Who Is Marina Ovsyannikova? Russian Editor Detained For Holding No War Placard During Live Show

Marina Ovsyannikova, a Russian television news editor, recently ran into the frame during one of the live segments and stood behind the anchor holding a sign with the words "no war" written in bold on it; she was later held by the Ostankino Police Station in Moscow. The placard also had a message of opposition to Russia's war with Ukraine.

The incident occurred during a live broadcast of the nightly news on state-run Channel One on March 14, 2018. Ovsyannikova ran into the frame with the placard and shouted, “Stop the war. No to war.” The sign held by Ovsyannikova read, “Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here. The sign also had a line in English, which read, “Russians against the war.”

Meanwhile, the anchor continued to read the news off the teleprompter louder than usual in order to drown out Ovsyannikova's slogan. But she stayed firm and made her point clear to the millions of people watching the broadcast in Russia and around the world. The channel moved to a different report after a few seconds to remove the demonstrator from the screen.

Her message even made it to Ukraine's war-torn president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked Ovsyannikova for her bravery.

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Here is what we know of Marina Ovsyannikova:

Marina Ovsyannikova is a 44-year-old Russian television news editor who worked for Channel One Russia. Ovsyannikova's mother is Russian, and her father is Ukrainian. According to reports, Ovsyannikova earned a degree from Kuban State University and in 2005, a graduate degree from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. After a tenure at another state television network, Kuban TV, she worked for Channel One for several years. It's unclear how long she's been at Channel One, Russia's state run channel with 250 million people worldwide. According to her social media pages, she lives in Moscow and has two children.

Before taking to national TV, Ovsyannikova recorded a message posted on social media. "My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian and they were never enemies. What's happening in Ukraine is a crime and Russia is the aggressor. The responsibility for this aggression lies with one man: Vladimir Putin," she said.

Police from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs detained Ovsyannikova. The reason cited was her "public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian Federation's Armed Forces in order to protect the Russian Federation's interests and citizens and maintain international peace and security," according to the TASS news agency.

Despite claims that she is being held at Moscow's Ostankino Police Station, her lawyer, Dmitry Zakhvatov, told the news source that he is unable to contact his client.

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