She is a figure of Russian counter-propaganda. Made famous around the world for holding the 'No War' sign live on the news of the pro-Kremlin channel, Pervy Kanal, on March 14, 2022. Journalist and symbol of resistance against war, Marina Ovsiannikova, 44 years, is told in a book to be published this Thursday, May 4, No War – the incredible story of the woman who dared to oppose Poutine (L'Archipel).
Accused of "disseminating false information about the Russian army", she faced ten years in prison when she fled Moscow on October 1 in a perilous escape coordinated by RSF (Reporters Without Borders) that we tell you about in our columns. Now a refugee in Paris, she confides in Le Point, on the underside of this media outburst, which pushed her to act and her new life as an exile. "This conflict is hell and if refusing to sign this pact with the devil is tantamount to betraying one's country, then I still prefer this way..."
The Point: What is going through your mind on March 14, 2022 that drives you to action?
Marina Ovsiannikova: It's a matter of conscience. The war broke out about two weeks earlier, and I came to a point of no return. I've worked for the pro-Kremlin channel Pervy Kanal for eighteen years, but this time it's too much: I can no longer be part of Vladimir Putin's propaganda. I know what's at stake behind the term "special operation" he uses to describe ongoing crimes. I know he's gone mad...
I have no choice but to oppose this war. My story has something to do with it: I was born to a Russian mother and a Ukrainian father and I myself fled Groznyi, with my mother, during the first Chechen war. I know what fear is and being stripped of everything...
My loved ones know my pain in the face of this situation. But I have to hide my project from them, at the risk that they will prevent me from carrying it out. It was from the heart of the propaganda machine that I decided to act. I plan to wave my sign ("No to war! Stop war! Don't believe the propaganda. They're lying to you here. Russians against war") first in the newsroom and then in a burst of madness, I invite myself live on the air. I don't even recognize my voice when I shout...
Then everything goes very fast, is quite unreal. Cut by the director, the sequence lasts only six seconds. I leave the studio trembling, escorted by management who tell me to write my letter of resignation, before being taken to the police station by an agent, present near the studio...
So you know what you're exposing yourself to?
Any condemnation of war being equated with an act of treason, I know it's suicidal [she smiles]. But this conflict is hell and if refusing to sign this pact with the devil amounts to betraying one's country, then I still prefer this way. I will learn later that I risk ten years in prison for this intervention. If I am ready to be imprisoned, I cannot refuse the opportunity given to me at this time to flee. Even if in flight too, there is everything to lose.
You know, 80% of the editorial staff at Pervy Kanal share my views on the war, and I've even received messages of support from colleagues after my action - some even calling me a "heroine". I know, despite everything, that not everyone can act like I did. You have to be ready to give up everything (your family, your situation, your country…) Also, I don't judge those who adapt to the situation, out of fear.
You mention your family in this book, and how divided it is today...
This war divides millions of families in Russia. As such, mine is like many others. There is my mother, who is Vladimir Putin's age [70], dreams of the Soviet Union, listens to state propaganda all day and now considers me a traitor to the nation, believing that my place is in prison. There's my ex-husband, a top TV executive and Russia Today propaganda freak, who chose the path of legal action for custody of our children to get to me.
Then there is my son, Kirill, seventeen years old at the time, who, won over to his theories, chose to live with his father and cut ties with me. Only my daughter, Arisha, twelve years old, followed me to Paris. Yes, Putin is destroying Ukraine, but he is also doing a lot of harm to his own people. And these intra-family divisions are like those that cross the country...
What are they ?
I would say 25% of Russians are for the war, 25% against. And that the majority of them have no position on the subject. The latter is aware that our army is in Ukraine but does not take the risk of positioning itself, preferring to stay away from political issues. It is a form of denial of reality. In his defense, I think that's what all totalitarian states do, where you only have to speak out against war to be imprisoned. The Russians choose to ignore what is happening, to protect their conscience, but also their lives...
You tried to reconnect with journalism during your exile, in Ukraine this time. Tell us…
Unfortunately, it was a failure… I was lucky enough to be recruited as a correspondent by the German daily Die Welt, in order to cover the events in Ukraine. I felt like a second chance to be able to tell how despicable and criminal this war was. But the newspaper and I were subjected to such a campaign of harassment that we were forced to terminate the contract.
What can you tell us about your life today?
She was upset of course, but I have no regrets. I would hate myself if I was still working at Pervy Kanal right now. Besides, I would probably be in depression or, at least, in cognitive dissociation… I now live in Paris, with my daughter. And a year after my appearance on television, I would say that I have an almost ordinary life - if we omit my bodyguard! Arisha was able to go back to school three weeks ago. She has already made a friend, a young girl who fled kyiv at the start of the war. It's quite a symbol, because they embody the future of our countries... Perhaps the adults of tomorrow will contradict Denys Chmyhal!
How do you see your future?
Of course, I cannot return to Russia under these circumstances, at the risk of being immediately imprisoned. As for my life here, it remains that of a dissident. When I arrived, my Muscovite friends asked me, with derision, if I preferred to die with polonium or novichok. It's better to laugh about it! It's also a way to show Vladimir Putin that we're not afraid of him. Even if the reality is that he scares everyone...
