It is undoubtedly the most spectacular protest action in Russia since President Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. And the bravest. In front of the running TV camera, the journalist Marina Ovssjannikova demands: “No war.” She is sentenced in summary proceedings.
The scene, which flickered across the screen for a few seconds on Monday evening on the Russian state broadcaster Channel One, is characteristic of Russia these days. You can see two women. In the foreground: Ekaterina Andreyeva, who reads out the Russian propaganda about the “military operation” in Ukraine, apparently in a serious manner. Suddenly behind her is her previous colleague Marina Owssjannikova, who is holding a cardboard box she wrote to the camera: “No war.”
The fact that Andreyeva wears a red heart on her shirt while downplaying the atrocities is merely the height of cynicism. This is not surprising. The announcer of the main Russian news program “Vremya” is loyal to the line through and through. After the Russian annexation of Crimea, she is said to have already put Ukraine on a sanctions list.
Andreeva’s Instagram account – meanwhile parked in Russia together with the complete network – has over half a million followers. About three days ago, she posted a propaganda clip here under the heading “Stop Hating Russians” (“Stop hating Russians”), which alleges general hostility towards Russians. While the video is still acting as a harmless wish for international understanding, Andreyeva makes it clear in her comment: “If a people is hated because of their nationality, then that’s Nazism, fascism and other shit. And it stinks of Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler and Hess “, pulls the TV presenter from the leather, to finally threaten: “We broke the neck of the Nazi Hydra in 1945. I see no reason to forget this time.”
The same mar
It is the eternally same myth that smells evil everywhere else and ascribes the role of the constantly tormented lamb of innocence to Russia. The fairy tale that completely reverses the role of perpetrator and victim these days. The myth that the Russians are being bullied unfairly and that Vladimir Putin is not committing mass murder in the name of his people in Ukraine. And a tale that now comes with such a martial roar that everyone else is a Nazi who has had their neck broken.
As I said: This world view is presented – even if in the “private” context of an Instagram account – not by just anyone. It is presented by one of the most important figureheads of the Russian main news.
“Here you will be lied to”
Marina Ovssyannikova, who in this scene in the TV studio doesn’t just drive Andreeva to the parade and steals the show, has also worked for the very same news. Rather, it is carrying out what is undoubtedly the most spectacular protest action against Putin’s war that has been carried out by courageous people in Russia to date. “End the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. You’re being lied to here. Russians against the war,” reads the sign next to “No war.” She calls out “No to the war!” several times before the station shows pictures from a hospital and she is probably escorted out of the studio.
Even Russian media could not avoid reporting on the incident. According to the Tass agency, Ovsyannikova was born in 1978 in Odessa. At that time the port city on the Black Sea belonged to the Soviet Union, today it is a Ukrainian metropolis. According to her own information on her profiles in social networks, Ovsyannikova studied at the Kuban State University in Krasnodar and until 2005 at the Russian Academy of National Economy and Civil Service in Moscow. The now 44-year-old has two children – a son and a daughter. She lives in Moscow and is said to be married to an employee of the Russia Today channel, which was recently banned in the EU, according to a Russian media report. Ovsyannikova herself used to work for local television before moving to Channel One.
Water sports enthusiast and dog lover
According to Ovsyannikova’s interview with the Yuga.ru portal in 2002, she was a competitive swimmer during her studies. Apparently she has remained a water rat. “Fitness and swimming on the open water,” says the profile description, among other things her Instagram accountbut which is set to “private”.
on their facebook page on the other hand, you can see her not only at her work in the editorial office, but also together with her children and her golden retriever – Ovsyannikova is a dog lover. In addition, she is worldly. She posted various photos from countries she has traveled to, including Argentina, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
It is not known when Ovsyannikova came into opposition to the Kremlin’s policy – before or after the attack on Ukraine. In any case, before she stormed the TV studio, she recorded a video in which she explained her protest and which has now been shared countless times on the Internet.
“I am ashamed”
“What is happening in Ukraine now is a crime. And Russia is the aggressor. And the responsibility for this aggression rests solely on one person’s conscience – and that person is Vladimir Putin,” she explains. She wears a necklace in the colors of Russia and Ukraine around her neck.
“My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian – and they were never enemies. This chain on my neck is like a symbol that Russia must stop the fratricidal war immediately and that our sister nations can still be reconciled,” Ovsyannikova continues. Reflecting on her previous work, she added: “Unfortunately for the past few years I’ve been working on Channel One and dealing with Kremlin propaganda. I’m very ashamed of it now. I’m ashamed that I allowed the TV screen was lied to. I’m ashamed that I let Russians be turned into zombies.”
But the journalist goes even further. She criticizes that nobody demonstrated when “the Kremlin poisoned Navalny”. She regrets that they “simply watched this misanthropic regime in silence”. And she states: “Now the whole world has turned its back on us.” She appealed to her fellow human beings in Russia: “It’s up to us to end all this madness. Go demonstrate. Don’t be afraid. They can’t lock us all up.”
Kremlin speaks of “hooliganism”
Ovsyannikova’s Facebook page is now overflowing with comments expressing admiration and respect for her. “Thank you for your courage” or “You are a heroine” are just a few of the tens of thousands of comments that users have left under their most recent posts.
After her protest, Ovssjannikova initially seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Lawyers could not reach her for hours, it said. But then on Tuesday afternoon a photo appeared on Twitter showing her with human rights lawyer Anton Gashinsky and unharmed. “And here she is in court! Marina Ovssyannikova,” read.
The fear that the mother of two would have to pay a high price for her courageous commitment was great. Finally, a new law in Russia provides for up to 15 years in prison for alleged misinformation about the war. In addition, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov described Ovsyannikova’s action as “hooliganism”. Because of this allegation, members of the group Pussy Riot were sentenced to at least two years in prison.
All the more astonishing is the news that came in the early evening. The civil rights portal OWD-Info announced that the verdict against Owssjannikova had already been passed. You only have to pay a fine of 30,000 rubles (about 226 euros). The new law was not used against them – “initially,” as they say.
At the same time, Ovssjannikova had shown herself to be steadfast in the courtroom. “I don’t acknowledge my guilt,” she reportedly said. And further: “I am convinced that Russia is committing a crime.” Russia is “the aggressor in Ukraine”. Whether the fine for Owssjannikova will really remain is currently in the stars. However, she will certainly be celebrated for her courage for a long time to come.