Press release, photos, video, 21.12.2014

A rally in support of the Tomsk TV-2 television company and regional press was held in the centre of Moscow on December 21. The rally was organised by the YABLOKO party, the Glasnost Defense Foundation and the Moscow Union of Journalists.

The action was attended by over three hundred people. The rally in Tomsk gathered several thousand people. The organisers invited to Governor of Tomsk region Sergey Zhvachin, Tomsk Mayor Ivan Klein and Speakers of the State and the Regional Duma to the rally, but none of them came.

Opening the meeting Sophia Rusova said that TV 2 was one of the few regional channels, which managed to maintain their own brand. She noted that the team of TV 2 comprised several dozens journalists working in the news desk. They had been creating programmes ranking higher than federal news programmes, and also regularly hosted charity marathons, including those in support of sick children.

Zoya Svetova and Sophia Rusova

“If on January 1 the residents of Tomsk do not see TV-2 programmes in the broadcasting network, this will be a direct violation of the law “On Mass Media” and a violation of Article 29 of the Constitution on the freedom of speech,” Rusova said.

Alexei Simonov, President of the Glasnost Defense Foundation, Andrei Filimonov, Tomsk TV-2 journalist, journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, former editor of FNR Andrei Allakhverdov, Vladimir Korsun, Eidtor-in-Chief of Grani.ru, YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin and other spoke at the rally.

Sergei Mitrokhin said that the state policies observed now in Moscow and Russia’s regions began with the take-over of a private NTV channel by the state. “It is the so-called “punitive operation” targeted against civilians”, he noted. According to Mitrokhin, the first victims of this “operation” were journalists as the most dangerous people for the authoritarian regime. Then it spread to the civil society, the political opposition and non-profit organizations. “The “punitive operation” went in depth of our society, and today we have one more example, – reprisals against TV-2. Could this be predicted in 2001, during the take-over of the [independent] NTV company? Many regional companies did not even think that they could be the next in turn. Today, it is indicative that we are recollecting how it all began, ” he said.

Mitrokhin also noted that the “punitive operation” would affect every citizen if we went on turning a blind eye on all this.

“Today people are punished for freedom, creativity, truth and independence. Defending TV-2, we are protecting all the victims of the “punitive operation”: the prisoners of the Bolotnaya Rally case, Alexei Navalny whom we defend despite our different political views, and environmentalists such as Yevgeny Vitishko who is now in jail. We need to remember all of them,” Sergei Mitrokhin said.

“Chasteners, out of the Kremlin!”, “Hands off TV-2!”, “For the freedom of regional press!” chanted the participants of the rally.

The participants of the rally adopted a resolution running the Tomsk and the federal government should create all the conditions for TV-2.

The Tomsk company TV-2 has been facing closure, and it may be closed in the beginning of 2015. Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network would like to unilaterally terminate its contract with TV-2 and has sent to TV-2 a notification on termination of broadcasting from 1 January, 2015.

TV-2 is one of Russia’s oldest independent television companies, it was founded in May 1991. The company received 23 awards.

A picket in support of TV-2 gathered 5,000 people in Tomsk past weekend.