“Vladimir Putin lied about Russia’s plans in Ukraine”; “The Ministry of Defense lied to the relatives of the soldiers killed on the cruiser “Moskva”” ; “The Russian elite are fed up with nepotism and sycophancy.” Here are some examples of the titles of articles published on Monday, May 9, by two Russian journalists on the news site slow, considered loyal to the Kremlin. These articles, about forty in total, were quickly removed from the site but remain accessible through a Web archiving tool.
In these articles – published on the day of the commemoration of the victory of the Red Army over Nazi Germany in the Second World War – the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, is described in particular as “pitiful paranoid dictator”. He is also accused of initiating “one of the bloodiest wars of the 21stand century “.
The British daily The Guardian was able to reach one of the two journalists behind this rare act of dissent since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. “We had to do it today. We wanted to remind everyone what our grandfathers really fought for on this beautiful VE Day: for peace.”said Egor Polyakov, 30, to explain the action he carried out with his colleague Alexandra Miroshnikova.
For the May 9 ceremonies, Vladimir Putin devoted most of his speech to justifying the attack on Ukraine, a country whose name he did not once mention. “An invasion of our historic lands, including Crimea, was openly preparing. (…) Russia preemptively repelled the aggression. (…) Russia faced an unacceptable threat., did he declare. The master of the Kremlin also widely drew parallels between the exploits of Soviet soldiers during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and the conflict in Ukraine. “Today like yesterday, you are fighting for our people in the Donbass, for the security of our homelandhe launched to the soldiers deployed in Ukraine, so that there is no place in the world for executioners and Nazis. »
Up to 15 years in prison
“Ordinary people are dying, peaceful women and children are dying in Ukraine. Given the rhetoric [déployée par Vladimir Poutine], this is not going to stop. We couldn’t accept this any longer. It was the only right thing we could do.”said Egor Polyakov, who works as an economic journalist.
Egor Polyakov and Alexandra Miroshnikova also posted an open letter to readers on the site: ” Do not be afraid ! Don’t stay silent! Defend yourself! You are not alone, there are many of us! The future is ours ! »
Based in Moscow, slow claims more than 200 million visitors per month. The site is an essential cog in the propaganda machine of the Russian authorities to justify the“special military operation” in Ukraine. slow belongs to the Rambler media group, acquired in 2020 by Sberbank, Russia’s main bank, state-owned and subject to American and British sanctions.
At the beginning of March, Russia adopted several texts providing for heavy penal sanctions, which can go up to fifteen years of prison, in the event of diffusion of“false information about the army”. Russian authorities have already charged forty-six people under these laws, fourteen of whom are currently behind bars. Also punishable is any call to sanction Moscow.
“Of course I’m scared”admitted Egor Polyakov. “I’m not ashamed to admit it. But I knew what I was doing, what the consequences might be. »
‘Don’t believe the propaganda’
At the same time, Rutube, which wants to be a competitor of the American giant YouTube, was inaccessible on Tuesday morning, victim of “the biggest cyberattack in its history”the company announced in a press release published on Telegram. According to Rutube, the site has been inaccessible since Monday. The platform blames the attack on the same hackers who “constantly attacked the sites of Russian public institutions for the past two months”.
On Monday, Ukrainian media also reported, with photos, a hacking of the broadcast systems of Russian television channels MTS, NTV-Plus, Rostelecom and Winx to display the message “The blood of thousands of Ukrainians and hundreds of their children killed is on your hands. Television and the authorities lie. No to war ».
On March 14, Marina Ovsiannikova, an employee of the public broadcaster Pervy Kanal (“Channel One”), burst into live on Russia’s most-watched newscast with a sign that read “No to war. Don’t believe the propaganda. You are being lied to here”. Images of this gesture have gone around the world, with many Internet users hailing an act of “extraordinary bravery”.
A Moscow court had imposed, on March 15, a fine of 30,000 rubles (about 250 euros) on Mme Ovsiannikova, found guilty of committing a “administrative offence”. Released, she still risks criminal prosecution punishable by heavy prison sentences. Indeed, the fine was not directly linked to her action on the air of Pervy Kanal, but to a video broadcast in parallel on the Internet in which she denounced the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine.