‘The point is to scare viewers’

TV Rain Editor-in-Chief Tikhon Dzyadko speaks to Meduza about joining the ranks of Russia’s ‘undesirable’ organizations

Russia’s Prosecutor General has declared television news network TV Rain “undesirable” in Russia. The prosecutor’s office believes that the network “discredits” the Russian authorities, disseminates “fakes” about the war, supports “foreign agents,” and cites material from other “undesirable” organizations — like Meduza. After the announcement, TV Rain said that it would stop receiving donations from Russia and would cancel active subscriptions for Russian nationals, so as not to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution. Meduza spoke to TV Rain’s editor-in-chief, Tikhon Dzyadko, about what comes next for the network.

Tikhon Dzyadko, editor-in-chief of Russian independent television network TV Rain, was prepared for the network to be declared an “undesirable” organization, and on July 25 it happened. “The decision was expected. And it’s totally illegal,” he told Meduza. He added that the point of the new status is to deprive the network of donations, limits its access to guests, and intimidate viewers “so that they won’t post [our material] on social media and they’ll be scared to watch us.”

Dzyadko says he believes the reasons for the new designation are TV Rain’s large audience and “the fact that [we] tell the truth about what’s happening.” Still, though, he doesn’t know why the Russian authorities decided to declare TV Rain “undesirable” just now — he says he and the staff found out from the Russian Prosecutor General’s office press release, just like everyone else.

“How can you call an organization ‘undesirable’ when 13 million people from Russia alone watched its YouTube broadcasts in the past month? That would make it, in fact, ‘desirable,’” said Dzyadko, adding that TV Rain will continue its work while remaining aware of its new reality and new risks.

The Prosecutor General’s decision calls TV Rain a group of “Dutch and Latvian journalists” and the network’s founder, Natalya Sindeeva “a foreign journalist who has Russian citizenship.” TV Rain was based in Latvia before moving to the Netherlands after coming into conflict with Latvia’s broadcast authorities earlier this year. But, says Dzyadko, the majority of the network’s audience is still in the Russian Federation and its mission is to provide news about Russia for Russian citizens. “We are Russian journalists,” the editor-in-chief insists.

In January 2023, the Russian authorities outlawed Meduza, designating our media outlet as an “undesirable organization.” In other words, our newsroom’s work is now completely banned in the country our founders call home. And Russian nationals who support Meduza can face criminal prosecution. Today, Meduza’s need for support from people across the globe — from readers like you — has never been more important. Please, support our work.

The Russian authorities have accused TV Rain of “systematic violation of laws concerning mass media and information.” Dzyadko counters that “all of the laws concerning media that Russia has adopted in recent years are repressive. Their singular goal is censorship.” He says the network doesn’t label itself a “foreign agent,” as the Russian authorities have tried to require, “because we’re nobody’s agent.”

Like Meduza, TV Rain was labeled a “foreign agent” before it was declared an “undesirable” organization. At that point still based in Russia, the network’s leadership challenged the “foreign agent” designation in court. “In response, we got the same vague wording that the Justice Ministry had already published in its press release,” Dzyadko said.

Dzyadko and the rest of TV Rain’s leadership haven’t decided whether they’ll challenge this latest designation, too, but he says he isn’t hopeful that they’d hear anything new even if they did.

Knowing that it was possible that they’d be declared “undesirable,” Dzyadko and the network’s staff have already discussed some technical workarounds for keeping TV Rain guests and viewers safe while preserving the quality of broadcasts. The network also worked out protocols ahead of time to protect its staff.

Dzyadko says he’s not worried that Russia will attack TV Rain’s YouTube channel, the main way that Russian viewers can tune into the network, in particular. He does fear, though, that the Russian authorities could block YouTube altogether. Still, he thinks media and tech organizations will find a workaround if that happens. “Progress is always one step ahead of whoever wants to limit people’s access to information,” he said.

Now that TV Rain has been declared “undesirable,” any association with the network — from monetary donations to sharing posts on social media — is risky for Russian nationals, particularly those still living in Russia. Dzyadko calls “our viewers’ security the most important thing,” and says the network has canceled all subscriptions from Russia and asked viewers to post TV Rain material on social media.

Every call for donations or clicks will now come with the disclaimer “If you’re not in Russia.” But Dzyadko emphasizes that “It’s important to understand that you can and should watch TV Rain,” adding that just watching “hasn’t been banned.”

“I’m personally experiencing simultaneous rage and fatigue,” Dzyadko told Meduza. But he says the team was ready for this decision. “We all know what we’re doing. We all know we have a common and very important task.”