Marina Ovsyannikova's bravery is breathtaking. On Monday evening, she interrupted a state-run Russian broadcast with an anti-war poster. As the seated broadcaster continued to read, loudly, trying to drown-out the truth-telling Ms. Ovsyannikova, Ms. Ovsyannikova radiated energy behind her, the poster displaying news the West has been seeing for the last 19 days but that so many Russians don't.
It takes tremendous guts to do what she did--to tell the truth when she could be thrown in prison for years--or much worse.
I hope she gives other Russians the courage to commit similar acts of truth-telling. I hope the West stops trying to appease Putin and works to remove his power to wage war, to brutalize, to destroy.
In War: How Conflict Shaped Us (London: Profile, 2021) Margaret MacMillan remarks: "Power alone without some support from the people cannot ensure the survival of Leviathans." Putin's support is slipping. Marina Ovsyannikova's act of defiance won't be the last.
In the final book of the Hunger Games trilogy--Mockingjay--the good guys manage to disrupt the propagandized news broadcasts coming from the capitol--and deliver real resistance news. An electronic infiltration of state-run Russian TV sounds like a lovely idea--imagine Russians who have always trusted Putin seeing on-the-ground footage of Russian fire hitting pregnant women and children. Imagine more. Imagine the infiltration revealing Putin and his generals saying this:"Let's ask Xi Jinping for enough ammunition to pulverize the Ukrainians--if they won't throw rose petals at my incoming tanks, let's scorch earth them." Putin's given the Ukraine a choice: marry me or I'll kill you. Let's make sure Russians glued to state TV know that.
Imagine ordinary Russians having access to that information--imagine all of us having it--topped with one of Zelensky's heroic broadcasts.
Imagine.
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