In protest of the Russia-Ukraine war that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the entire staff of a Russian television channel resigned on-air. In its final live telecast the staff of TV Rain (Dozhd) declared “no to war” and walked out of the studio. According to a report in NDTV the staff took this decision “after Russian authorities suspended its operations over its coverage of the Ukraine war. The report stated that channel’s co-founder Natalia Sindeyeva, said “No to war” in their final telecast even as the staff members staged a walkout from the studio and the channel issued a statement declaring it has suspended its operation “indefinitely”.
The video of mass resignation soon went viral. According to news reports, the dramatic exit of the staff was followed by a telecast of the ‘Swan Lake’ ballet video on the channel. This was what had been shown on state-run TV channels in Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. It has been reported that Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio station, “one of Russia’s last remaining liberal media outlets”, has also been “dissolved by its board after coming under pressure over its coverage of the war in Ukraine.” The radio station reportedly featured interviews with Ukrainian journalists who described the horrors of Russia’s invasion.
The United States has accused Russia of launching a “full war on media freedom and the truth” by blocking independent news outlets and preventing Russians from hearing news of the invasion of Ukraine, it stated, “Russia’s government is also throttling Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms that tens of millions of Russia’s citizens rely on to access independent information and opinions.”
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