Against War

A Russian journalist who interrupted a live TV news programme to protest against The War in Ukraine says Russians are " zombified" by propaganda.

Speaking to The Bbc , Marina Ovsyannikova said Russians should stop listening to state media coverage.

" I understand it's very Hard . . to find alternative information, but you need to try to look for it, " She Said .

Ms Ovsyannikova, an editor at state-controlled Channel 1 , was detained After Her protest on Monday.

She ran onto The Set of one of Russia's most-watched news programmes, Vremya, holding A Sign reading: " No war, stop The War , don't believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here. "

She could also be heard repeating The Words " no war, stop The War ".

" I was aware that if I went to protest in [Moscow's] Central Square I would be arrested like Everyone Else and thrown into a police van and be put On Trial , " Ms Ovsyannikova said on Thursday.

" Half the poster was in Russian, half the poster was in English. I really wanted to show the Western audience that some Russians are Against War , " She Said .

" I feel of course some responsibility lying on me. I was an ordinary cog in the propaganda machine. Until the very last moment I didn't think about it too much, " She Said .

Ms Ovsyannikova also responded to various allegations in Russian media about her motivation for staging the protest. " There are lots of Conspiracy Theories building up about me, " She Said .

" That's why I had to explain to The World what really happened, the fact that I Am just a normal Russian woman, but I could not remain on the sidelines. "

Before her protest she recorded a video in which She Said she was ashamed to work for what she called Kremlin propaganda.

The Journalist said she was detained and questioned by police for 14 Hours , and fined 30,000 roubles ($280; £210) for the video. The Authorities had been convinced she had been acting on Someone Else 's behalf, She Said .

" Nobody believed it was my personal decision, " She Said . " They suggested it could be conflict at work, relatives who were angry about Ukraine or that I was doing it for Western special services. "

" They couldn't believe that I had so many objections to the government that I could not stay silent. "

Russian State television news has long been controlled by the Kremlin and independent viewpoints are rare on all The Major channels.

It is also unusual for employees of state-controlled news organisations to express an opinion that differs from the official Kremlin position.

But since The War in Ukraine began, Zhanna Agalakova from Channel 1 , and Lilia Gildeyeva and Vadim Glusker from NTV.

State-controlled Russian media refer to The War as a " special military operation" and paint Ukraine as the aggressor, describing Ukraine's elected government as neo-Nazis.

Source of news: bbc.com