Marina Ovsyannikova is a Russian TV editor who interrupted a Channel One news broadcast with a sign protesting against the war in Ukraine, leading to her arrest. Ovsyannikova held up a sign reading, “No war,” and yelled, “stop the war,” and “no to war,” during the most-watched news broadcast in Russia, according to The Guardian.
Ovsyannikova’s sign also stated, “Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here,” according to The Guardian. She also wrote in English, “Russians against the war.” According to The Guardian, the news anchor, Ekaterina Andreeva, read from a teleprompter in an effort to drown out Ovsyannikova, but her protest was on the air for several seconds before Channel One changed the broadcast to a pre-recorded segment. She was identified on Twitter by OVD-Info, a Russian human rights organization.
President Vladimir Putin and Russian officials passed a law with a potential 15-year prison sentence for going against the government’s official narrative on the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The law prohibits spreading what Putin has deemed “fake news” against Russia’s military. Ovsyannikova could face jail time or fines under that law and also could face punishment for encouraging civil unrest. Protesters across Russia have been arrested for speaking out against the war, according to OVD-Info.
Here’s what you need to know about Marina Ovsyannikova:
1. Marina Ovsyannikova Was Arrested After the Protest
Marina Ovsyannikova was arrested after the protest, TASS, a Russian state-run media organization, said, according to The Guardian. TASS reported Ovsyannikova was being held at the TV station by police and was being interviewed. The state-run news agency also reported she could face charges under the new “fake news” law.
According to an article in The Atlantic, Channel One (Perviy Kanal), is among the most popular and influential Russian state TV channels. Ovsyannikova has worked at the news station for several years, according to her social media profiles.
Cynthia Hooper, a Russia expert at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, told The Atlantic, “People seem nervous about going off script or even about what, exactly, their script is supposed to be. Whereas previously Channel One might have provided a decent, if unideal, job for a Russian journalist, “now those same positions involve really nothing more than very, very deep complicity in manufacturing stories designed to bolster the Putin regime, fuel popular hatred against purported outsider enemies, and convey support for criminal and destructive government policies.”
2. Ovsyannikova Posted a Video on Social Media Explaining Why She Was Protesting, Saying Her Father Is From Ukraine
Before her protest, Ovsyannikova posted a video on social media explaining her decision to interrupt the news broadcast and encouraging others to speak out against the war in Ukraine. In the video, Ovsyannikova said her father is Ukrainian, while her mother is from Russia, according to translations posted on Twitter.
Ovsyannikova said in the video, “What is happening in Ukraine right now is a crime and Russia is the aggressor country. The responsibility for this aggression lies on the conscience of only one person. This person is Vladimir Putin. My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russia. They have never been enemies. The necklace on my neck is like a symbol of the need for Russia to immediately stop this fratricidal war. Our brotherly people can still make peace.”
She added, “Unfortunately, for the past years I have worked at Channel One, involved in Kremlin propaganda. I am very ashamed of this. Ashamed because I allowed lies to be told from the TV screen. Ashamed because I allowed the Russian people to be turned into zombies.”
Ovsyannikova continued, “We stayed silent in 2014 when all of this was just starting. We did not go to protests when the Kremlin poisoned Navalny. We just silently observed this. anti-human regime. Right now the whole world has turned away from us. Ten generations of our descendants will not be able to wash the shame of this fratricidal war. We are Russian people. A thinking and smart people. Only we have the power to stop this madness. Go protest. Do not be afraid. They cannot put us all in jail.”
3. Ovsyannikova Graduated From Kuban State University & the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy & Public Administration Before Working for Russia State Television
FacebookMarina Ovsyannikova interviews American attorney Alan Dershowitz.
Ovsyannikova, 44, studied at Kuban State University and the Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, according to her Facebook page. She graduated from the Presidential Academy in 2005, she wrote on Facebook.
Ovsyannikova has worked for Russian state television for several years, according to her Instagram page. She previously appeared on-air with Kuban TV. Further information about her career, including her current role with Channel One, was not immediately available.
According to Pavel Chikov, a Russian lawyer and human rights activist, said on Twitter that his organization would be funding and handling Ovsyannikova’s legal defense. Chikov tweeted that lawyers were attempting to locate her after she was detained.
4. Ovsyannikova, Who Lives in Moscow, Is a Mother of 2 Children, According to Her Social Media Pages
FacebookMarina Ovsyannikova.
Ovsyannikova lives in Moscow and has two children, a son and daughter, according to her Facebook page. She was born Marina Tkachuk and Ovsyannikova is her married name, but it was not clear from her social media pages if she is still with her husband. According to
On Facebook and on Instagram, she wrote about how her love for Golden Retrievers. A photo shows she and her family raised several puppies and then gave them away for adoption in 2021.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted, “Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at a TV channel in Russia, interrupted a live broadcast with a sign that read ‘NO WAR. Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here.’ She has since been detained. This is an act of incredible courage.”
5. Ovsyannikova Was a Competitive Swimmer Before Her TV Career & Says on Facebook She Is an Open-Water Swimmer Who Crossed the Volga & Bosphorus
FacebookMarina Ovsyannikova.
Ovsyannikova was a competitive swimmer while in university and in her youth, according to a 2002 interview with Yuga.ru.
She has continued to be an open-water swimmer during her TV career. She says on Facebook that she swam across the Volga and Bosphorus rivers. On Instagram she wrote, “Fitness and swimming on the open water🐟🐬🏊♀️ Bosphorus, Volga, Swimstar and Oceanman ;)”
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, reposted a video of Ovsyannikova’s protest on Twitter and wrote, “Russia is totally not free. They don’t have free media, political competition, protest rallies. Any protest is a direct road to jail. The more valuable is the act of Marina Ovsyannikova who told a multi-million audience the truth about the devastating war of Russia against.”