TV Rain editor-in-chief leaving Russia

MOSCOW. March 2 (Interfax) - Tikhon Dzyadko, the editor-in-chief of the TV Rain television channel (designated by the Russian Justice Ministry as a foreign agent media outlet), said that he, as well as a number of employees of the editorial office, will leave Russia temporarily for safety reasons.

"I have indeed made a decision to leave Russia for a while. A number of employees of the editorial office have made the same decision. After the unlawful blocking of TV Rain's website and accounts on several social networks, as well as threats against some employees, it is clear that the personal safety of some of us is at risk," Dzyadko wrote on his Telegram channel.

TV Rain will appeal against all decisions made in relation to it and continue working, partially remotely, he said. "Our journalists did not violate Russian laws, therefore, there are no grounds for the blocking," he said.

At the same time, there are no plans to broadcast from another country, Dzyadko said.

Russia's telecommunications watchdog Roskomnadzor blocked TV Rain's website at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office on March 1. The website of the Ekho Moskvy radio station was also blocked and its broadcast in Russia stopped. The Prosecutor General's Office accused the media outlets of circulating fake news about the situation in Ukraine and spreading calls for extremism. Their pages on Russian social networks were blocked as well.