Russian Attorney General accuses Dozhd of threatening “the stability of the constitutional structure and Russia’s security”

A representative of Russia’s Attorney General explained the agency’s decision to block independent television channel Dozhd (TV Rain), saying its work presented a threat to the “stability of the constitutional structure and Russia’s security.” The statement, according to RIA Novosti, was made during a review of Dozhd’s appeal to challenge the blockage in Moscow’s ​​Tverskoy District Court.

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the Attorney General’s representative, Dozhd began “broadcasting the position of Western countries, in a certain sense.”

"Taking into account its foreign financing, the publications we indicated are regarded by us as a means of intentionally drawing in a wide range of users with the goal of forming, among other things, protest sentiments in society, and attempting to ultimately influence the stability of the constitutional order and the security of Russia."

The ​​Tverskoy District Court did not grant Dozhd's appeal.

• In August 2021, Dozhd was declared a “foreign agent” in Russia. On March 1, 2022, soon after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Dozhd website was blocked in Russia. On March 3, former Dozhd Founder and CEO Natalia Sindeeva announced the channel was suspending operations.
• Dozhd is just one of many independent media outlets that have been blocked in Russia since the start of the war.