Russian TV broadcaster: TV Doschd fears for its existence

Again an institution in Russia has to put on the label “Foreign Agent”. This time it hits the liberal TV broadcaster Doschd. Observers fear that Doschd will now run out of money.

One month before the parliamentary elections, one of the last independent broadcasters in Russia will lose its livelihood, says Kirill Martynow, editor-in-chief of the politics department at “Novaya Gazeta”, in a statement on Youtube: “For Doschd, in my opinion, this means that the broadcaster is on the territory of the Russian Federation, and there is no other area, will not be able to continue to work. “

Opposition voices were also regularly heard on TV Doschd. The broadcaster reported in detail about the protests after the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny. Martynov believes that it was primarily the reporting of the crackdown by the police at these demonstrations that made the difference:

The reason was revenge – petty, very direct and rowdy. For what happened earlier this year. That Doschd openly showed how police officers beat people up. On the streets of Moscow and in other cities, those who wanted to support Navalny.

Kremlin spokesman Peskov unmoved

Kremlin spokesman Peskov has already indicated that the decision is not expected to be withdrawn. “If money comes from abroad, it has to be declared. The implementation of the law does not lead to the closure of the media, but merely imposes additional obligations on them.”

Due to the branding as a foreign agent, the Telekanal, which only broadcasts on the Internet anyway, now has to give all contributions a conspicuous corresponding label. At Doschd they fear that important advertisers will now be eliminated and interlocutors will be harder to find.

Surprised by the decision

Editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzjadko is also outraged that the decision was imposed without any document explaining the reasons being sent to the broadcaster. At the Moscow broadcaster Echo Moskwie, he was concerned about the future of his employees – of course, TV Doschd was not a foreign agent:

We strictly follow the laws of the Russian Federation. We know that we have 170 great employees at Doschd, we know that we reach around 20 million viewers a month who love, watch, are loyal and support us. This is what we are interested in now.

It was actually planned to expand further, but of course additional new hires are now out of the question.

Journalists want to protest

Doschd’s classification as a foreign agent has also been criticized by the Russian President’s Human Rights Council. He wants to discuss the case with the Ministry of Justice. Nikolai Swanidze, member of the Human Rights Council, attests Doschd not only great popularity, but also a good reputation as a serious, liberal broadcaster. It is therefore clear to him that the classification as a foreign agent by the authorities is politically motivated.

And the case is drawing wider circles. The Russian journalists’ union plans to demonstrate against the agents law in early September.