Shame in Belarus to do it – VG

In a recently broadcast edition of “The International Sawmill” on Russian channel NTV, Russian actress Yekaterina Shmakova performs a parody of a Belarusian protester.

Her character, a ruthless woman dressed in traditional Belarusian clothes, complains in the report about the little money she has received to face the protests and says that the reason she has joined the demonstrations is the desire to get closer to riot police.

– Those guys are strong. When they hug you, you feel it. By the way, I’m not married, says her flirtatious character.

Putin’s support

Protests against President Lukashenko’s harsh regime have continued since the elections in which he was declared the winner for the sixth time in a row.

In the past five weeks, widespread use of police force, torture and threats against protesters have been reported.

It emerged on Monday that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, is demanding that those responsible for abusing the opposition in Belarus are now held to account.

On the same day, Lukashenko visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi. Putin congratulated Lukashenko on winning the elections and, for his part, believes that everything went well. He has also promised military aid to Lukashenko “in accordance with the agreements”, if necessary, reports NTB.

The channel: “successful” mix

The Russian channel NTV describes the show in which Shmakova acts as a “satirical project, successfully blending politics and humor in a unique way,” writes New Times.

The actress, on the other hand, is ashamed of the sketch in which she finds herself.

– I publicly apologize to all citizens of Belarus! To the women of Belarus! I am very ashamed! Talking about this is difficult for me, and also finding an excuse for this! Sorry, Yekaterina Shmakova says in a video on her Facebook page:

In the NTV sketch, Shmakova has a Belarusian flag painted red and white on her cheek, as many of the participants in recent protests have had. When the presenter asks about the flag, she says it is because she is a fan of Spartak, the Moscow football club.

In the feature film, the actor stands in front of a background in a military man dressed in green with a helmet and rows of barbed wire.

– I’m terribly ashamed of what I did. I am ashamed to have crossed the line of my own morality. Justifying this by giving me three minutes on television is no longer relevant. I sincerely apologize to everyone. I know how much it hurts you. It was disrespectful on my part, he says in the Facebook video.

Loyal to the Kremlin

The Russian media is very uncritical of the Belarusian authorities and largely only broadcasts official information from the Belarusian authorities, Dmitry Dubrovsky, a professor of human rights and associate professor at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, recently told VG.

– It rarely happens that you mention or talk to opposition figures, but they always invite you to the very marginal and very radical, so that they quickly appear extreme, Dubrovsky believes.

The host of the International Sawmill, Tigran Keosayan, constantly pokes fun at heads of state in other parts of the world and often speaks enthusiastically of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

An analysis of 138 episodes of the show by Free Russia Forum, said Putin was mentioned up to 3,300 times, an average of 24 reviews in each episode.

Presenter Keosayan is married to the editor-in-chief of the controversial Russia Today (RT) television channel, loyal to the Kremlin. The program is also filmed at RT’s facilities, with her team, writes Forum Free Russia.