Sometimes fiction books talking about dystopian societies are not that far off reality. The latest law Russia’s parliament approved prohibits calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine a ‘war.’ Instead they force people and journalists to call it a ‘special military operation’ which is meant to save the Ukrainian nation. This is really reminiscent of the Newspeak introduced in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, which is really scary.
Spreading of “fake news” which, in Russia, means saying anything that is opposite to what the government is saying, is considered a felony punished by the law which was passed on March 4. That is why the last independent TV station in Russia, Dozhd, also known as TV Rain, temporarily stopped their broadcasting and filmed themselves just walking away.
An independent TV station in Russia shut down to avoid spreading lies after a new censorhip law was approved
Image credits: biannagolodryga
Russia always pretended that its citizens have freedom of speech as it is guaranteed by the constitution. However, in reality, everything that has to do with certain controversial issues in the Russian media is strongly censored, journalists who speak out about them mysteriously disappear or later are found dead and many sites on the internet have limited access.
The Russian government went further with this and on March 4 added the article 207.3 of the Criminal Code which says that regular people, people in higher positions, and organized groups are prohibited from spreading false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces. If they do spread misinformation, depending on the gravity of the consequences of their actions, those people can be penalized with a large fine or face up to 15 years in prison.
Image credits: UAWarUpdatesEN
The law says that people who purposefully spread false information will be punished with imprisonment of up to 15 years
Image credits: UAWarUpdatesEN
Spreading misinformation is clearly not right and people shouldn’t do that, but in Putin’s world, fake news has a different meaning. Any facts that oppose the ones that come from the government are considered to be lies and that is why independent TV stations that have tried to provide people with objective information that didn’t go through the Kremlin’s censorship have been basically shut down.
Initially, on March 1, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media restricted access to Dozhd as well as Echo of Moscow as they were covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine and were believed to be spreading misinformation about what the Russian military was doing in Ukraine allegedly causing “mass disruption of public calm and safety, and encouraging protests.”
When they say misinformation, they mean anything that is not in line with the Kremlin narrative about what is happening in Ukraine
Image credits: drex
Image credits: drex
A day later, some Dozhd workers left Russia because they felt unsafe and on March 3, the station’s last news broadcast went on air which ended with the CEO of Dozhd, Natalya Sindeyeva, saying goodbye to the channel’s audience.
She stressed that it was a temporary goodbye and that the channel hopes to come back. But now, with the new law, they can’t work. What is there to talk about right now, when their country declared war on a sisterly nation?
Image credits: drex
The CEO of the TV station said that working under such censorship is nearly impossible so they have decided to leave until they have a better solution
Image credits: drex
Image credits: drex
Natalya Sindeyeva promised that they will work out how to continue working under such conditions, but for now, they need time to understand how they can navigate the new law.
Before walking away, she inserted another “No to war” and the whole staff walked away. When the set was deserted, the screen transitioned to showing Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake, which was very symbolic and said more than any words could.
She shouted “No to war” one last time and the whole staff abandoned the set
Image credits: drex
Image credits: drex
Then they broadcasted the whole Swan Lake, which was held on loop 31 years ago during the August Coup that lead to the USSR collapsing
Image credits: Archive of Russian Television
The same piece was put on loop on the Soviet state television in 1991, disrupting the regular programming. It happened during the August coup which failed and led to the USSR collapsing, so in today’s context, TV Rain putting Swan Lake on air signifies the country is in turmoil as it was 31 years ago and who knows what the consequences will be this time.
The TV station staff showed that they are true journalists and aren’t willing to betray their profession even though it means they will have to stay silent for a while. Staying silent in such times doesn’t feel right, but it’s better than spreading lies even if the law requires it.
Below you can watch the clip of the staff walking away and Swan Lake beginning
The staff of the Independent Russian TV station ‘Dozhd’ (TV Rain) resigned during a live stream with last words: “no war” and then played Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake echoing the same from Soviet state TV in August of 1991. pic.twitter.com/OHGgaNOZef
— 𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙭
(@drex) March 3, 2022
Twitter users admired the actions of the journalists and caught on to what the Swan Lake at the end meant
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The post Independent Russian Broadcaster Walks Off Set After Government Passes Law That Imposes A 15-Year Jail Sentence For “Spreading False Information” first appeared on Bored Panda.
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