The Russian television producer whose live-on-air protest against the war in Ukraine gained international headlines has spoken out about how her actions wrecked her family life.
Marina Ovsyannikova, 43, had been complicit in establishing the Kremlin’s continuous narrative in Russia on the flagship Channel One for years, but she decided she couldn’t continue three weeks into the war.
Her demonstration, in which she stopped a live broadcast with a sign reading ‘No to war, stop this war – propaganda lies to you,’ was one of the most high-profile denunciations of Putin’s’special military operation,’ and got her a job with famous German news source Die Welt.
However, Ovsyannikova claims that her acts have had a big impact on her family, telling The Telegraph that her husband has begun a custody battle for their children as a result of her conduct.
‘My kid informed me I’ve damaged my family life… the consequences of my protest are snowballing every day,’ she added, before adding that she believes her husband, who also works for state television, is acting under Kremlin pressure.
‘I’m in limbo. I live day by day… I built a wonderful house in Moscow that I was hoping to spend the rest of my life in,’ the producer said. ‘Now I’m a stranger in a stranger’s land.’
Despite the challenges, Ovsyannikova said that she will “defy Putin again.”
‘Your personal difficulties are insignificant in comparison to the troubles that people in Ukraine endure… we’re not doing it for ourselves; we’re doing it so that Russia does not descend into medieval darkness,’ she explained.
However, despite years of spreading Kremlin misinformation, the producer is still despised in Ukraine.
Interfax Ukraine was forced to cancel a press conference with Ovsyannikova set for today in Kyiv due to public outrage that a “Kremlin puppet” would be given such a platform to speak to Ukrainian journalists.
The former Channel One editor has stated her intention to reside in Moscow and plans to return to Russia in the coming weeks.
However, many of her old acquaintances and coworkers have shunned her, and she may suffer persecution from Putin’s dictatorship in the future.
After her protest, the producer dodged incarceration and was instead fined for infringing a new rule dealing to “spreading falsehoods” regarding Ukraine’s “special military operation” before leaving abroad.
Ovsyannikova believes the Russian authorities are attempting to ‘forget about her’ in order to avoid further protests and unrest if she is imprisoned – but there is no way of knowing what will happen to her in a country where independent journalism has been virtually suppressed.
Die Welt, a German news organization, engaged the veteran journalist and producer as a “freelance reporter” on April 10 to report for their newspaper and television news channel.
Ulf Porschardt, the editor-in-chief of the Welt Group, expressed his delight at the opportunity to work with Ovsyannikova, saying that her on-air protest ‘defended the most important journalistic principles – despite the fear of official repression.’
‘At a critical juncture, Marina Ovsyannikova summoned the bravery to present Russian audiences with an unadulterated vision of truth,’ he continued.
However, independent Russian journalists and Ukraine’s media have slammed the former Russian state media employee, who earned the Human Rights Foundation’s coveted Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent this week for her protest.
‘Expose from Maria Ovsyannikova: How Russian Propaganda Works,’ the dissident was scheduled to give a news conference in Kyiv today in collaboration with Interfax Ukraine.
The event, however, was canceled when Interfax received a barrage of angry letters from Ukrainian viewers.
‘The event was canceled because, as it turned out, there was a very unfavorable public uproar,’ said Interfax Ukraine director general Alexander Martynenko.
‘Our society and the media community do not want to see or engage with this person in Ukraine.’
Vladimir Ruzin, the head of Ukraine’s Institute of Journalism, also declined to meet with Ovsyannikova and his pupils, while anti-corruption activist Daria Kaleniuk tweeted: ‘This is the kind of propaganda Ovsyannikova has been producing for years.’ ‘Are you still perplexed as to why Ukrainians are enraged (about her receiving the Havel award)?’
Other social media users joined in, mocking Ovsyannikova as a “accomplice of the war” and refusing to allow her to operate in Ukraine.
‘Now Ovsyannikova will go to conferences for the rest of her life, saying that freedom of speech is being oppressed in our country “just like in Russia,” one sarcastic tweet read, while another user wondered aloud: ‘Am I right in understanding that Ovsyannikova was going to Kyiv to speak at the trial and go to jail as an accomplice in a war crime, or?’
Despite becoming a pariah for both sides, Ovsyannikova remains steadfast in the face of criticism and has promised to continue speaking out against Putin’s dictatorship.
‘We all have the same goal: to end the war, bring war criminals to trial, and rebuild Ukraine,’ she stated.