Russia, March 5: The entire staff of a Russian news channel resigned live on-air after declaring “no to war” in the final telecast. The decision was taken by the staff of TV Rain (Dozhd) after Russian authorities suspended its operations over its coverage of the Ukraine war.
Natalia Sindeyeva, one of the channel’s founders, said “No to war” in its last telecast as the employees staged a walkout from the studio. The channel later said in a statement that it has suspended the operation “indefinitely“.
The video of mass resignation was shared by writer Daniel Abrahams on LinkedIn.
Meanwhile TVRain, the last independent media outlet operating in Russia, has shut down — here's the last few minutes of its broadcast, poorly Google Translated. It then cut to Swan Lake, which has particular relevance: https://t.co/XXtUHroZkt pic.twitter.com/Iq7HSal7FW
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 3, 2022
TV Rain goes out with a bang, broadcasting the Swan Lake performance that aired on Soviet TVs in 1991 during the attempted coup against Gorbachev. At a time when many wonder if those around Putin could stop this war in Ukraine and Russia’s plunge into isolation. https://t.co/ADFGVwxy8o
— Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) March 3, 2022
After the dramatic exit of the staff, the channel played the ‘Swan Lake‘ ballet video, which was shown on state-run TV channels in Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The video has now gone viral on social media.
Also Read: Russia Ukraine Update: Weekend curfew lifted in Kyiv; India asked citizens to move to the western part of the country for evacuation
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, its editor said on Thursday.
The station, one of the leading Russian news and current affairs channel in Russia, had been taken off the air on Tuesday though it appeared still to be broadcasting on YouTube after the board’s decision was announced.
