Head of channel reportedly says disgruntled staffer responsible for 'hooliganism prank' will be fired
A television station in the remote Russian city of Chelyabinsk broadcast a two-minute clip criticising Vladimir Putin, a rare event in a country where television is tightly controlled.
In the footage on the local channel Eastern Express a woman is heard saying above dramatic music that Putin has "brought the criticism of all international rights organisations on Russia" and is allowing corruption on an "unimaginable scale".
"Under Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] the freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly and freedom in general are not at all welcome," she says.
Valery Shagiyev, the head of Eastern Express, was not available for comment. The local portal UralPolit.ru said the video was aired on 31 July by a disgruntled staffer, and quoted Shagiyev as saying the person responsible for the "hooliganism prank" would be fired.
The video also referred to the unsolved murders of two Putin critics, the journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the human rights campaigner Natalya Estemirova.
Putin, who returned to the Kremlin last year for a third presidential term, has used state media to prop up his support among Russians and few outlets dedicate much coverage to his critics. Activists who staged protests in Moscow and other big cities in late 2011 and 2012 are often portrayed in a negative light by the state-controlled media.
The Russian leader is criticised in the print media and on the internet, which the opposition use to organise protests. However, the Moscow Correspondent newspaper closed abruptly after reporting in 2008 that Putin had left his wife, Lyudmila, to marry the Olympic rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabayeva. Putin, who denied the report, announced on 7 June that his marriage was over.
Opposition activists accuse Putin of clamping down on dissent and say the Kremlin is worried that his popularity is falling, although polls show he remains Russia's most popular politician. Western governments have also voiced concern that democratic freedoms are being rolled back, criticism that the Kremlin has dismissed as unfounded.
