Talk show guest causes a stir on Russian television

Scandal on Russian television: The sociologist Aleksei Roschin (55) sharply criticized the war in Ukraine in the political discussion round “Mesto Vstretschi” (German: meeting place) – and not just anywhere, but on the state broadcaster NTW.

“I don’t understand how we can speak of a just world order if we destroy power plants and infrastructure in Ukraine,” said Roshin, completely shocked when it came to bombing energy infrastructure. He is immediately interrupted by moderator Andrei Norkin (54). “He hasn’t been here for a long time and had to get the words out of his head. Now he comes here and tells shit,” the moderator turned to the audience.

Roshin ignored the insult and continued to protest the war. “This is cruelty and sadism against a peaceful people! This is a war against the people,” he tried again, as the moderators kept interrupting him.

“Nobody cares what you say”

But the 55-year-old was unimpressed. “As a citizen, I am responsible for that. But I never condoned the bombing of Ukrainian power plants,” Roshin tried again to make his point. “If you don’t approve, we can all go home,” said co-moderator Ivan Trushkin, 37, condescendingly.

“We all understand you wanted to go back to television, but I’m afraid you took the wrong path. No one cares what you say anymore,” Norkin concluded. The invited panelist was ignored for the rest of the show.

Apologies after the broadcast

Roschin is considered an expert in political and social psychology. In the past he was often a guest on the talk show “Mesto Wstretschi”. But the performance on Sunday was the first in five years. Roshin posted a message on Facebook explaining the situation.

He warned the show’s producers that he disagreed with many political decisions. He was assured that this was no problem and that he would be asked at least three more questions. In the end, he got almost twenty seconds of the one-hour broadcast. The moderator Norkin then apologized to him.

He could go to jail

Roshin was not the only guest to condemn the Russian attacks in Ukraine. “The problem is that international law has been violated,” political scientist Alexander Sytin (64) said at the start of the discussion. And further: “The territorial integrity of a sovereign state was violated on February 24”. Russia has crossed borders and that is a big problem. The Ukrainian willingness to fight cannot be broken.

The case is somewhat reminiscent of Marina Ovsyannikova (44), who held up a poster during the Russian news and criticized the war. It is unclear what criminal consequences Roschin’s statements on state television will have. However, in Russia it is forbidden to call the “special operation” war. This is punishable by up to three years in prison. It is also possible that the sociologist was deliberately invited to be humiliated and to present his opinion as “wrong”. (jwg)