RIGA The Russian news channel Doždi had to get a new start in Latvia. The Russian administration had forced it to cease operations in the spring, but Latvia had welcomed it.
The channel’s viewership had grown rapidly. The authors felt that the Russians were finally starting to be interested in what was really happening in Ukraine. The turning point was the business launch that started in September.
– The war came to all homes. Any man could be drafted into the war. At that moment, everyone wanted to understand what happened, the host of Dožd Anna Mongait told in an interview in November.
Last Tuesday, everything changed.
The Latvian Communications Authority decided to revoke the channel’s license due to repeated violations. For now, its broadcasts can still be watched on YouTube, but the channel’s future is uncertain.
It is possible that the channel will have to find yet another refuge.
Sudden departure from Russia
Before the start of the war of aggression, Dožd was the last independent news channel in Russia.
The channel had been in the teeth of the authorities practically throughout its 12-year existence. It was smoked from the cable and antenna network and was only visible online.
After the war of aggression began, Russia quickly enacted censorship laws that made honest reporting of the war “fake news”. The purpose was to drive down the media that would not follow the administration’s line.
Doždi’s escape from Russia was dramatic.
At the beginning of March, the channel received information from the authorities that extremist content had been detected in its content. The threat was not only the closing of the channel, but also the arrests of the journalists.
– We all packed our bags practically overnight, says Mongait.
The channel’s journalists fled the country within a few days. Mongait initially ended up in Georgia, where it is possible for Russians to settle without a visa.
The delivery was scattered around the world, the money was gone and everyone was exhausted. The canal was still wanted to be saved.
– There was more demand for journalistic information than ever during my long career. It was necessary to continue, says Mongait.
Dožd was able to start broadcasting again in July, when Latvia had granted the channel a license and humanitarian visas for the journalists. In addition to Riga, the channel has studios in Amsterdam and Tbilisi, Georgia.
The audience numbers of free media have exploded
Dožd had always been a channel whose audience numbers have been increased by crises and disasters. When state-controlled channels censored information, Dožd told what really happened.
The war raised interest in new readings. The channel said news site for Meduza (you are switching to another service)that more than 13 million Russians watch it every month, or about nine percent of the population.
– People are now dependent on information. The launch made them even more dependent, because now everyone has someone they know who was sent to war, says Mongait.
The public rush has also been noticed on the news site Meduza, which is the largest of the independent Russian media and, like Doždi, has its headquarters in Riga.
– We returned to the audience numbers we had before the blocking. They have grown exponentially, the main owner and CEO of the site Galina Timchenko tells in a video interview.
The Russian authorities blocked access to the websites of Meduza and many other media outlets in the spring. You can get around the block with a VPN server, but it requires a bit of effort.
Anna Mongait, host of Dožd, says that the channel alone cannot bring about change in Russia, but it can help promote it.
– We work, like [oppositiojohtaja Aleksei] Navalny says, for Russia’s wonderful future. It will inevitably come when the current regime falls. Our job is to knock it down faster.
Latvia quickly got nervous about Doždi
Relations between Doždi and the Latvian authorities soured quickly. Back in the summer, Latvia had offered help in restarting the channel. Latvia has also helped other independent Russian media.
Now the line has changed, at least for Doždi. The Communications Authority revoked Doždi’s operating license because it had violated its terms three times. The security service has called Dožd a security threat.
Among the violations were the lack of Latvian translations and the map shown in the broadcast, which showed Crimea, which was seized from Ukraine, as part of Russia.
The latest violation was the presenter’s statement that Doždi’s coverage helps Russian soldiers sent to the front in miserable conditions without proper equipment.
Especially the last statement aroused fury in Latvia, where there is no understanding towards the Russian soldiers. It didn’t help that Dožd fired the presenter and explained that it did not represent the channel’s anti-war line.
Russian liberals are not only looked upon favorably
It is not possible to evaluate the opinion of the Latvian safety authority based on publicly available information.
The dispute between the country’s authorities and the Dožd may still indicate that they are against the Russian president Vladimir Putin from very different starting points.
Dožd makes his news for Russian liberals who hope for a bright future for their country, i.e. the fall of the current regime. They may feel sympathy for those Russians who have been sent to war against their will. Some have relatives at the front.
In Latvia, many see Russia as a threat, regardless of the type of government leading the country. Those fleeing Russia have also been considered a security threat. The decades-long Soviet occupation left deep traumas.
In the Baltic countries and Ukraine, Russian liberals have been accused of an arrogant attitude. They have been seen to be interested in Russia’s problems but not in the suffering that Russia has caused to its neighbors.
Mongait, host of Dožd, says that the position as a Russian journalist is not easy in a country like Latvia. He says that he understood his own unconscious attitudes only after moving to the country.
– Imperialist consciousness, which is talked about a lot now, was present in all of us Russians at the very level of upbringing. It is very difficult to root it by itself, says Mongait.
Latvia will not back down
Doždi’s future is currently in the dark. It is not known whether it will have to give up the studio and delivery in Riga.
Its broadcasts stopped on Thursday on the Latvian television network. However, Russians have followed the channel’s programs on the video service YouTube, where they continue as usual for the time being.
Numerous independent Russian and foreign media have appealed to Latvia to reverse its decision. The organization Reporters Without Borders has stated that the censorship decision only benefits the Russian regime and its propagandists.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued that Latvia’s solution shows that it is not freer elsewhere than in Russia.
So far, however, Latvia has kept its head.
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