.
Be in the MAGA party
Daily reminder that russia invaded after Trump left office
Very good question. I am from Bulgaria and here the amount of putinophiles is mind-boggling. Some people say that they are our Slavic “brothers”, so we must help each other out. Others say that they keep traditional/orthodox values alive (i fucking hate that one). Many say that we should be thankful that they liberated us 150 years ago (although it was not from the kindness of their hearts).
I grew up in Russia. I’m all for “Slavic brotherhood”. I think that we should all help each other and celebrate our shared cultures!
But unfortunately too many people think that to support their “people” they need to support their government. I live in the US and same thing happens here. People think that to be a patriot you need to be obedient.
I wish we could decouple those concepts. You can love a country for what it represents to you, but hate what it’s been turned into.
I’ve been lucky enough to visit other Slavic countries like Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia. After realizing that we are in the same shithole, I can’t not sympathize with my brothers.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder why so many of us look at the world from some primal lense. Everything must to be turned into an “us vs them”
In the case of Bulgaria, we have been slaves for 700 out of the 1300 years we’ve been around. The fact that we are still here and call ourselves “bulgarians” is, in my opinion, miraculous. I guess it is in part, thanks to this self-preservation mechanism.
I think it’s tribalism. On one hand it’s important to feel like you’re part of a group of peers and it’s good to help the tribe so that the tribe helps you.
But what a “tribe” is, is different for different people. And often it leads to the “us vs them”.
I’m 1st gen American from a Russian/Ukrainian/Moldovan family. My mother still speaks to me in Russian 90% of the time. This whole Slavic brotherhood thing makes no sense. Considering that Russia has been subjugating nearly all the Slavic states for hundreds of years.
Sometimes they just don’t have a choice.
Or the US.
America bad!!!1!1!1!1