Kremlin thrilled by Latvia’s decision to ban Dozhd TV
On Tuesday, authorities in Latvia banned Dozhd (TV Rain), Russia’s only opposition television station, from operating in the country.
Dozhd has been working in exile ever since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February and effectively banished all journalism in Russia by imposing a blanket ban on the use of the word “war.” Dozhd, already classified in Russia as a “foreign agent” was ordered to shut down. Its team, like many other Russian journalists, moved to the Latvian capital Riga, where they were initially welcomed by the government.
The honeymoon was short. Soon after re-launching from Latvia, Dozhd was fined over $10,000 for using a map of Russia that included Crimea, annexed from Ukraine. Then, last week, a presenter referred to the Russian armed forces as “our army.”
The presenter, Aleksy Korostelev was asking viewers, and particularly those who are part of the Russian army, to pass on information about conditions in the armed forces. A legitimate request, except for the kicker that he blurted out at the end: “We hope we also helped many military personnel, namely by assisting with equipment and bare essentials on the front line.”