Russian journalist who protested Ukraine war on-air opens up about escaping to France
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Paris: Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova protested against the Ukraine war last year on live television by holding a poster reading "No War". She has since then escaped to France and opened up about the "extraordinary" journey. French President Emmanuel Macron offered her asylum a day after the incident.
Marina was the former editor of Channel One. She made headlines after barging into the set of its flagship Vremya (Time) evening news to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Putin's government was facing 10 years in prison for her actions and she fled Russia in October just before being sentenced.
She was under house arrest and had to cut through an electronic bracelet to escape. She also admitted that she was reluctant to leave Russia because she still considers it to be her country even if war criminals have taken power. "But they didn't give me a choice. It was either prison or emigration." The 44-year-old has two children. She is now living in various safe houses in France with her daughter.
She moved to Germany after the live TV protest but returned after three months to hold a one-woman protest near the Kremlin and exhibited a poster reading "Putin is a murderer". This led to her arrest.
France-based Reporters Without Borders helped her to escape. Speaking to the media at the RSF headquarters in Paris, she said they used seven different vehicles and walked across the border into a forest at night. She added that they had to navigate using the stars which was a "real challenge". They also had to hide from the lights of border guards and tractors.
She revealed that fear for her life is constant and every time she speaks to a friend in Russia, they ask which method of assassination she prefers - Novichok, polonium, or a car crash.
She hopes to see Russia's leaders face a war crimes tribunal in The Hague. "I think this regime is living its last days but I don't know how long this war and regime will last. But it must end with a total victory for Ukraine or there won't be any future for Russia," she added.
Marina's childhood home was destroyed in an earlier war and this motivated her to protest against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. She had earlier supported the state propaganda and was criticised for it after the protest. She admitted to burying her head in the sand and taking refuge in the daily life of friends and family but was shaken into action by the Ukraine war.