Official position/function regarding the conflict

The NTV television company, founded in 1993, for 10 years before its destruction in 2003 was considered the freest and most independent channel in Russia, even though the channel belongs to oligarchic structures. NTV dared sharp criticism of the country’s leadership and special services. In 2003, after a change of ownership, the campaign passed from the oligarch and media tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky to the ownership of JSC Gazprom-Media, owned by the state-owned Gazprom corporation. The “nationalization” of NTV became the main and final stage of the Kremlin’s operation to destroy free media. Nowadays, NTV is a tabloid media outlet that differs from other non-free federal TV channels by even more harsh criticism of the opposition and the West, scandalous broadcasts. Director-General is Alexey Zemsky.

NTV Channel is the third in the top three leaders in the propaganda information war after Channel One and VGTRK.

Interests/goals in the conflict region

NTV is an organic part of the Kremlin’s propaganda machine. The channel has been repeatedly accused of actively participating in an anti-Ukrainian media campaign organized by the Russian authorities. Since 2014, NTV has made a significant contribution to propaganda support for the occupation and annexation of Crimea, military operations in the Donbas, and the MH-17 crash.

Actions regarding the conflict

Like other pro-Kremlin media, NTV was constantly accused of distorting facts, attacks on media persons, fake reporting, and one-sided news reporting. In 2014, the facts of using the same dummy people in stories on different topics became widely known. In addition, NTV aired several anonymous films (imprint not specified), in which active participants in Euromaidan or the Ukrainian authorities (“The Princess at the Parasha,” “The Secret Life of Vitali Klitschko,” etc.), as well as the Russians who supported Ukraine (“13 Friends of the Junta,” “Another 17 Friends of the Junta”), were attacked.

Since August 2014, NTV broadcasting in Ukraine has been blocked. Later, Ukraine banned 49 Russian media professionals from entering its territory, including NTV editor-in-chief Vladimir Kulistikov. Since September 2015, NTV is on the sanction list of Ukraine. The access of NTV s correspondents to the territory of Ukraine is prohibited.