Dozhd
Дождь
Tvrain.svg
TypeNews, current affairs
CountryRussia
Broadcast area
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
Programming
Language(s)Russian
Picture format
Ownership
OwnerDozhd media holding
Key people
History
Founded21 April 2008; 14 years ago (2008-04-21)[1]
Launched27 April 2010; 12 years ago (2010-04-27)[2]
FounderNatalya Sindeyeva
Closed5 March 2022
Links
WebcastLive stream (paywall)
Websitetvrain.ru Edit this at Wikidata
Availability
Streaming media
Apple TVdetails (in Russian)

Dozhd (Russian: Дождь, IPA: [ˈdoʂtʲ] (listen), lit. 'Rain'; stylized as До///дь), also known as TV Rain, is an independent Russian television channel founded in 2010. It focuses on news, discussions, culture, politics, business reports, and documentaries. Most Dozhd shows are live broadcasts. The channel's motto is "talk about important things with those who are important to us". It is owned by journalist Natalya Sindeyeva.

On 1 March 2022, the Russian government blocked access to Dozhd, as well as the radio station Echo of Moscow, in response to their coverage of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. The channel closed, with its general director announcing they would be "temporarily halting its operations", on 3 March 2022.[3]

History[edit]

Dozhd, also known as TV Rain, is an independent Russian television channel founded in 2010 by two women, Natalya Sindeyeva, media entrepreneur and owner, and Vera Krichevskaya [ru], a TV director.[4] It has focused on news, discussions, culture, politics, business reports, and documentaries.[5] Most Dozhd shows have been live broadcasts with a motto to "talk about important things with those who are important to us". It is owned by journalist Natalya Sindeyeva.[6][7]

Programming and staff[edit]

Dozhd' news room hosting the channel founder Natalya Sindeyeva during a visit by then-President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, 25 April 2011

Key people[edit]

Current programs[edit]

Former programs[edit]

Government pressure[edit]

2011 election protests[edit]

Dozhd was one of the first channels in Russia to cover the 2011 Russian protests against the alleged rigging of the parliamentary elections.[6] President Dmitry Medvedev was also noticed to have unfollowed Dozhd on Twitter. However, the channel was the first mass media outlet that he had chosen to follow on Twitter, according to an RIA Novosti report.[8] On 9 December 2011, Dozhd was asked to provide copies of its coverage of the protests to check if it had abided by Russian media laws.[8] By 10 December, it was showing a white ribbon, a symbol of the protests, by its on-screen logo. The station's owner, Sindeyeva, explained this as being a sign of "sincerity", rather than "propaganda", and an attempt to be "mediators" instead of simply journalists.[6]

Siege of Leningrad controversy[edit]

On 26 January 2014, Dozhd ran a poll on its website and on its live "Dilettantes" discussion program asking viewers if Leningrad should have been surrendered to the invading Nazi army in order to save hundreds of thousands of lives during the siege of Leningrad. Presenters cited Viktor Astafyev and compared it with the 1812 capture of vacant Moscow. Within 30 minutes, Dozhd removed the poll and apologized for incorrect wording. In the following days Dozhd was criticized by politicians, activists, State Duma members and Valentina Matvienko[9][10] for its online poll on the Leningrad siege of World War II. Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin's press secretary, also criticized the channel[11] and said that they violated "more than a law".[12] Yuri Pripachkin, President of the Cable Television Association of Russia (AKTR), said that he wanted "to take functions of censoring".[13] In a resolution backed by the St. Petersburg legislature's deputies, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika was requested to "conduct an investigation into provocative material posted on the website of the Dozhd television channel … and take appropriate measures, including shutting down the channel".[14] On 29 January, the largest Russian TV providers disconnected the channel.[10] Dozhd was forced to move to a private apartment in October 2014.[15]

In November 2013, two months before the controversy, Dozhd broadcast a report by anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny investigating high-ranking officials including Vyacheslav Volodin.[16] The channel's owner, Natalya Sindeyeva, suggested that the program caused the campaign against the channel.[17]

Designation as foreign agent, 2021[edit]

On 20 August 2021, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation added Dozhd, along with the investigative website Important Stories (iStories), into the list of "foreign agents".[18][19] As stated by a representative of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation at the meeting with the members of Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Dozhd was designated as "foreign agent" by the request of Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media due to distribution of materials prepared by media and individuals which were declared "foreign agents" that receive donations or funding from outside Russia earlier, such as Meduza, Current Time TV, Lev Ponomaryov, Lyudmila Savitskaya.[20]

In response, Amnesty International criticized the move, stating that the authorities were "launching a campaign against independent media aimed at eradicating unbiased journalism and investigative reporting".[21]

The Moscow Times reported that during the year long period before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government began to act against Independent and critical media in Russia. In that period dozens of journalists and independent media agencies including Dozhd were designated as 'foreign agents' by the Russian authorities. The term foreign agent has Soviet-era undertones. Entities that are designated as foreign agents are obligated to disclose their sources of funding and have to label their publications including social media posts with the tag foreign agent. Violation of the obligation attracts fines.[22]

Block and suspension of operations, 2022[edit]

Further information: 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine § Censorship and propaganda

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine. On 1 March 2022, six days after the invasion began, the office of the Prosecutor-General of Russia ordered the country's censor, Roskomnadzor (arm of Russian government) to restrict access to Dozhd as well as Echo of Moscow due to their coverage of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces,[23] claiming that they were spreading "deliberately false information about the actions of Russian military personnel" as well as "information calling for extremist activity" and "violence".[22]

On 2 March, Dozhd editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko released a statement saying he and several other Dozhd workers had fled Russia, as "it became obvious that the personal safety of some of us is now under threat."[24]

On 3 March, Dozhd said it was temporarily suspending operations,[25] and towards the end of its final broadcast, the crew walked off-set and played Swan Lake in protest, in reference to the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt when channels could not report the news and instead played footage of the ballet.[26]

International availability[edit]

Until 2022, the Dozhd website provided live broadcasting and archived programs.[27] The content from Dozhd was available on Youtube until late April, 2022. Dozhd has since then removed all but their two most recent videos. A banner now reads: "в связи с требованием властей мы временно скрыли материалы на нашем канале", which roughly translates as: "Due to the demand of the authorities, we have temporarily hidden materials on our channel".

Since March 2013, the channel has been available in Israel as part of basic package of the Yes Israel satellite television provider.[citation needed]

In January 2017, the channel was forced by the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine [uk] to stop broadcasting in the country.[28] It was shut down because channel content implied Crimea was Russian territory.[28] According to Dozhd owner Natalya Sindeyeva Russian law requires that media use maps that show Crimea as a part of Russia.[28] Since the 2014 Crimean crisis, the status of Crimea is under dispute between Russia and Ukraine; Ukraine and the majority of the international community considers Crimea an integral part of Ukraine, while Russia considers Crimea an integral part of Russia.[29] Ukraine has since moved to ban RTVI for similar reasons.[30]

Awards[edit]

Dozhd is a recipient of TEFI (2011), Runet Prize (2013) and Free Media Award (2014).[31][32][33] The channel's journalists received Redkollegia award four times.[34][35][36][37] Two months after Dozhd's closure, they would win a Peabody Award for Journalistic Integrity.[38]

Documentary[edit]

In 2021, a full-length documentary film titled F@ck This Job was released. It was written and directed by Vera Krichevskaya, one of the founders of Dozhd. The film deals with work of Dozhd and its CEO Natalya Sindeyeva.[39] The documentary was broadcast under its alternative title, Tango with Putin in the UK in March 2022 as part of the BBC documentary series, Storyville.[40] The documentary had been due to receive its Moscow premiere and Russian distribution in early March 2022, which were cancelled due to bomb threats against the Moscow cinema, and new censorship rules following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[41]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "ООО ТЕЛЕКАНАЛ ДОЖДЬ" (in Russian). RBK Group. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  2. ^ Жохова, Анастасия; Тофанюк, Елена (24 June 2013). "На какие деньги создан телеканал "Дождь" и почему он так и не стал бизнесом". Forbes Russia (in Russian). Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Russian TV channel says it is temporarily halting work". Reuters. 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022. Dozhd (Rain) is temporarily halting its work
  4. ^ Troianovski, Anton; Safronova, Valeriya (3 March 2022). "Last Vestiges of Russia's Free Press Fall Under Kremlin Pressure". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  5. ^ Prilepskaya, Xenia (1 June 2010). "Rainy TV Channel's Optimistic Ambition". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  6. ^ a b c Ennis, Stephen (10 December 2011). "Analysis: Russian TV grapples with protests". BBC News. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  7. ^ Balmforth, Tom (22 December 2011). "Internet TV Channel Challenges Kremlin's Information Monopoly". Radio Free Europe. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  8. ^ a b Medvedev unfollows Dozhd TV Archived 13 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Moscow News, retrieved 15 December 2011
  9. ^ "Новости NEWSru.com :: Телеканалу "Дождь" пригрозили отключением, а его опросом займется прокуратура". 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Новости NEWSru.com :: Телеканал "Дождь" начали отключать в регионах, Синдеева назвала истинную причину таких решений". 29 January 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Песков: телеканал "Дождь" перешел все грани допустимого". Interfax.ru. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Дмитрий Песков о ситуации с ДОЖДЕМ: я не вижу смысла закрывать телеканал, но они нарушили больше, чем закон, перешли красную линию". 29 January 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Ассоциация кабельного телевидения предложила отключить "Дождь"". Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  14. ^ Weir, Fred (3 February 2014). "How a poll about Nazis brought a Russian TV station under Kremlin assault". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Russian liberal TV channel forced to quit premises". BBC News. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  16. ^ Latynina, Yulia (4 February 2014). "Rain, Rain, Go Away". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  17. ^ Davidoff, Victor (1 February 2014). "Lenin's Law Applied to Dozhd TV". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Телеканал "Дождь" признан в России иноагентом". Euronews (in Russian). 20 August 2021. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  19. ^ Nemtsova, Anna (25 August 2021). "Inside Putin's Battle With 'Russia's CNN'". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  20. ^ ""Дождь" признали "иноагентом" из-за распространения текстов "иноагентов"". Radio Liberty (in Russian). 23 August 2021. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Russia Labels Broadcaster Dozhd, Investigative Site iStories 'Foreign Agents'". The Moscow Times. 20 August 2021. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Russia Blocks 2 Independent Media Sites Over War Coverage". The Moscow Times. 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Генпрокуратура потребовала ограничить доступ к "Эху Москвы" и "Дождю"". Interfax. 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  24. ^ "Dozhd TV Chief Leaves Russia Fearing For Safety". RFERL. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  25. ^ "Liberal Russian TV Dozhd Suspending Operations Over Ukraine Ban". The Moscow Times. 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  26. ^ Tapp, Tom (3 March 2022). "TV Rain, Russia's Last Independent TV Channel, Airs Symbolic Protest On Final Broadcast". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  27. ^ tvrain.ru Archived 2 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine Web site
  28. ^ a b c Ukraine bans Russia’s opposition TV channel Dozhd Archived 13 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine, UNIAN (12 January 2017)
    Ukraine Bans Broadcasts Of Independent Russian TV Station Dozhd Archived 13 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Radio Free Europe (12 January 2017)
  29. ^ UKRAINE REPORTS RUSSIAN MILITARY ACTIVITY ON CRIMEA BORDER Archived 18 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Newsweek (8 August 2016)
    Gutterman, Steve (18 March 2014). "Putin signs Crimea treaty, will not seize other Ukraine regions". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
    Ukraine crisis timeline Archived 3 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News
    UN General Assembly adopts resolution affirming Ukraine's territorial integrity Archived 4 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine, China Central Television (28 March 2014)
  30. ^ "Ukraine bans Russian language channel". 9 March 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Belsat TV solidary with Russian TV channel Dozhd". Belsat TV. 7 February 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  32. ^ "«Премию Рунета-2013» получили телеканал «Дождь» и социальная сеть «Кибердружина»". Lenta.ru (in Russian). 21 November 2013. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  33. ^ "Dozhd TV - Russia". Fritt Ord. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  34. ^ "Питерские. Отец и сын. Авторитет из 90-х, с которым знаком Путин: тайная бизнес-империя Ильи Трабера". Redkollegia (in Russian). 1 September 2017. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  35. ^ ""Побег". Фильм Сергея Ерженкова о двух толстовцах, которые бежали от государства в лес". Redkollegia (in Russian). 27 February 2019. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  36. ^ "Специальные эфиры об акциях протеста в защиту Навального". Redkollegia (in Russian). 31 January 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  37. ^ "Страна в изгнании: как белорусы бегут от режима Лукашенко и на что надеются". Redkollegia (in Russian). 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  38. ^ "Dan Rather Receives Peabody Career Achievement Award". PeabodyAwards.com. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  39. ^ F@ck This Job at IMDb
  40. ^ Kahn, Ellie (2 March 2022). "BBC brings forward Storyville about rebel Russian journalists". Broadcast UK. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  41. ^ Adams, Tim (6 March 2022). "Defiant to the last, Moscow's media star takes aim at Putin's brutal clampdown". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

External links[edit]