“Unfortunately, in recent years I have been working on Channel One, doing Kremlin propaganda,” Ovsyannikova said. “And now I am very ashamed. I am ashamed that I allowed lies to be told on TV screens. I am ashamed that I allowed the Russian people to be zombified.”
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It ended with a call to action, alluding to the high cost of dissent in Russia: “It is up to us to stop this madness. Go outside, don’t be afraid. They can’t put us all in jail.”
The protest comes as Russia steps up its crackdown on government critics, blocking sources of independent information about the fighting in Ukraine and criminalizing the publication of anything it considers “fake news” about the military. Thousands of anti-war protesters have been arrested in Russia, according to OVD-Info, saying the invasion and its aftermath “irreversibly changed the life of Russian civil society.”
The recording of the interrupted live broadcast on Monday evening turned out to be unavailable on the Channel One website, which says that it was removed “at the request of the copyright holder.” All previous episodes from last week are easily accessible. Channel One said it was “investigating an incident involving an outsider who appeared on camera during a live broadcast,” according to the state news agency TASS.
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Citing an unnamed law enforcement source, TASS also reports that the woman has been detained and could be prosecuted under Russia’s ban on “discrediting” the actions of its armed forces. The source said that Ovsyannikova is the editor of Channel One, TASS reports. Ovsyannikova’s Instagram account also identifies her as an employee of Channel One.
The protester was caught when longtime Channel One host Ekaterina Andreeva read a story about Russia’s efforts to ease the effects of sanctions over its actions in Ukraine.
On March 14, Marina Ovsyannikova posted a video message on social media calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “crime.” (Marina Ovsyannikova)
Standing behind Andreeva, a protester held up a banner in a mixture of English and Russian that bore the forbidden message: “No to war. Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda, they lie to you here.” The protester remained on the screen for several seconds before the program apparently ended.
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In her video message, recorded earlier, Ovsyannikova said that her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian. “They were never enemies,” she said, pointing to her necklace, made up of the colors of the Russian and Ukrainian flags.
“We were silent in 2014 when it all started,” she said, referring to the year Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. She said the silence continued when Kremlin critic and opposition activist Alexei Navalny was poisoned. “We just silently watched this inhumane regime,” she said, “and now the whole world has turned its back on us.”
Russia has long been criticized for cracking down on dissent, and its invasion of Ukraine last month ushered in a new era of global condemnation, with the West imposing sanctions and big companies shutting down their Russian businesses.
Criticizing the war in Ukraine, Ovsyannikova said that the responsibility “for this lies with only one person … [Russian President] Vladimir Putin.”
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Thousands of people soon flooded Ovsyannikova’s Facebook page with comments, many expressing gratitude and calling her courageous. On the Facebook page, she is also listed as a Muscovite with experience in “television news”.
Thanks for the truth! one person wrote in Ukrainian.
“You are my hero! Thank you!” said another.
In Russian, someone greeted her “courage and honesty.”
“If at least one in ten were just a little like you, Russia would be a prosperous democratic country,” the person wrote. “Thank you for your action. Peace to all of us!”
Meanwhile, Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov hailed Andreeva – the interrupted presenter of Channel One – as a hero. Andreeva posted a video of her doing yoga and chanting the mantra to “stand like a stone,” saying her practice helped her get through the day.
Paul Sonn contributed to this report.