Russia’s last independent news channel played Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake’ as it was being shut down

In Russia, a new law criminalizes negative media coverage of the Russian military. That includes negative coverage of Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine, and the law brought an end to Dozhd TV — which was Russia’s only independent broadcaster and wasn’t part of the government-operated media.

On Thursday night, March 3, Russians who tuned into Dozhd TV didn’t see any more images of the fighting in Ukraine. Instead, they saw a performance of Tchaikovsky’s 19th Century ballet ‘Swan Lake.”

Vice News reporter Ruby Lott-Lavigna explains, “During the live stream, journalists said, ‘No to war,’ before walking out and broadcasting the ballet ‘Swan Lake.’ The 1991 production of the ballet was shown on loop on TV during the attempted coup of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during the fall of the Soviet Union. On Friday, hours after Dozhd TV came off air, Russia passed a law criminalizing sharing anything it says is ‘fake news’ about the Russian military, making it a crime punishable by up to 15 years in jail.”