Raffle

It is impossible to imagine a better gift for Russian TV than the "resurrection" of Arkady Babchenko

Remember, there was such a program on Channel One - "Raffle"? In it, various famous people were placed in such circumstances in which they did not understand what was happening, cursed, sobbed, panicked, behaved stupidly. And when some of them reached the edge, TV men with flowers ran in and shouted in chorus: “This is the “Joke” program!” At that moment, the victims had to have enormous strength to restrain themselves and not crack the bouquet on the faces of the inventors. On the contrary, they had to pretend that they appreciated the very specific humor of the organizers of the show. Others, however, could not pretend - they did not immediately depart from the nightmare they had just experienced, fell into hysterics, drove joyful friends and colleagues away from themselves. Cruel in fact, although in its own way and funny was the program. The audience liked it. There is a special pleasure in watching the behavior of people you know in moments of weakness, despair or humiliation.

The Prank show returned this week in a slightly different form. Its victims were the audience themselves - friends and colleagues of the protagonist, many politicians and journalists around the world, and even ordinary people who imagine how terrible it is: to die from shots in the back in their own apartment. And in general, to die - in the prime of life, leaving children orphans, and his wife - a widow.

But half a day passed, and the main character miraculously resurrected, appearing in Kyiv at a press conference. And he said that all this was a special operation of the SBU of Ukraine, in which he took an active part in order to expose the real customers who planned his murder.

And everyone who did not sleep yesterday, wrote obituaries or desperate posts on social networks, cursing the dastardly killers, gasped like the stars fooled in the show "Joke". No, thank you for being alive, of course, but somehow it's not human, not divine - to subject the public that sympathizes with you and your own family to such a hellish test.

The tragedy turned into a farce. Well, it is impossible to imagine a better gift for the Russian federal media.

Immediately after the terrible news about the murder of a Russian opposition journalist in Kyiv, they still restrained themselves - death is not a reason for scoffing or gloating, even if notorious scoundrels discuss it.

Vladimir Solovyov, in his evening program, was forced to give his face a mournful expression corresponding to the tragedy: “I cannot understand why journalists are constantly being killed in Kyiv and there are no investigations. Versions are announced very quickly and the investigation takes a very long time. Is there any hope that this case will be completed?

Of course, it is in Kyiv that journalists are most often killed, and it is there that the investigation either drags on or reaches a dead end. The murderers of Pavel Sheremet, for example, have not yet been found or named. And why do opposition Russian journalists go to this deadly Kyiv?

As Solovyov’s colleague Margarita Simonyan wrote on Telegram on the same day: “It’s been the same thing over and over again: “So-and-so was killed in Kyiv. Earlier, he left Russia for fear of persecution.” Listen, it’s already a no brainer that, fearing persecution in Russia, it’s the stupidest thing to go to Kyiv. It's better to be chased here than to be killed there. Kingdom of Heaven to the slain, enivey. The fact that a significant number of journalists and politicians in opposition to the Russian government “chased”, but did not leave alone, but slammed - someone in the elevator of their own house (like Anna Politkovskaya), someone on the bridge near the Kremlin itself (like Boris Nemtsov), - Margarita Simonyan did not embarrass and did not deter from writing this post. However, Solovyov and his experts did not turn to this sensitive topic either. They had to divert suspicions from Russia, and therefore they called what happened in Kyiv a provocation by the Ukrainian special services against Russia, aimed at further discrediting it in the eyes of the world community.

The next day, the murder of Arkady Babchenko was discussed on Channel One's talk show Time Will Show. Leading Kuzichev and Sheinin also at first looked mournful. They spoke about the deceased colleague with restraint, but on the whole respectfully. And they also claimed that Babchenko, although he had long and openly adhered to an anti-Russian position, while he lived in Russia, nothing happened to him. And he left for Kyiv - and here you are. “In Ukraine, both those who are for Russia and those who are against Russia are being killed. They're killing it!" supported the leading deputy Konstantin Zatulin.

And then - boom, like a bolt from the blue - urgent news: "Babchenko is alive and is performing in Kyiv at this moment!" And as if taking revenge on the suddenly resurrected for the grief that had just manifested in the studio, the presenters and guests began to sneer: “We are doing such a biography of a previously little-known journalist ... This is not a journalist, but an absolutely unprincipled nit ... For a resurrected person, Arkasha is rather sad .... They brought him home - he turned out to be alive ... A living corpse. And if they all called the murder of a journalist a provocation against Russia, then the resurrection was again declared the same provocation.

In the evening, Solovyov pulled himself up with a company. There was no trace of yesterday's grief. He grinned happily, rubbed his hands and sneered openly: “How to describe the situation? Morons…” Komsomolskaya Pravda’s military officer Steshin, who worked with Babchenko more than once in hot spots, suggested that “Arkady drank in the evening and decided to joke, and in the morning he came to his senses and turned to the SBU, with whom they, together, staged this staging.” A regular participant in the Soloviev "evenings", a certain political scientist Mikheev, spoke the brightest of all: "I have a cynical thought - maybe no one shot down a Malaysian Boeing?" The infamous "crucified boy" also came to the word. They say that TV just listened to the unfortunate woman who saw this crucified boy in a nightmare. And these “boys” themselves were first crucified, and then presented to the world alive and healthy, deliberately misleading the whole world.

It's been a long time since the official Russian media got their hands on such trump cards in their propaganda game, and, presumably, they won't give up on this topic anytime soon. The entire propagandist people rejoice and rejoice, while the shocked "world" is in a state of shock and extreme amazement. What was it?

And nothing comes to mind, except for the final phrase of the TV show: “It was the “Joke” program. The most cruel and merciless of all that has ever been seen on TV. It's just not clear who to give flowers to.