Russian journalist who staged anti-war protest joins German company
The 43-year-old will report from Ukraine and Russia, among other places, for Die Welt newspaper, as well as regularly appearing on the TV channel of the same name
The Russian journalist who became briefly world famous for storming the set of Russia's most famous news programme during a live broadcast to protest against the war in Ukraine has been given a job by a German media company.
Marina Ovsyannikova has taken a job working as a freelance correspondent for Die Welt, the Axel Springer media group announced in Berlin on Monday.
The 43-year-old will report from Ukraine and Russia, among other places, for Die Welt newspaper, as well as regularly appearing on the TV channel of the same name.
In March, Ovsyannikova - who was then a producer with Channel One of Russian state television - held up a poster protesting against Russia's war in Ukraine during the main evening news bulletin.
The poster read: "Stop the war. Don't believe the propaganda. You are being lied to here."
While the protest triggered a wave of support worldwide, the Kremlin condemned Ovsyannikova's action, and she was later arrested and fined.
'Good, courageous journalism'
The editor-in-chief of the Welt Group and spokesperson for the management of WeltN24, Ulf Poschardt, said Ovsyannikova's security would improve as a result of taking up her new job. "She gets more visibility through working for us," he said.
Poschardt denied that Die Welt was trying to send a political signal to President Putin. "We do journalism, not politics," he said. "Good, courageous, incorruptible journalism is a threat to every autocrat and dictator. It is also a threat to those who narrow the corridor of opinion in open societies like ours."
Ovsyannikova published her first opinion piece in Die Welt's online edition on Monday. Under the headline "The Russians are afraid," she spoke about the consequences of her TV appearance.
While Ovsyannikova is celebrated by many worldwide as a heroine, she is subject to hostility in her home country. Russia's judiciary has already issued an initial fine, and a second one is imminent. Among other things, she is accused of "public acts discrediting the mission of the armed forces of the Russian Federation."