The last thing Vladimir Putin wants the loyal citizen of any Moscow street to see is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling the TRUTH, in all caps, on Pravda TV. They might get the idea that the New World Order used Vlad’s now “ex-generals” to trick him into a hasty invasion, through deliberate mis-information. He’ll deal with that mess after World War III plays out.
Moscow nervous about news
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky brags that leadership in Moscow is “frightened” by journalists “who can tell the truth.” Terrified Kremlin officials “attempted to prevent Russians seeing an interview he gave about the war in Ukraine,” CNN writes.
They have an official censorship watchdog called “Roskomnadzor,” who “issued a statement Sunday warning Russian news outlets against rebroadcasting or distributing the interview.” Zelensky dared to have a zoom chat with “Russia’s most prominent independent journalists.” That didn’t go over real well at the Kremlin.
Roskomnadzor issued a stern warning to all the Russian media “not to publish this interview.” In Moscow, searches for the kind of clothes suitable for the Siberian climate are trending on Yandex. “The media outlets conducting the interviews will be subject to scrutiny to determine the extent of responsibility and the appropriate response to be taken.”
Zelensky picked the right reporters to talk to. “Ivan Kolpakov from Meduza, a website based in Latvia, Vladimir Solovyov of Moscow newspaper Kommersant, Tikhon Dzyadko from recently shuttered channel TV Rain and the prominent writer Mikhail Zygar.” Also on the screen were Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov, “who won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize.” The whole team “submitted questions for Zelensky ahead of the interview.”
The recent uptick in parka and snowshoe sales was prompted by the formal labeling by the Russian government of some Moscow based news outlets as “foreign agents.”
Roskomnadzor posted a statement about that on Telegram. On Monday, March 28, Novaya Gazeta announced that it was shut down cold. They promised to “stop publishing online and in print.” All it took was “a warning from the regulator.” That breeze blowing from Siberia is especially chilling to free speech.
A potential deal
While Zelensky “harshly criticized Moscow” in the interview, he dangled an olive branch, too. One topic was discussion of “a potential deal to end the war.” Specifically, “Ukraine is ready to accept neutral non-nuclear status.” That takes away some of the Cuban Missile Crisis style tension in the air. The Kremlin has good reason to fear the truth, Zelensky explains.
Putin’s puppet generals “destroyed freedom of speech in their state — [and are] trying to destroy the neighboring state. They portray themselves as global players. And they themselves are afraid of a relatively short conversation with several journalists.”
That means they must be on the right track. “Well, if there’s such reaction — then we are doing everything right. [It] means they are nervous.”
Back in Moscow, Dmitry Peskov counters that they “have laws in place, and it is very important not to publish information that would amount to a violation of these laws.” Kind of similar to the way Twitter banned Donald Trump for life.
This latest move isn’t much of a surprise. “Moscow has cracked down on independent media in the weeks after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.” That’s why “many Russian journalists have left their home country.” That, and they’re allergic to frostbite.
“Access to foreign media such as the BBC has been restricted.” They don’t want you to hear any news officially declared fake. Jen Psaki is taking notes on use of the technique.
