As of: 07/18/2022 9:57 p.m
The Dozhd TV channel, which was blocked by the Russian authorities over reports critical of Ukraine, has resumed operations from abroad. He aired a news program on his YouTube channel.
The Russian television channel Dozhd, which is critical of the Kremlin, resumed operations on Monday. “After the forced broadcast break in March, we managed to keep the team and the main principles: like the last twelve years, we will report on events and phenomena without censorship and manipulation,” the broadcaster said on its YouTube channel, via which he started his reporting in the evening.
The start at 8:00 p.m. Moscow time (7:00 p.m. CEST) began with the news program “Here and Now” with editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko. Doschd announced that the return to broadcasting would be gradual, initially only news programs and a few author’s plays would be broadcast.
New TV company now in Latvia
“Because of the repressive laws passed in Russia, we were forced to leave the country and are now working outside the country,” the company said. The new TV company was founded in Latvia and has a broadcasting license for the EU. Studios are also to be set up in Amsterdam, Tbilisi and Paris.
In Russia, Dozhd stopped broadcasting on March 3. Two days earlier, the channel’s website was blocked by the Russian media regulator for spreading alleged false information about the Russian army’s deployment in Ukraine.
Many journalists went into exile to avoid prosecution under a new law. This provides for a prison sentence of up to 15 years for the publication of false information about the Russian military.
Transmitter switched off in 2014
“During the four and a half months that Dozhd was idle, the Russian leadership’s bloody and senseless war against Ukraine continued, killing people and destroying lives,” the broadcaster said. “Today, more than ever, Russian citizens should have access to independent information.”
The station, founded in 2008, reported on the opposition and protest movements in Russia. Most recently, however, its program was largely distributed via the Internet after cable providers had already shut down the opposition broadcaster in 2014 in the wake of the Crimea and Ukraine crises. In 2021 he was classified as a “foreign agent”. This entailed strict regulations for the broadcaster and the risk of a ban.