Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

The revolution will be supervised.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

After roe, women are no longer free.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

People are complicated. Love is not.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

T R E 4 5 O N

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / ‘They’re lying to you…’

‘They’re lying to you…’

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A couple of y’all noted this incident in the thread downstairs:

Now we know her name and that she created a video before crashing the news broadcast:

This is a translation of what she said:

Wow. Awed by her courage.

Reader Interactions

128Comments

  7. 7.

    Jeffery

    Seems Putin is losing the public one person at a time. Must have been a shock for the TV people working the news and the public watching it.

  9. 9.

    debbie

    She is very, very brave. Is she an employee of that station? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Channel One.

  12. 12.

    zhena gogolia

    @debbie: It’s the main national network.

    ETA: I’ve never seen anything like this happen. I’m wondering if she had accomplices behind the scenes in order to do it.

  14. 14.

    CaseyL

    I admire her courage all the more for acknowledging responsibility for not acting sooner.  The courage not only to act, regardless of consequences, but to break a decade-long habit of silent complicity in order to do so.

  15. 15.

    japa21

    @zhena gogolia: ​
      No backing off. Loved that she went back to 2014. I don’t know how many people will actually see her statement or believe it, but she has far more courage than Putin does. She knew exactly what was facing her when she did this and didn’t flinch.
    I have come to believe your statement a few days ago, that there are a lot more people who are against the barbarous actions of Putin and his minions than I originally thought. If she can inspire even just a few people to do more things like this, and they each inspire a few more there could be a tsunami of anti-war, anti-Putin sentiment washing over Russia.

  18. 18.

    MattF

    Looks like the self-sorting of Russian journalists into groups labeled ‘journalists’ and ‘liars’ is happening on a compressed time scale. I can only hope that Ovsyannikova doesn’t get hurt too badly.

  19. 19.

    Betty Cracker

    @zhena gogolia: I hesitated to post it at first because I wondered if it was real, but journalists with experience in Russia are treating it as genuine, so I think it is.

  20. 20.

    geg6

    These Russian activists have balls of steel.  They had a segment on CBS Sunday Morning yesterday about Russian media and how it is dispensing propaganda and just a tiny bit about some dissenters (surely they were trying to protect them).  This woman is obviously one of those dissenters.  She is a brave soul.

  22. 22.

    Brachiator

    If only…

    A woman burst onto Fox News’ main live evening newscast today with a sign that says:

    “Stop the attack on democracy
    Don’t believe propaganda
    They’re lying to you”

  25. 25.

    germy

    Does anyone remember Irina Slavina?

    In 2020 journalist Irina Slavina burned herself as a protest against freedom of speech and political prosecution in front of the Interior Ministry building…https://t.co/2WFz4V23hw

    — Anatoliy Kuznetsov (@bitmagicio) March 1, 2022

  26. 26.

    Brachiator

    @geg6:

    These Russian activists have balls of steel.

    Gonads. Men and women.

    But yeh, amazing acts of bravery.

  27. 27.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @debbie:

    I’m sure this would be good for morale in Ukraine. Anonymous hackers should hack into Russian TV feeds and broadcast stuff like this

  30. 30.

    Lyrebird

    @japa21: It was clearly rolled up beforehand, would fit in an umbrella, but her bravery is truly amazing.

    Thanks so much

    @Betty Cracker: for posting.

    I found the name of the Russian protest artist who we’ve seen on several threads, Yelena Osipova.  Their bravery is breathtaking.  I hope having the news shared about this news announcer helps keep her alive.

  35. 35.

    Geo Wilcox

    Amazing and she is so young. I could easily see an older person doing this, especially one with a terminal illness, but for a young person who has decades (hopefully) to live it is down right stunning.

  37. 37.

    Geminid

    @Brachiator: “Guts” is another good word for this kind of moral and physical courage. I think “balls” is popular because it seems like a such a tough way to talk about toughness.

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): That’s a wish I’m sure we all share. The second tweet embedded in the post mentions a legal foundation that allegedly released the video after Ms. Ovsyannikova crashed the broadcast and says they are prepared to defend her against charges. The linked account is in Russian, so I have no idea what it says. But it was a smart move drop a video with a viral message after the initial protest. It’s harder to kill dissidents whose names and faces are known.

  39. 39.

    RaflW

    That first thread lead me quickly to this news.

    LONDON — Britain’s top court on Monday refused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to appeal against a decision to extradite him to the U.S. to face spying charges.

    The court said it refused because the case “didn’t raise an arguable point of law.”

    Assange, 50, has sought for years to avoid a trial in the U.S. on a series of charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

  41. 41.

    jonas

    Wow — decided to face the full wrath of the Russian “judicial system” head on. Just like Navalny. And will certainly suffer a similar fate, if not worse.

  42. 42.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Baud: I vote Dem so people don’t have to risk their lives to save their country.

    Or their virtue, these are really corrupt cops in a notoriously sexist society were a talking about.

  43. 43.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @RaflW: Well, this doesn’t speak well to how the rest of the world perceives our prison system.

    A British district court judge had initially rejected a U.S. extradition request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. U.S. authorities later provided assurances that the WikiLeaks founder wouldn’t face the severe treatment that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk.

    In December, the High Court overturned the lower court’s decision, saying that the U.S. promises were enough to guarantee that Assange would be treated humanely.

  46. 46.

    sdhays

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Well, Epstein and his buddy (who’s name escapes me) sure “committed suicide” pretty quickly once inside the US prison system.

    The US prison system is a crime against humanity of its own.

  50. 50.

    Martin

    @Baud: Feds, while safe, can be incredibly systematically dehumanizing. Such as ADX Florence. Assange in no way should be at a facility like that, but probably would be put in a facility like that.

  52. 52.

    realbtl

    Lloyds of London has “decertified” the superyachts  remaing loose belonging to sanctioned individuals.  Current certification is a requirement of insurance policies on said yachts.  No insurance until Rus cobbles something together.  Be a shame if etc etc.

  53. 53.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    It was inevitable the Russian people would rise up once McDonalds shut down

  55. 55.

    Geminid

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: An ironic aspect of the Assange matter is that if Assange had returned to Sweden to stand trial on the sexual assault charges that were brought against him by two Swedish women, he’d have been out of prison already. Sweden most likely would not have extradited Assange to the U.S.

  57. 57.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic: They don’t admire her for putting her life on the line to tell the truth?  To admit that not only is there propaganda, but to acknowledge that she participated in it.

    Surely this will allow at least more Russian people to recognize the propaganda for what it is.  Surely this may inspire more people to stand up, even at the risk of their lives.

    Do they not see what she is doing as a good thing?

  58. 58.

    catclub

    There are multiple vacancies on the panel, and its chairman, Jerome Powell, is awaiting Senate confirmation to a second four-year term. Last month, instead of voting on the confirmation of President Biden’s slate of five nominees to run the world’s most powerful central bank, the Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee staged a boycott.

     

    I had no idea this happened. Not just manchin, the full GOP.

  59. 59.

    SiubhanDuinne

    She is brave, courageous, and bold. A kind of female Wyatt Earp, without the guns.

    Long live her fame, and long live her glory, and long may her story be told.

  60. 60.

    RaflW

    The US systems of incarceration are terrible, have nothing to do with “corrections” and are in need of serious reforms. If Assange ending up in one gets Glem into enough high dudgeon to help do something about our shitty prisons, great. I won’t hold my breath

    I’m gonna indulge in some crass whataboutism and say: Whatever may await Assange here will be far better than what Marina Ovsyannikova likely faces.

  61. 61.

    Martin

    Reports are that Russia has now lost over 10% of their invasion force, with no meaningful reinforcements.

    Also, reports (could be fake) are that Russia is asking China to send MREs. Probably safe to say whatever stockpile of MREs the Kremlin ledgers say exist were long ago sold on the black market. MREs are easy to steal and fetch a decent price. Lots of selling of US military ones as well, despite efforts to stop that. But we’ve seen enough reports of food shortages, mess trucks with little more than onions and potatoes, and quite old MREs to suggest that Russia really is having trouble with this.

  62. 62.

    Martin

    @schrodingers_cat: He’s not a violent threat. Florence is where we send people who will kill guards, who build terrorist networks. Assange is an information peddler and possible rapist. I’m not saying to send him to club fed, but he’s not a violent threat. He’s fine for a medium security federal run, and they’re safe and probably better run than almost any state prison.

  64. 64.

    Martin

    @WaterGirl: They do. A little late to the game though. This would have been useful a month ago. She’s not going to face any worse fate than thousands of Ukrainians have already faced.

  65. 65.

    Gin & Tonic

    @WaterGirl: Some approve, more see it as an empty gesture that’s way too late. When you have Russian soldiers shooting civilians point-blank in your town, or firing on cars that are trying to escape, you tend not to have much sympathy for people who have made a comfortable living working for the oppressor.

  66. 66.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Martin:

    Demetri・FT @Dimi 29m

    #NewChinaRussiaScoop – US told allies that Russia requested 5 types of military gear from China, including #SurfaceToAirMissiles. Also #drones, armored vehicles, logistics vehicles & intelligence-related equipment. US did not provide underlying intelligence in cables to allies.

  69. 69.

    Gin & Tonic

    @WaterGirl:

    This is what a town “liberated” by the Russians looks like:

    Russia said it “liberated” Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast on March 12, after sixteen days of heavy shelling.

    This is how Russian “liberation” looks like. A city of 20,000 people now doesn’t exist. pic.twitter.com/VR2W1PTSuB
    — Oleksiy Sorokin (@mrsorokaa) March 14, 2022

  71. 71.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Some approve, more see it as an empty gesture that’s way too late. When you have Russian soldiers shooting civilians point-blank in your town, or firing on cars that are trying to escape, you tend not to have much sympathy for people who have made a comfortable living working for the oppressor.

    I totally understand all of that, except the “empty gesture”.  This woman is surely risking her life, and worse, by doing this.  Too late, sure.  I imagine she will be lucky if they just kill her, without doing worse, so I cannot see that as an empty gesture.

    But all the rest, yes.

  72. 72.

    A Ghost to Most

    When you live in a cliquey echo chamber, courage apparently looks amazing, instead of understood.

  74. 74.

    CROAKER

    J’aime l’oignon frit à l’huile,
    J’aime l’oignon car il est bon.
    J’aime l’oignon frit à l’huile,
    J’aime l’oignon, j’aime l’oignon.

    I love the onion fried in oil,
    I love the onion because it’s good,
    I love the onion fried in oil,
    I like the onion, I like the onion

  75. 75.

    Geminid

    @Martin: The U.S. has put at least one spy, former FBI agent Robert Hanson, in the Florence, Colorado “Supermax” prison. On the other hand, turncoat CIA agent Aldrich Ames is serving his time in the Federal facility in Terra Haute, Indiana. They both got life sentences, I believe.

    I’m not sure Assange will be charged with a crime carrying a life term, but I think the indictment against him is sealed and we don’t know yet.

  78. 78.

    Roger Moore

    @Geminid:

    An ironic aspect of the Assange matter is that if Assange had returned to Sweden to stand trial on the sexual assault charges that were brought against him by two Swedish women, he’d have been out of prison already. Sweden most likely would not have extradited Assange to the U.S.

    Sure, but he probably wouldn’t have been able to interfere with the 2016 election from prison.

  81. 81.

    eric

    Open thread question:  i recall from a time gone by, that there are folks here familiar with the college admissions process.  My daughter is now embarking on the process and asked ME for help.  Yes, my teenager has asked me for help.  Problem is: a man’s gotta know his limitations, and I know my limitations.  so, is there anyone whose brain i can pick for a little bit when they have time.

    much thanks

    eric

  82. 82.

    Gin & Tonic

    @WaterGirl: Here is a fairly common reaction, in English

    Marina Ovsyannikova is just another infooperation on humanizing those, who for years have supported Russia’s war against Ukraine. Mark my words. There’s no way in hell this was spontaneous.This just means that sanctions actually work.— Melaniya Podolyak (@MelaniePodolyak) March 14, 2022

  83. 83.

    Cacti

    Hasn’t been front paged yet, so…

    (Correction) The PAC “Really American” drops a brutal video ad on the 8 Republican Senators who jetted off to Moscow on July 14, 2018.

    #PartyOfTreason

  84. 84.

    Another Scott

    @catclub: “It’s the economy, stupid” was something Carville got right.

    The GQP knows its best path to power is via the economy being in the dumps.  That’s one of the reasons why they fought Obama so hard on the Great Recession rescue plans.  Holding up Fed appointments and similar actions against agencies that have responsibilities for supporting the US economy has the added benefit (to them) that their hands don’t get dirty (because most voters don’t pay attention to such things).

    Expect more of this, as long as they have enough power to throw gravel in the gears.  Our job, as always, is to vote the monsters out.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  85. 85.

    zhena gogolia

    @eric: geg6 might be a good source. I don’t think she’s in admissions, but she’s in university administration.

  86. 86.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Gin & Tonic:
    Here is another:

    Dear Twitter, please don’t mix up! On the left, you see courage defending your country from the Russian invasion. On the right, you can see an attempt to save your image after working on the channel that helped for years to ignite and support the war pic.twitter.com/yiB6ky03hv
    — Yarema Dukh (@yarko) March 14, 2022

  87. 87.

    zhena gogolia

    @Gin & Tonic: So it’s a government job?

    I have to say, this could NEVER have happened in the Soviet era, so I wonder how she was able to get on the air.

    It’s a hall of mirrors. Is the dam breaking, or is she a plant?

    I have no idea.

  88. 88.

    Martin

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Is it?

    I mean, I don’t think China is going to give them this stuff. China is currently going through some economic stuff. You think Russia was dependent on Germany for income, well, China is very intertwined with western companies and markets.

    But Russia needing SAMs means that Russia needs SAMs. Ukraine still has planes in the air. Sounds like Ukraine is doing a pretty damn good job of figuring out which Russian equipment to take out. If the west believes this report, and has some confirming evidence that Russia’s anti-aircraft capability is waning, expect to see more than just Estonia ask for NATO to put up a no-fly.

    And that becomes a new variable in all of this. China doesn’t know if NATO will enter this, and if they do, and a NATO plane is shot down by a Russian fired Chinese SAM, well, shit gets really unpleasant for China.

  89. 89.

    Betty Cracker

    @A Ghost to Most: The only reason you’re not in your own cliquey echo chamber is your fellow blood-and-guts new civil war cosplayers are god-bothering Trump shitbirds. Congrats on dodging TWO traits in that constellation of personality disorders.

  90. 90.

    Burnspbesq

    “They can’t lock us all away” may ultimately prove to be true, but they can sure as shit try.

  93. 93.

    trollhattan

    @Martin:

    China and Russia sharing an enormous border and having a lengthy past of…difficult relationships has me thinking a Russian “Please now to be sending us best antiaircraft missiles” request is going to be laughed out of the room.

    “As if, mister Boris.”

  95. 95.

    Cacti

    @trollhattan:

    China and Russia sharing an enormous border and having a lengthy past of…difficult relationships has me thinking a Russian “Please now to be sending us best antiaircraft missiles” request is going to be laughed out of the room.

    “As if, mister Boris.”

    Unless met by a response of “Right after you hand over the deed to Siberia”.

  96. 96.

    Geminid

    @Roger Moore: Wikipedia tells me that in November 2010, after Sweden issued an international arrest warrant relating to his sexual assault charges, Assange complained to a reporter that Sweden had a “very, very poor judicial system,” and that it had a culture of “crazed radical feminist ideology.” He later described Sweden as “the Saudi Arabia of feminism.”

    So while it could be that Assange refused to return to Sweden because he was a altruistic whistleblower, committed to speaking truth to power, he might have refused just because he’s a asshole.

  97. 97.

    Gin & Tonic

    @trollhattan: I find a dark irony (sorry, no humor lately) in seeing the supposedly fearsome Russian military, after a little over two weeks of beating up on a neighbor lass than a third its size, saying “hey, bro, we’re, uhm, out of bullets.”

    I take some comfort in knowing that the Chinese are nothing if not patient, and almost certainly understand that Russia will be for sale for pennies on the dollar in short order.

  99. 99.

    Cacti

    @Gin & Tonic: China is completely in the catbird seat.

    They can pay lip service in support of their “ally” Russia, while sitting back and letting them send their military and economy into a wood chipper.

  102. 102.

    zhena gogolia

    @WaterGirl: I’m with you on not considering it an empty gesture, but being able to work for Pervyi kanal all these years — you can’t be a poryadochnyi chelovek (decent person) and do that. It’s all very weird.

  104. 104.

    Roger Moore

    @Geminid:

    The interesting question to me is just how long ago Assange sold out to Russian intelligence.  Was it before or after he started Wikileaks?  If it was after, how long did it take?  I don’t think Wikileaks has ever released something that would embarrass the Russian government, but it’s possible that was just because Assange was focused on the West.

  106. 106.

    eric

    @Martin: is there a way we can chat offline, so as not to bore the normies here?  i can be reached at [redacted by WaterGirl].

  107. 107.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic: I don’t see Putin being willing to enter into a “partnership” with China when Russia would essentially end up being the property of China if he lets China / gets China to bail him out.

    It looks me like Putin has backed himself into a corner.

  109. 109.

    WaterGirl

    @eric: I sent your email address to Martin.  I didn’t want your email to get spammed, which is what likely happens if you post email publicly on the internet.

  110. 110.

    Mallard Filmore

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: 

    the SAM request is troubling

    Do China’s SAMs require long training times?

    The other stuff … Putin will not be attacking any NATO countries before Russia falls apart, unless his goal is to trade some nukes.

  111. 111.

    Mallard Filmore

    @Spanky:

    OTOH, I’m picturing a sad-sack Russian conscript trying to decipher the Chinese user’s manual. Good luck, Boris!

    There are a lot of Russians on their common border that can speak/read both languages.

  112. 112.

    Jinchi

    @WaterGirl: Unless she has permission to do this, what good does it do to have the West think she’s done a heroic thing… but she’s dead?

    Why is everyone assuming she’s dead? Navalny isn’t dead and he’s a much bigger long term threat to Putin. From what I’ve seen of Putin’s Russia, the journalists who get assassinated are the ones actively working to expose corruption. She’s not in a position to do that anymore.

    My (admittedly uninformed) guess is that this woman will spend some time in prison then be thrown out along with the rest of the protesters and live under constant threat of harassment and surveillance without any hope of employment in media, again.

  113. 113.

    trollhattan

    @Mallard Filmore:

    My assumption (and this is Silverman/Farley territory) is the days of China modifying Soviet designs for military hardware are long over. Their fighter planes are their own designs, ships too.

    SAM batteries are complicated things.

  114. 114.

    Calouste

    @Martin: Putin seems to have forgotten that the mutiny on the Battleship Potemkin started out as a complaint about the food.

  115. 115.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:

    I don’t see Putin being willing to enter into a “partnership” with China when Russia would essentially end up being the property of China if he lets China / gets China to bail him out.

    I could see him doing so if it protected his personal safety.  All Russia’s actions need to be seen in light of how the benefit Putin personally, not how they help the Russian state or the Russian people.  If the alternatives are admitting defeat and facing the domestic consequences or asking China for help and remaining in charge as China’s lap dog, I have no doubt which way Putin will choose.

  117. 117.

    japa21

    FWIW, I remember seeing something about a week ago where Russia asked China for spare aircraft parts and China said no, presumably because of potential sanctions.  I’ll try to find it.  Since the Russian request was a couple weeks ago and there is no knowledge of China agreeing, I don’t think they will.

  120. 120.

    Kent

    @RaflW: The US systems of incarceration are terrible, have nothing to do with “corrections” and are in need of serious reforms. If Assange ending up in one gets Glem into enough high dudgeon to help do something about our shitty prisons, great. I won’t hold my breath

    I’m gonna indulge in some crass whataboutism and say: Whatever may await Assange here will be far better than what Marina Ovsyannikova likely faces.

    Just what level of influence do you think a 2-bit Russian mouthpiece living in Brazil actually has over US policy?

  121. 121.

    Kent

    @Mallard Filmore:

    OTOH, I’m picturing a sad-sack Russian conscript trying to decipher the Chinese user’s manual. Good luck, Boris!

    There are a lot of Russians on their common border that can speak/read both languages.

    And how many of them are on the front lines in Ukraine?

  123. 123.

    Uncle Cosmo

    Just a couple of thoughts off the top of my head:

    1. Is it possible the SAMs Russia has requested were ones provided to China some years ago and were mothballed once the latter had developed and fielded their own designs? Otherwise it would seem they’d have the same learning curve with unfamiliar equipment.

    2. It’s unclear to me exactly what Russia has asked China for. Is it SAM batteries (including mobile launchers and command vehicles)? That would suggest that UA forces (with a large tip of the fez to Sergeant Bayraktar) have been very adept at knocking them out & anti-air coverage for their war-criming artillery is getting thin. Or is it the missiles themselves? That would suggest that those in Putin’s depots may not be all that reliable (due to poor manufacturing or inept maintenance) and/or UA forces have been very adept at provoking the Rooskies to use them up shooting at phantoms or decoys.

  124. 124.

    Kalakal

    @Roger Moore: Private Eye, in the early days of wikileaks, made a big deal of Assange’s Russian connections and funding.Their explanation for the lack of any leaks about Russia was that anyone in Putins Paradise who gave information to Wikileaks found themselves having an unpleasant series of conversations with  the FSB.

    They printed it for years, Assange never sued

  125. 125.

    Geminid

    @japa21: President Biden spoke to Chinese leader Xi today. Afterwards, Press Secretary Psaki emphasized to reporters that a country providing arms to Russia would be sanctioned.

  126. 126.

    Argiope

    @eric:  The common app is your friend. Well, your kid’s friend. It has made things a bit easier, I think. I’m also happy to talk if that would be helpful. WaterGirl has my contact info. We made it through the process last fall & early winter so the memories are still relatively fresh. The kid is attending the college of her choice and we all still like each other, so I consider that a big win. It was nerve-wracking at times in a way that had me muttering “first world problems” to myself. It felt very high-stakes even while I was simultaneously aware that none of it was actually all that critical— but of course these are big decisions and they are among the biggest ones our kids make as emerging adults if they are fortunate enough to have options. The expense makes it feel monumental.

  128. 128.

    oldgold

    WaterGirl: You are brave and correct. This Ukraine purity trolling by some is growing tiresome.

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