TV network redacts news program where pro-Kremlin pundit said ‘And now back to Russia’ after a segment about Crimea

Viewers of the weekly news program “Vesti Nedeli,” hosted by the pro-Kremlin pundit Dmitry Kiselyov, noted a curious moment in the show's June 5 broadcast. In that show, after a segment about aviation competitions in Crimea, Kiselyov turns to the camera and says, “And now back to Russia.” A clip of this moment in the show went viral on the Internet, and a few hours later Vesti's official YouTube channel released a new version of the episode, with Kiselyov's remark removed.

In the original version that aired, Kiselyov actually said, “A now back in Russia,” apparently misspeaking and meaning to say “back to Russia.” The program's next story was about a political campaign funded by the former oligarch, turned dissident, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Many Russian Internet users ridiculed Kiselyov for a statement that seemed to acknowledge that Crimea is not a part of the Russian Federation, despite Moscow's decision to annex the territory more than two years ago.

On June 6, the television network Vesti released a new version of the episode, calling it a “full release.” Twenty minutes longer, this different version dropped Kiselyov's controversial segue to the report on Khodorkovsky.