Putin arrest warrant gives Russian journalist hope for resistance

Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova said the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin has given her "some sort of hope" that resistance might be sparked within the country's elite.

Ms Ovsyannikova worked for the Russian state broadcaster, Channel One Russia TV, for more than 10 years before she decided to stage a protest against the country's invasion of Ukraine.

In March 2022 she interrupted a live evening news broadcast by holding up a sign saying "Stop the war, don't believe the propaganda, here you are being lied to".

Ms Ovsyannikova, who fled Russia and is now living in Paris, told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "I think that this is the first signal that the Russian elite should take notice of, and perhaps some kind of resistance will start within the Russian elite, they might plot against him.

"This is some sort of hope for me."

She added: "Over a long time I realised that Russian TV had become a brainwash.

"I also have Ukrainian roots, my father is from Ukraine. At one point it was like a huge emotional outburst, I didn't care what would happen to me."

She claimed that many working in Russia's state media share her opinions: "This propaganda is made on a very high level. People who are working in the main channels, we don't really believe it. They have similar views to me.

"No more than 10%-20% of people are pro-Putin."

Ms Ovsyannikova described her dramatic escape from Russia with her daughter in October last year: "We changed about seven cars, the last one was stuck in the mud, it was not going according to plan. I was almost screaming, thinking it was better to go back to Russia and go to prison.

"But my daughter was saying 'Get up, let's go, we have to cross the border'."

However, Ms Ovsyannikova's son did not support her stance.

"My son called me a traitor, of our family, of our country," she said.

"I can say that for millions of families in the same situation, war ruins a lot of families and this is a real catastrophe.

"Russians are being destroyed by Putin, not only by being sent to war but on a psychological level. There is an apathy everywhere and millions of people don't know what the future holds."

Ms Ovsyannikova said she hopes that she will one day return to Russia.

"I can't go back now, but I do see my future with Russia. My family is there, my mother, and they don't want to leave the country.

"I will fight for that future even outside of Russia."