In light of the recent distant discussion between the Commission on Television and Radio and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Armenia on the broadcasting of Russian TV channels on the Armenian public multiplex, the results of the media monitoring carried out by the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression and aimed at identifying publications that discredit the European values, gain particular significance. Without going into details of the quantitative indicators, we should only note that among the TV companies broadcast in Armenia, the largest number of pieces with anti-European narrative was identified in the news and current affairs programmes of Russian “RTR-Planeta” channel. There is much more of this “good” here than on the air of all the Armenian TV channels combined.
But the main thing is not even the quantity, but the content itself, where manipulations, aggression and hatred reach the level that one cannot but wonder “why would the Armenian viewer and any viewer in general need this?” For example, in the talk show “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov,” people go as far as to present fascism as part of the European culture. And not only does the anchor not try to call for decency, but also, on occasion, resorts to manipulations on the same topic. Thus, speaking about fascism and massacres, Solovyov puts the blame on the whole Europe: “… This was allowed by civilized Europe, which gladly sent her citizens to slaughter… Has Europe repented of that? No!” (“RTR-Planeta”, “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov”, issue of February 12, 2020). During the same programme, Solovyov’s thinking aloud leads him to discriminatory statements like: “… Only Soviet people and Jews were capable of rebellion, Western people cracked … they immediately gave up. While Soviet people and Jews were capable of resisting.” Of course, it would be naive to believe that Solovyov does not know about the French resistance, about the German anti-fascist movement, about the partisan struggle of other peoples. But he does not need to remember this: his task is to denigrate Europe and Europeans, to discredit them.
In general, fascism is Solovyov’s favorite topic. And here, among other experts, he does have a favorite public figure from Israel, Jacob Kedmi, who claims: “Mein Kampf – this is the European values. Nazism is the quintessence of the European values that Europe has spread in the world throughout its entire history” (“RTR-Planeta”, “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov”, issue of November 20, 2019). I don’t know the TV viewers’ opinion, but Solovyov obviously liked this manipulation so much that a week later he invited Kedmi to the studio again, and this time the Israeli public figure said: “I repeat and will repeat: Nazism is a creation of the European civilization based on the peoples’ inequality” (“RTR-Planeta”, “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov”, issue of November 26, 2019).
Lots of similar examples can also be provided on other topics, which Solovyov and his colleagues from other programmes of RTR-Planeta TV channel present to the viewer. But, probably, this is quite enough to have an idea of how the leaders of the Russian propaganda disseminate half-truths and outright lies, hate speech and various manipulations.
If all this were intended exclusively for the Russian audience, the question would not be so relevant to us. But the problem is that “RTR-Planeta” is broadcast in Armenia on the only public multiplex and is available to the viewers of the whole country – absolutely free of charge, by the way. At the same time, neither the local laws nor the regulatory functions of the Commission on Television and Radio apply to the Russian TV company: RTR-Planeta broadcasts in Armenia on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement.
It is clear that in confrontation with the West, Russia is solving its propaganda issues, unfortunately not only within the country. But again: why should the Armenian viewer be brain washed by the Russian broadcasters and be a victim of various insinuations? After all, the very intergovernmental agreement obviously does not imply that RTR-Planeta, through its news and current affairs programmes should disorient, mislead the Armenian audience, forming a wrong image of events, phenomena, entire countries and peoples.
And here they can argue, saying “let them not watch, if they don’t like it”. But everyone knows: propaganda is like an annoying fly – you drive it away, but it still keeps bothering. Therefore, serious solutions must be sought – perhaps even at intergovernmental level.
Ashot Melikyan,
Media expert
