Independent Russian TV Station Reportedly Near Closure

Dozhd TV has been under pressure ever since it conducted a controversial poll on the Leningrad Blockade. (file photo)

The co-owner of an independent television station in Russia says it is close to shutting down after another television operator ended its agreement with the company.

Aleksandr Vinokurov, who is joint-owner of Dozhd TV, said on February 3 that the decision by Tricolor TV to stop broadcasting Dozhd "is tantamount to a shutdown."

Dozhd has been under pressure after conducting a poll among its viewers last month that asked if the city of Leningrad should have surrendered to the Nazis in World War II instead of enduring a 900-day siege that saw more than 1 million people die.

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Russian politicians and other prominent figures slammed the poll and called for Dozhd to be taken off the air.

Since the poll, several television stations have announced they are canceling their contracts with Dozhd.


Based on reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASS