The entire staff of a Russian TV channel staged a walk-off during a live stream with their last words 'no war.' Independent TV Rain was blocked by the Russian government for showing banned content and referring to the conflict in Ukraine as 'war.' The entire staff gathered in their studio for a final broadcast in a YouTube live stream event. "No to war," Natalia Sindeyeva, the CEO of TV Rain, said.
The TV Rain staff informed their thousands of paid subscribers about their suspension in their final broadcast and walked out of the studio together with the words 'no war' during the live stream. They played the 'swan lake' ballet video during their walkout in reference to the moment in 1991 where Soviet TV stations showed the ballet instead of the live civil war breaking out in the country.
TV Rain announced Thursday that they're indefinitely suspending all their operations due to 'intense pressure' by the Russian government. According to The Times, Russia's telecommunications regulator blocked TV Rain earlier in the week. Some of the TV station's employees fled the country out of fear for their safety.
Banned for Posting 'Extremist and Violent Acts'
A restriction order was passed by Russia's Prosecutor General's Office preventing Russian people from accessing TV Rain and a radio station called the Echo of Moscow. Both the media outlets were accused of 'purposeful and systematic' posting of 'information calling for extremist and violent acts.'
"We need strength to exhale and understand how to work further. We really hope that we will return to the air and continue our work," Natalia Sindeyeva said in a statement on social media Thursday.
On the other hand, Alexei Venediktov, the Editor-in-Chief of the radio station, Echo of Moscow said in a statement that the board of directors of the station decided by a 'majority of votes to liquidate the radio channel and the website of Ekho Moskvy [Echo of Moscow].' The radio station was one of Russia's last remaining liberal media outlets.
Significance of the 'Swan Lake' Video
Soviet TV aired the 'Swan Lake' ballet video as military tanks moved into Moscow to attempt to overthrow President Mikhail Gorbachev in a failed coup that marked the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
