Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2022
Marina Ovsyannikova's live anti-war protest
During a live Vremya broadcast, Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova appeared behind the presenter holding a sign criticizing the war and state media messaging. She was detained and subsequently faced legal action, while the incident became a prominent international example of dissent inside a Russian state-linked broadcaster.
2022
Criticism over wartime information coverage
International governments, journalists, and media-monitoring groups criticized Channel One for its coverage of Russia's war against Ukraine and characterized the network as part of the Russian government's state-media system. Related sanctions and distribution restrictions affected the channel's international media environment.
1995
Assassination of Vladislav Listyev
Vladislav Listyev, appointed general director of the newly created ORT, was murdered shortly before the channel formally began broadcasting. The unsolved killing became an enduring part of the broadcaster's early history and reflected the dangerous political and commercial environment surrounding Russian television in the 1990s.