YouTube video hosting blocked the channels “Soviet Television. Gosteleradiofond” and “Soviet Radio. Gosteleradiofond.
When trying to view content, a message appears that “the channel is not available for viewing in your country.”
The Gosteleradiofond on Sunday, March 13, on VKontakte officially confirmed that the accounts were blocked on the night of March 11-12, and noted that they were working on options “which, under the current conditions, will again make our materials available.”
Earlier, on March 12, YouTube blocked the RIA Novosti channels and radio Sputnik and Sputnik Near Abroad, owned by the Rossiya Segodnya media group.
On the same day, the platform blocked the channels of Izvestia MIC, REN TV and Channel Five. The editors of Izvestia believe that the blocking of our materials is direct censorship aimed at manipulating the information agenda and public opinion.
In this regard, Izvestia, REN TV and Channel Five transferred their video archive to Rutube. The content will be available on the REN TV platforms, the Izvestia channel, Open Text with Anatoly Wasserman, Dobrov on Air, as well as the news Channel Five and the main Channel Five.
On March 11, the leadership of the YouTube video hosting announced that it would immediately block the channels of Russian media that are funded by the state. The publication also notes that content about the special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which “violates the policy” of the video hosting, is being removed from the site. We are talking about attempts to “downplay” the significance of documented “violent events”.
Economic and political sanctions against Russia were imposed by Western countries after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 the start of an operation to protect civilians in the Donbass. A few days earlier, the situation in the region escalated due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. The authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics announced the evacuation of residents to Russian territory, and also turned to Moscow for help. On February 21, Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of the DNR and LNR.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.