She became a media star within minutes: Marina Ovsyannikova, 42, an editor at Russia’s state-run Channel One television station, made headlines on Monday night when she appeared on camera behind presenter Ekaterina Andreyeva. holding a handwritten placard that read: “No to war. Stop the war. Do not believe in propaganda. You are being lied to.”
The sudden intervention of a hitherto little-known journalist lasted only a few seconds, causing unrest in the media, especially in the West. This excerpt of the news bulletin went viral in just a few hours. It was the first time – not only after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but for decades – that a protest against the Kremlin was made visible in this way to the state-controlled Russian media. Something that until now many considered impossible.
Who is Marina Ovsyanikova?
Born in 1978 in the port of Odessa in southern Ukraine, she also posted a video of herself talking about her Ukrainian father, saying she was ashamed of spreading propaganda and calling for demonstrations. She wore a blue and yellow necklace around her neck, in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
According to Russian media reports, Obshianikova studied journalism in Krasnodar in southern Russia. She is a mother of two and her ex-husband is said to work for Russia Today (RT). Exact information about where he is at the moment does not exist – according to information, he was arrested on Monday night. The Russian news agency TASS reported on Tuesday in the first accusations against it, for “spreading false information about the Russian armed forces”. For this “crime”, the Russian penal code provides for a fine or, in the worst case, imprisonment. The word “war” in reference to the situation in Ukraine is banned in the Russian media. Shortly afterwards, it became known that a Russian court had fined Obsyannikova 30,000 rubles (226 euros). It is not yet clear whether this will be the only sentence or whether the Russian journalist will face other charges. In the aftermath of her action, the famous Kremlin-critical newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” printed a photo of Obshianikova in the studio, deleting her anti-war message from the placard.
Mixed reactions in Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Russian journalist on his Telegram channel. “I thank those Russians who continue to try to spread the truth … Especially that young woman who walked into Channel One’s studio with an anti-war poster.” “How can you incite war for years and then wake up so suddenly?” asks the Ukrainian non-governmental organization Institute for Mass Media (IMI) on Facebook. It was a live broadcast, but it is a “show”, an attempt by the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB to divert global attention from the war crimes committed by the Russian army in Ukraine. , this speculation highlights how much distrust of Russia exists in Ukraine.
Roman Goncharenko
Edited by: Chryssa Vachtsevanou
Source: Deutsche Welle
Source: Capital
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