BERLIN A serious woman sits in the lobby of a hotel in the center of Berlin and says that she fears for her life. He has to constantly look over his shoulder and, for example, does not agree to meetings with unknown Russians.
– I follow certain other safety rules in my life, which I cannot reveal here, former Russian TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova says.
Ovsjannikova had to flee Russia because she protested Vladimir Putin The war started in Ukraine on the live broadcast of the evening news. His rapture received worldwide attention.
It was a six-second pacifist expression on behalf of the Russians, Ovsjannikova says now. At the same time, he wanted to show the world that there are people in Russia who do not want war.
– The attack on Ukraine was the most horrible crime, which Putin planned and carried out with a couple of his close friends in front of our eyes, without our consent, without the approval of the parliament.
“It is not allowed to negotiate with Putin.â€
Ovsjannikova is in Berlin to participate in the Cinema for Peace gala of the Berlinale film week. He is also filming a documentary in the city with British and American television companies.
He is very strict about one thing: world leaders should not agree to talk to Putin under any circumstances.
– Putin is a murderer. He killed To Navalny by torturing. Under no circumstances should responsible world leaders talk to a murderer.
Last Tuesday, a helicopter pilot who had defected from Russia was killed by bullets in unclear circumstances in Spain.
Berliniissä gaalaillassa Venäjää kommentoivat muutkin – esimerkiksi punkbändi Pussy Riotin keulahahmo Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. You can watch his and other celebrities’ comments in the video below.
†The resistance grew in my soul for a long time.â€
The 45-year-old Ovsjannikova started her career as a television reporter even before Putin came to power at the end of the 1990s.
After Putin came to power in 2000, the press was immediately reined in. The big television channels NTV and ORT were taken over by the state the following year.
Gradually, the judgment of the judges was blocked on other channels as well. Dozens of journalists have since died.
Putin has destroyed the roots of independent media. After the television channels, the owners and management of newspapers and radio stations were replaced by people loyal to the president.
At first, Ovsyannikova went with the flow. He was even happy when he got to work on the state’s number one channel in 2003. Little by little, his resistance started to grow as more and more propaganda broadcasters came.
He still obeyed the system because he understood that the situation would not improve by changing jobs. The rest of the media also lied.
– The attack on Ukraine was the last straw. The resistance had been growing in my soul for a long time, but I would never have believed that such a thing would happen. When the war started, I simply could no longer remain silent.
What are the journalists like who have continued to work until these days?
– Among my former colleagues, there are many educated and Western-minded people. They fully understand what is happening in the world. They follow western television channels.
Ovsjannikova calls these journalists “hostages of the administration†. They raise wages, support their families and play the system’s game.
– They would be very happy if they could jump home from that sinking ship, but they don’t know how to do it.
Work as a propagandist is a burden for many, but it is tolerated. If you protest against Putin, you will be out of a job and your life will change immediately.
– The family is destroyed and goes to prison. Very few people are ready to make sacrifices for an uncertain brighter future, says Ovsjannikova.
How does Putin control the media in practice?
– The administration prepares so-called manuals, i.e. instructions for all information tools. They tell you what you can say and what you can’t say, Ovsjannikova says.
If you use the wrong word, a large fine will be charged from your salary. If you write against the Kremlin’s guidelines, the entire media is classified as a foreign agent.
For example, about Navalny’s death, the press was herded into silence.
– There were precise operating instructions for handling Navalny. Can you imagine: the death was not among the headlines on Russian television channels. It was told about in a twenty-second telegram somewhere at the end, says Ovsjannikova.
Television channels were instructed for years not to call Navalny a politician. He was supposed to be called a blogger and only the information given by the investigative committee of the state penitentiary should be told about him.
The family fell apart
Ovsjannikova would not have wanted to leave Russia after her protest. He described himself as a patriot to the German Der Spiegel – for the magazine fresh.
Ovsyannikova was not brought to court for her rape, but was allowed to leave the country by the French president Emmanuel Macron having pleaded on his behalf.
Next, he tried to report for the German newspaper Die Welt about Ukraine, but soon lost that job as well.
In the summer of 2022, Ovsijannikova returned to Russia to settle the custody dispute of her children. At that time, he also went to demonstrate his opinion in front of the Kremlin.
It was only then that he was charged with spreading false information about the armed forces. In addition, he lost his parental rights and all his property.
Since October 2022, Ovsjannikova has been wanted by the Russian justice system. He succeeded to escape from house arrest during the preliminary investigation to Europe with her daughter.
In October 2023, he was sentenced in absentia to 8.5 years in prison. Now he makes documentaries and participates, for example, in creating an independent satellite connection to Russia.
“Yulija Navalnaya is our hope.”
According to Ovsjannikova Yuliya Navalnaya the announcement to continue her husband’s work is a glimmer of hope in a dark situation. Navalnaya has his supporters ready.
– I believe that most Russians support him. She is an incredibly strong woman and I wish her patience and luck to overcome all this and bring about change.
In Ovsjannikova’s opinion, the Russian opposition “definitely†needs the help of Western countries.
– Only Western countries have the means and money to help the opposition defeat Putin and establish a democratic government in Russia, says Ovsjannikova.
Read Journalisti magazine’s article on the subject: Journalist Marina Ovsjannikova cheated Russian television viewers for years. No one believes him anymore.