Nationalist TV shows in Russia - Tsargrad.tv

[Originally posted to the Fediverse - Source]

I have looked at a full broadcast live yesterday night on (nationalist) Tsargrad TV, and rather than the outrageous quotes that inevitably emerge - and are inevitably picked up by the BBC’s great Francis Scarr - what I found more interesting was the framing, i.e. let’s talk about the issues that the authorities don’t want to talk about, as what they say does not make sense.

I translate from the introduction published on their website:

“Russian citizens still cannot understand what are the final goals of the special operation. At first we planned denazification and demilitarization of all of Ukraine. Then we left from outside Kyiv. Then we let go the fighters from Mariupol, and gave them smartphones for free. Then we retreated again and so forth. Many questions, and practically no answers.”

The intended audience is nationalist and pro-war. The final question of the programme was:

“Are we really sure we will not give in to a shameful peace?”

And the answer was, of course, a resounding “no” from the guest.

Circumlocutions abound, but they still want this to sound honest, and the overall feeling is still very distant from the big mainstream channels. Mistrust towards the authorities permeates the questions.