<ul class="summary-list"><li>Photos purport to show leading Russian state TV host <keyword id="13801685" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dmitry-kiselyov" source="Orion">Dmitry Kiselyov</keyword> on vacation at a luxury Dubai resort.</li><li>Images of Kiselyov, known as "Putin's mouthpiece," were posted to Telegram by an account tracking Russian censorship.</li></ul>Photos posted to social media purport to show President <keyword id="11899444" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vladimir-putin" source="Orion">Vladimir Putin</keyword>'s chief propagandist, Dmitry Kiselyov, vacationing at five-star resort in Dubai hours after threatening the West with a nuclear strike on TV.Several photos of Kiselyov, the lead host on the state-run Russia-1 network who is known as "Putin's mouthpiece," <a href="https://t.me/moscow_laundry/4475">were posted to Telegram on Monday by Moscow Laundry</a>, an account documenting <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword> government censorship.Kiselyov arrived in Dubai on Monday and has plans to visit boutiques and eat at Michelin-starred restaurants, the account said, without giving further details.Kiselyov is staying at the Jumeirah al-Qasr hotel, Moscow Laundry said, posting a photo of him on the premises with a woman closely resembling his wife, Maria. Evidence of his apparent trip to Dubai emerged just hours after Kiselyov <a href="https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1520846423629213699">warned on his Sunday "News of the World" show that the UK could face a nuclear strike from Russia</a> that would "turn whatever is left of them into radioactive desert." "Why do they threaten vast Russia with nuclear weapons while they are only a small island? The island is so small that one Sarmat missile is enough to drown it once and for all," Mr Kiselyov said, referring <a href="https://www.insider.com/russia-test-fired-new-icbm-threaten-the-west-amid-ukraine-war-2022-4">to an intercontinental ballistic missile</a> that Russia recently test-fired. It is not clear if the show was live or prerecorded.Kiselyov's remarks came in response to UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-outgunned-and-outnumbered-by-nato-uk-minister-says/">telling local radio that Russia's nuclear threats</a> did not faze him. Since invading <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword> in February, Russia <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-threatens-nuclear-weapons-if-sweden-and-finland-join-nato-2022-4">has repeatedly raised</a> the threat of a nuclear attack."I don't feel rattled. We have strong armed forces and a nuclear deterrent and we're part of a NATO partnership of 30 nations who outgun him, outnumber him and have potentially all the capabilities at our disposal," Wallace said of Putin. "I don't fear him, and I think we should be very grateful in this country that we have a nuclear deterrent."Kiselyov was presumably able to travel to Dubai as the United Arab Emirates <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-oligarchs-try-to-escape-sanctions-take-jets-yachts-dubai-2022-3">has not introduced any sanctions</a> linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Despite his proximity to Putin and unlike <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sanctions-ukraine-invasion-economic-damage-putin-russian-elites-banks-2022-2">numerous Russian institutions and businessmen</a>, Kiselyov has not been sanctioned by the US. He <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R0284&amp;from=PL">was previously sanctioned by the European Union</a> and <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1071300/Russia.pdf">the UK in 2014</a> following Russia's annexation of Crimea.The UK has been especially vocal in its support for Ukraine, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson visiting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv last month and later promising $130 million in additional military support.

Photos appear to show Putin's top propagandist at 5-star Dubai resort hours after threatening a nuclear strike on the UK

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russian TV anchor Dmitry Kiselyov boasted of the health of Russia's economy. </li><li>He said Russia had low unemployment and was doing better than Ukraine. </li></ul>TV host Dmitry Kiselyov, a bullish ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Sunday boasted about the health of Russia's economy 15 months after the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.In an edition of his show on Russian state broadcaster Rossiya 1, Kiselyov said that it's "always important to visualise the overall proportions" and specifically "the proportions of the Ukrainian economy and how they've changed over the past year," reported BBC Monitoring 's Francis Scarr. "This is especially important in comparison with Russian figures," he said. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1657839596233973761">May 14, 2023</a></blockquote>The spin doctor, known as "Putin's mouthpiece", went on to point to a number of factors he claimed showed that Russia was economically performing better than Ukraine. He omitted how Russia's invasion has decimated the Ukrainian economy, and boasted that in Russia "unemployment is at an historic low."Kiselyov didn't mention key facts that point to a more worrying economic and political reality for the Kremlin. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/russian-economy-record-worker-shortage-sanction-ukraine-war-labor-exodus-2023-4">According to economic data in April, Russia is facing a record</a> labor shortage, and thus low unemployment, largely due to the war in Ukraine.Hundreds of thousands of Russian men fled the country after the invasion, many of whom were working in high-skilled roles, <a href="https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1655085083299127296?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UK military intelligence said last week. </a>The labor shortage has been exacerbated by the mass mobilisation of working age men to fight in Ukraine, where the Russian military has suffered steep casualty rates, reports say.In March, the country was losing an estimated 776 soldiers a day, which dropped to 568 in April, according to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-casualties-down-30-percent-ukraine-still-500-day-uk-2023-4?r=US&amp;IR=T">UK intelligence. </a>Around <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conscription-law-change-sign-russia-preparing-for-long-ukraine-war-2023-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">300,00 men were drafted into the Russian military last September,</a> and a new wave of mobilizations is considered likely amid continued setbacks. Added to that is Russia's already declining and ageing population. In an admission of the labor shortages in key sectors of the economy, the Kremlin excluded men working in professions including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/men-white-collar-jobs-banking-it-wont-drafted-fight-ukraine-2022-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">banking and IT from last year's draft. </a>Russia's GDP declined by 2.1% in 2022, which was better than some analysts had predicted in response to western sanctions, and was mainly fueled by high oil and gas prices, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/putin-looks-positives-russias-consumer-demand-industrial-output-slide-2023-03-29/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters said. </a>But steep inflation meant that disposable incomes fell by 1% in 2022, and are just beginning to increase again, according to the report. Economic analysts told <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-economy-is-starting-to-come-undone-431a2878" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal in March</a> that oil and gas prices would likely fall this year, damaging the Russian economy, which was likely entering a long phase of decline.

A Kremlin propagandist boasted of Russia's low unemployment rate, not mentioning it's partly because it suffered so many casualties in Ukraine

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Russian propagandist showed a simulation of how the <keyword id="11897975" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uk" source="Orion">UK</keyword> might meet its end in a <keyword id="12095893" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nuclear" source="Orion">nuclear</keyword> strike.</li><li>"Just one launch, Boris, and England is gone ... Why play with us?" he said on a state broadcast.</li></ul>A Russian propagandist has presented on state TV a simulation of a hypothetical nuclear strike that would wipe out the UK and <keyword id="11956100" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ireland" source="Orion">Ireland</keyword>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-propagandist-dmitry-kiselyov-dubai-resort-photos-after-nuclear-threat-2022-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dmitry Kiselyov</a>, a propaganda figure allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was seen in a <a href="https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1520846423629213699" target="_blank" rel="noopener">May 1</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/03/russia-ireland-nuclear-weapons-video-ukraine/?utm_source=feedly&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=wp_homepage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broadcast</a> of "<keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">News</keyword> of the World" show narrating how the UK might be destroyed by a nuclear strike delivered either by air or sea."Just one launch, Boris, and England is gone," Kiselyov said over a computer-generated simulation, referring to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-says-uk-indifferent-to-fate-of-vladimir-putin-2022-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">British Prime Minister Boris Johnson</a>. "Once and for all. Why play with us?""It actually seems like they're raving on the British Isles. Why threaten never-ending <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword> with nuclear weapons when you're on an island, which, you know, is so small?" <a href="https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1520839304062373892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1520839304062373892%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fworld%2F2022%2F05%2F03%2Frussia-ireland-nuclear-weapons-video-ukraine%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kiselyov</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/otregub/status/1521067795852804096?s=21&amp;t=YqHFyn0DTQRNTaILuim6cw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said.</a> He added that "just one <a href="https://www.insider.com/russia-test-fired-new-icbm-threaten-the-west-amid-ukraine-war-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sarmat missile</a>" would be "sufficient to sink it once and for all." Another way to "put England onto the seabed" would be to use Russia's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-doomsday-weapon-submarine-nuke-2018-4">"Poseidon" underwater drone</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1520839304062373892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1520839304062373892%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fworld%2F2022%2F05%2F03%2Frussia-ireland-nuclear-weapons-video-ukraine%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kiselyov</a> noted."It approaches the target at a one-kilometer depth at 200 kilometers per hour. There is no way to stop this underwater drone. The warhead on it is up to 100 megatons," he claimed.<a href="https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1520839304062373892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1520839304062373892%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fworld%2F2022%2F05%2F03%2Frussia-ireland-nuclear-weapons-video-ukraine%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kiselyov</a> then posited that the "explosion of this thermonuclear torpedo" off the UK's coast would raise a tsunami up to 500 meters high. "Such a water squall is also a carrier of extreme doses of radiation," he said. At the same time, the simulation showed a green "wave" representing radioactive material washing over a map of the UK and Ireland."Having passed over the British Isles, it will turn what may be left of them into a radioactive desert, unfit for anything for a long time," Kiselyov said. John Everard, the UK's former ambassador to Belarus, told <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0503/1295808-ireland-russia-reaction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RTE</a> that he did not believe Russia had a weapon that could wipe out the UK and Ireland, per the graphic on Russian TV. "I would urge everybody just to keep calm. By all means, if you feel strongly about it, make your things clear to the Russians. But can we please remember this is just a television mock-up," Everard said, per the outlet."The Russians do not have this weapon. I'll say that again, they do not have this weapon," he added, per RTE.Johnson <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime-minister-johnson-met-with-president-zelenskyy-in-kyiv-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv in April</a> and promised the UK would send armored vehicles and anti-ship missiles to aid it in its fight against the Russians. In the same month, Johnson <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-troops-training-uk-use-armored-vehicles-boris-johnson-2022-4">also said</a> that some Ukrainian troops are being trained in the UK to use those armored vehicles. Last week, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/danger-world-war-3-serious-real-says-russian-foreign-minister-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said the possibility of nuclear conflict breaking out due to the war in Ukraine was "serious" and "real." </a> In 2018, Putin also threatened to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-said-2018-would-use-nuclear-weapons-if-russia-attacked-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unleash nuclear weapons if the country were attacked</a>.

Russian propagandist makes state broadcast threatening the UK and Ireland with nuclear strike: 'Just one launch, Boris, and England is no more'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>n state TV claimed Sunday that UK royals want war between <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword> and Russia as a distraction.</li><li>The host made a far-fetched link between the conflict and scandals around Princes Charles and Andrew.</li></ul>A far-fetched segment on Russian state TV claimed that the British royal family is advocating for a war between Russia and Ukraine to help distract from its domestic troubles.Dmitry Kiselyov, whose "News of the Week" show <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBaF1QKTvN8">aired Sunday night on the Rossiya-1 state news channel</a>, said the Queen, <keyword id="11969343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="prince-charles" source="Orion">Prince Charles</keyword>, and <keyword id="11928261" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="prince-andrew" source="Orion">Prince Andrew</keyword> "really want to distract attention, even if it's war."Kiselyov alleged that a war was being sought by the royals in order to distract from unwelcome news: namely <a href="https://www.insider.com/prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre-reach-settlement-in-sexual-assault-lawsuit-2022-2">Prince Andrew's legal settlement</a> of Virginia Giuffre's sexual-assault case against him and a <a href="https://www.insider.com/british-police-launch-investigation-into-prince-charles-charity-2022-2">police investigation into Prince Charles' charity</a>.Kiselyov said, per a translation by Insider:"The Royal Family is desperately in need of distraction, as Scotland Yard uncovered that the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, has been giving away high honors, titles, and even citizenships to a foreign businessman with an easy-to-remember name, Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz."Right now, the court is not commenting on the police investigation but really wants to distract attention, even if it's war. And annoyingly, the Queen's beloved son Prince Andrew agreed to use mommy's money: $16 million, to settle a US court case with the victim of his rape. The 95-year-old Queen will pay."The war in Donbas [eastern Ukraine] in this context is much more interesting to her."Steve Rosenberg, the BBC's Moscow correspondent, <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCSteveR/status/1495449160753070080">tweeted about the segment</a>, which he described as an "alternative reality."As of Monday, none of the British royals had commented on events in Ukraine, which is surrounded by around 150,000 Russian troops, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220219-russian-troops-poised-to-strike-ukraine-us-defence-chief">according to US estimates.</a>Both Ukraine and Western governments say Russia is on the brink of launching a war. President <keyword id="99719" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="joe-biden" source="Orion">Joe Biden</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-convinced-of-russia-invasion-into-kyiv-in-coming-days-2022-2">said Friday</a> that he is "convinced" Russian President <keyword id="11899444" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vladimir-putin" source="Orion">Vladimir Putin</keyword> will launch an attack.But Kiselyov, who is often called "Putin's mouthpiece" by Russia watchers, gave his Russian audience the opposite picture: that Russia was urgently seeking peace as other nations sought conflict.Despite the Queen being the formal head of the British military and having a deep ceremonial connection to it, she and her family have no say in defense decisions, which are taken by the UK government.By the time the segment was broadcast, the royal narrative in the UK and the rest of the world had changed dramatically for a different reason: the announcement that <a href="https://www.insider.com/queen-elizabeth-ii-positive-covid-19-buckingham-palace-2022-2">the Queen had tested positive for COVID-19.</a><a href="https://news.sky.com/story/mondays-national-newspaper-front-pages-12427754">Most British newspapers on Monday</a> devoted significantly more attention to that story than events in Ukraine, though it remained a prominent topic.In his broadcast Sunday, Kiselyov claimed, too, that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wanted a distraction because of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-survives-leadership-threats-why-how-much-longer-2022-2">his own leadership problems.</a>He also listed Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as pro-war because of the economic crisis in his country, and claimed that France's President Emmanuel Macron would benefit from war while seeking reelection.All three leaders have said they are against a war and have made various interventions to encourage deescalation. Biden on Sunday <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-putin-agree-principle-summit-macron-says-2022-2">agreed in principle to meet for talks with Putin alongside Macron,</a> who has emerged as a conduit for diplomacy between Russia and the US.

Russian state TV claims the Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince Andrew are pushing for war in Ukraine to distract from scandals at home

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russian state media outlets are calling on President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> to seek asylum in Moscow to dodge potential prosecution in the US when he leaves office, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-media-wants-moscow-to-grant-asylum-to-trump-to-help-him-dodge-prosecutions?ref=wrap">The Daily Beast reported</a>.</li><li>Trump and his businesses are facing investigations by prosecutors in New York and Washington, DC, and he has expressed concerns about being indicted.</li><li>Olga Skabeeva, a host on the state-owned Russia-1 network, said asylum could solve Trump's problems.</li><li>Igor Korotchenko, a member of the Defense Ministry's public council, added, "But let him not simply arrive to Rostov or elsewhere, but also transfer his capital here and finally build his famous Trump City somewhere in our New Moscow."</li><li>Dmitry Kiselyov, one of <keyword id="6358826" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword>'s most prominent Kremlin-aligned TV hosts, said the only way Trump could save himself is with a self-pardon.</li></ul>Russian state media outlets are suggesting that President Donald Trump seek asylum in their country to avoid prosecution when he leaves the White House, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-media-wants-moscow-to-grant-asylum-to-trump-to-help-him-dodge-prosecutions?ref=wrap">The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday</a>.Trump, who is to leave office on January 20, and his organization are the focus of multiple investigations <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-new-york-prosecutors-cy-vance-letitia-james-manhattan-da-2020-12">by prosecutors in New York and Washington, DC</a>.Olga Skabeeva, who hosts the "60 Minutes" show on the state-owned Russia-1 network, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ildNjAJoS0o&amp;featureture">said on December 3</a> that Trump's predicament was "very serious" and that he should consider asylum in Russia.Igor Korotchenko, a Russian military expert who sits on the Defense Ministry's public council, said on the same show that "Russia can offer political asylum to the persecuted former president of the United States, Donald Trump," according to The Daily Beast."But let him not simply arrive to Rostov or elsewhere, but also transfer his capital here and finally build his famous Trump City somewhere in our New Moscow," he added.<div type="image" title="trump pentagon" height="2736" width="5472" msid="79662682" hostid="261"></div>Trump is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/21/why-russians-still-prefer-trump/">popular in Russia</a> and is often referred to by state media as "our Donald," "Trumpusha," and "Comrade Trump," according to The Daily Beast.To that end, several prominent state media outlets have sympathized with the president's plight and even blamed Democrats for it.The state-run RIA Novosti news agency <a href="https://ria.ru/20201205/plevok-1587673082.html">said on December 5</a> that impending lawsuits were the Democratic Party's way of "spitting at Trump on his way out."Dmitry Kiselyov, one of Russia's most prominent Kremlin-aligned TV hosts, <a href="https://vesti7.ru/video/2247580/episode/06-12-2020/">said on Sunday</a> that to survive, Trump must pardon himself.The president is reportedly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-offering-pardons-people-who-dont-even-want-them-report-2020-12">considering going on a pardoning spree</a>. And late last month, he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-shares-tweet-saying-pardon-self-rest-of-his-admin-2020-11">retweeted</a> a post from a Republican ally that called on him to pardon himself - though that would be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/can-trump-pardon-himself-2020-11">a risky move that would not fully protect him</a> from prosecution.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-new-york-prosecutors-cy-vance-letitia-james-manhattan-da-2020-12">Meet Donald Trump's new nemeses: The 15 prosecutors and investigators from New York who are primed to pepper the ex-president with history-making civil and criminal probes</a>It's not entirely clear whether the Russian media outlets are serious about their calls for Trump to seek asylum in Russia, but The Daily Beast described the outlets as "a reliable barometer of the mood at the Kremlin."During <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-impeachment-major-players-timeline-what-comes-next-2019-11">the impeachment saga</a> in 2019, some members of Russia's state media floated the idea of offering Trump a new home."Should we get another apartment in Rostov ready?" Vladimir Soloviev, a prominent host on Russia-1, asked in a December 2019 episode of his show, alluding to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29761799">Russia's rehoming</a> of the Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/russias-state-tv-calls-trump-their-agent?ref=home">according to The Daily Beast</a>.Trump has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ny-investigations-ag-james-openly-worrying-prosecuted-pardon-2020-12">expressed concerns about being indicted</a> in New York after he leaves office."Now I hear that these same people that failed to get me in Washington have sent every piece of information to New York so that they can try to get me there," he said on December 2.<div type="image" title="Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)" height="1098" width="2196" msid="79662685" hostid="261"></div>Though Joe Biden won the US election, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-will-not-accept-biden-election-win-trump-legal-processes-2020-11?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">the Kremlin has said</a> Russian President <keyword id="43440" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vladimir-Putin">Vladimir Putin</keyword> will not congratulate him until all legal challenges to the election result have been resolved.All of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-lawsuits-election-results-2020-11">lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign and its allies</a> seeking to overturn vote counts in several states <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/29/trump-election-fraud-lawsuit-defeats">have failed</a>.Edward Snowden, the US whistleblower who leaked information about National Security Agency operations, was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-leaks-timeline-2016-9">granted political asylum in Russia</a> in 2013. He <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/02/edward-snowden-applies-for-russian-citizenship-for-sake-of-future-son">said last month</a> that he'd applied for Russian citizenship.

Russian state media are calling for Trump - or 'Trumpusha' - to get asylum in their country when he leaves the White House so he can save himself from prosecution

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russian state media is renewing its disdain for President-elect <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/president-elect-joe-biden-hires-all-female-communications-staff-2020-11">Joe Biden's new White House press secretary Jennifer Psaki</a>.</li><li>While serving as a spokeswoman for the Obama White House and State Department between 2014 and 2016, Psaki heavily criticized <keyword id="6358826" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword>'s conduct in Ukraine and Syria.</li><li>She also made a series of minor but embarrassing slip-ups and misnomers at the time, prompting Russian media to scrutinize and mock her heavily.</li><li>One major broadcaster launched a comedy show called "Psaki at Night," and a famous news presenter coined the term "Psaking" to mean ignorance.</li><li>Last week, a Russian politician said it was "alarming" that Biden would hire Psaki, and a prominent state TV host called her a "a professional woman with a sense of humor, who, however, did not always understand that she was joking."</li></ul>Russian politicians and state media are renewing their attacks on <keyword id="5333004" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jennifer-Psaki">Jennifer Psaki</keyword>, President-elect <keyword id="99719" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Joe-Biden">Joe Biden</keyword>'s new White House press secretary, who was ruthlessly mocked for a series of gaffes during the Obama administration.Psaki, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/president-elect-joe-biden-hires-all-female-communications-staff-2020-11">part of the all-woman communications team announced by Biden</a> on November 29, was former President Barack Obama's communications director from 2009 to 2011 and press secretary between 2015 to 2016. In the intervening years she was also a State Department spokesperson.But Psaki's attacks on the Kremlin over its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whats-happening-in-ukraine-2014-2">2014 incursion into Ukraine and Crimea</a> and war <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-putin-obama-russia-iran-syria-crimea-2014-3">in Syria</a> - and a series of embarrassing slip-ups and misnomers made alongside them - made her famous across Russia."We are looking forward to Jen's return," Vladimir Solovyev, a prominent TV host on Russia 1, <a href="https://vz.ru/news/2020/11/30/1073098.html">said on November 30.</a> "Psaki is a professional woman with a sense of humor, who, however, did not always understand that she was joking."Elena Panina, a politician sitting on the parliamentary International Affairs Committee, <a href="http://interkomitet.com/about-the-committee/blogs/elena-panina/elena-panina-says-psaki-s-return-to-the-white-house-is-alarming/">told RIA Novosti news agency</a> on December 1 that it was "naturally alarming" that Psaki could "occupy high government posts in a nuclear superpower."<div type="image" title="psaki Dmitry Kiselyov" height="630" width="1261" msid="79608178" hostid="261"></div>During the latter half of Obama's second term, Psaki was a national joke on Russian state TV and social media.In May 2014, Dmitry Kiselyov - one of Russia's most well-known Kremlin-linked news presenters - <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/maxseddon/russian-state-media-is-suddenly-really-really-obsessed-with">popularized the term "Psaking"</a> to mean exposing ignorance.Psaki, then a State Department spokesperson, had been caught using a phrase she didn't understand in a press conference. Psaki, who said "carousel voting" was evident in Ukraine, said she didn't know what it meant when pressed to explain by a journalist."People say Psaking when someone makes a dogmatic statement about something they don't understand, mixes facts up, and then doesn't apologize," Kiselyov said on his show on Russia 1 at the time.Shortly after, Russian state media outlet RT <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bg9X0eNFds">ran a story headlined</a>: "State Dept.'s Psaki can't explain her beef with Ukraine" and later <a href="https://www.rt.com/russia/508251-biden-psaki-press-secretary/">published a blooper reel</a> of Psaki's slip-ups and mistakes.Psaki "seems to be reporters' favorite spokesperson to laugh at," RT said.In January 2015, NTV, a major Russian broadcaster, launched a daily sketch show called "Psaki at Night" in which host Mikhail Gendelev <a href="https://mashable.com/2015/02/19/psaki-at-night/?europe=true">mocked Western diplomats and officials while sitting in front of a portrait of Psaki</a>.After Biden announced Psaki would be joining his White House last week, Kiselyov used his TV show to bring up the time that Psaki mistakenly said that gas flows into Russia from western Europe, <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/12/04/whos-afraid-of-jennifer-psaki-a72244">The Moscow Times reported.</a>Kiselyov also said Psaki would have sent the US Navy to challenge Russia in Belarus if she had the power.Psaki addressed the historic trolling and abuse in a December 1 tweet following her announcement as press secretary."For anyone who hasn't been the target of Russian propaganda ... the purpose is to discredit powerful messengers and to spread misinformation to confuse the public," she wrote, tagging former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton."Anyone who repeats it is (unwitting or not) simply a puppet of the propaganda machine," she added.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1333914806311596033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2020</a></blockquote>Minyon Moore, a member of Biden's transition advisory board, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-hires-all-female-senior-communications-team/2020/11/29/5b60b58e-3277-11eb-a997-1f4c53d2a747_story.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=wp_politicspolitics">told The Washington Post</a> that Psaki was an experienced operator who people could trust."When she steps to that mic, she brings not only a sense of gravitas, but fact, transparency, and honesty. And even a sense of comfort," she said.Criticism of Psaki's appointment has also come from inside the US, and mainly from the Trump camp.On November 30, Matt Wolking, a deputy communications director for the Trump campaign, sought to mock Psaki by tweeting a 2014 image of her wearing a pink furry hat with a hammer and sickle badge on the front, while posing for a photo with Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1333241066984759296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2020</a></blockquote>

Russian state media is gleefully reviving its hatred for Biden's new press secretary Jen Psaki, whom they ruthlessly mocked for a series of slip-ups during the Obama administration

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f8e41f0ba0b81c008b4d17-1202/screen%20shot%202017-04-20%20at%20114339%20am.png" alt="Kiselyov" />YouTube Screenshot (Россия 24)Kiselyov leads the Russian state-owned Rossiya Segodnya news network.The head of Russia's top state news network said Sunday that President Donald Trump is worse than North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, less than three months after commending him for rising to power in "his own way."News anchor Dmitry Kiselyov <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH78CxnJdFQ">laid out a list of bullet points</a> on Russia's most widely watched news show for why Trump is worse than the North Korean dictator.Admitting the dangers of both, Kiselyov ultimately called Trump the more dangerous of the two on the state-owned news network Rossiya Segodnya (translated as Russia Today).The criticisms included Trump's unwillingness to negotiate, the US's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/world-leaders-are-hailing-trumps-syria-strike-but-not-russia-2017-4">military strike</a> against Assad's government in Syria (while, according to Kiselyov, Jong-Un never went beyond threats and nuclear tests) and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/despite-talk-of-a-military-strike-trumps-armada-was-a-long-way-from-korea/2017/04/18/e8ef4237-e26a-4cfc-b5e9-526c3a17bd41_story.html?utm_term=.087c2367118c">rumors</a> of a military armada in the Korean peninsula."In this way, Trump is more impulsive and unpredictable than Kim Jong-Un," Kiselyov said. The final knock against Trump came when Kiselyov quipped that, unlike Ivanka, Jong-Un's four-year-old daughter does not yet have her own office in the North Korean equivalent of the White House."Russia's propaganda chief says Trump is now worse than North Korea's Kim Jong-Un," <a href="https://twitter.com/Alexey__Kovalev/status/854298441027129344">tweeted Alexey Kovalev</a>, a The Moscow Times journalist who <a href="https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/russian-tv-to-trump-ts-over-were-with-kim-jong-un-now-57761">first broke</a> the story about Kiselyov's double take.Kiselyov, who once <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/russian-burn-gay-hearts-demagogue-dmitry-kiselyov-calls-civil-partnerships-shock-u-turn-1508666">said</a> that the organs of deceased LGBT Russians should be burned instead of donated for transplants, is frequently <a href="https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/the-kremlins-new-chief-propagandist-30379">called a propagandist</a> both locally and in the West and has long been known for his divisive rhetoric and pro-Kremlin parroting.But Kiselyov's criticism has seemed particularly jarring because he heartily heaped praise on Trump only a few months prior. Months before the US Presidential election in November, Dmitry Kiselyov repeatedly praised Trump on the same "News of the Week" show, <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/17/meet-the-russian-tv-host-who-loves-donald-trump/">calling him</a> a "rising star" and "anti-establishment" candidate who would bring necessary change to American politics."He played by the rules and won the Presidency," Kiselyov said on air a few days after the November election.Kiselyov last offered enthusiastic support <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/17/meet-the-russian-tv-host-who-loves-donald-trump/">on January 23</a>, when he welcomed Trump into office and congratulated him for not using the words democracy or NATO during the speech."The guests in the VIP seats had goosebumps," Kiselyov said on air.Now that Trump been in office for few months and launched a strike against Assad's military base in Syria, Kiselyov has stopped praising Trump. Some<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-trump-media-idUSKBN17J16D"> analysts say it is yet another sign</a> of Russia's growing disillusionment with the American president after pre-election expectations that he would bring the two countries closer.In the last month, negative attitudes towards Trump among Russians rose from 7 percent to 39 percent, according to a state poll released Monday."Donald Trump's aggressive behavior has resurrected distrust and ill-will towards America, something that has characterized Russian society for the last two decades," said Valery Federov, a primary organizer of the poll.The Kremlin has since <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/kremlin-plays-down-top-pundits-claims-tump-more-dangerous-kim-585495">distanced itself</a> from Kisyelov's comparison, saying that Kisyelov's views are ""usually close" to the Russian government but do not align "every time."<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/erEdiaDDsaE" frameborder="0"></iframe> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-small-agile-new-aircraft-carriers-meant-to-take-f-35s-into-battle-2017-4">These are the small, agile new aircraft carriers meant to take F-35s into battle</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

A Kremlin mouthpiece has gone from praising Trump to comparing him to North Korea's Kim Jong-Un in 3 months

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5acb58fa689875bc368b4b26-1500/queen%20elizabeth%20drink.jpg" border="0" alt="queen elizabeth drink" data-mce-source="Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty" data-mce-caption="LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 11: Queen Elizabeth II attends a reception for winners of The Queen's Awards for Enterprise, at Buckingham Palace on July 11, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty Images)">Yui Mok - WPA Pool/GettyThe Queen enjoying a tipple at Buckingham Palace in July 2017.</img></div></div></div><ul><li>Russia is locked in an information war with Britain over the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal.</li><li>Over the past few days, Kremlin-backed media outlets have started taking potshots at Queen Elizabeth, even though she has nothing to do with the Skripal case.</li><li>Russian state TV aired segments over the weekend accusing Her Majesty of drinking too much, and trying to associate her with the death of Skripal's pets.</li><li>Skripal's guinea pigs were found dead and his cat, Nash van Drake, was put down after weeks of neglect.</li></ul><hr> As the Russian government continues to feud with the United Kingdom over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal, the Kremlin's anti-British talking points have found a new focus: Queen Elizabeth II.Despite her role as a ceremonial leader who has no role in foreign policy, espionage, chemical weapons, or police investigations, Russian state media has increasingly started talking up Her Majesty's involvement in the poisoning in Salisbury, England, and its aftermath.The United Kingdom, backed by around 20 other Western nations, has said Russia is to blame for the attempted assassination. In return, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/theories-russia-is-using-to-deflect-blame-for-sergei-skripal-attack-2018-3">Russia has promoted a wide array of difficult-to-swallow explanations</a>, including, increasingly, that Britain staged the poisoning as a false flag operation to discredit Moscow.Dmitry Kiselyov, a Putin-appointed presenter for the state-run Vesti News, suggested on Sunday that the Queen was either "being deceived" or "in on" Britain's supposed sinister reason behind its refusal to share its intelligence with Moscow during the investigation.Kiselyov said:"London still fails to provide any hard evidence to back up their&#xa0;insinuations of Moscow's fault... It's already obvious that Theresa May's administration is simply lying to everybody."One one question concerns me right now. What is going on with the Queen? Is Her Majesty Elizabeth II also being deceived, or is she in on it?"<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ab3f032e0af5859098b48fc-1848/gettyimages-930501082.jpg" border="0" alt="hazmat sergei skripal" data-mce-source="Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Military personnel wearing protective suits remove a police car and other vehicles from a public car park as they continue investigations into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal on March 11, 2018 in Salisbury, England.">Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty ImagesMilitary personnel in protective suits investigate the scene following the Skripals' collapse.</img></div></div></div>The news anchor then accused British investigators, and by extension the Queen, of destroying evidence of the nerve agent attack by killing Skripals' pets.Skripal's two guinea pigs were found dead from starvation, while his cat was put down, a strand of the case which&#xa0;<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/russia-sergei-skripal-dead-cat-attack-nerve-agent-investigation-2018-4">has become another strange Kremlin talking point</a>.&#xa0;Kiselyov said:"They decided to put the devoted, heroic cat to sleep. Or, as they officially say in the UK, Nash van Drake the cat was euthanised in its best interests."Euthanasia is a voluntary process, and this cat didn't seek death. The experts and Her Majesty made this decision for it since they know better what the cat needs, in the name of the Queen."Russia's embassy in London appeared to endorse Kiselyov's accusations by&#xa0;<a href="https://twitter.com/RussianEmbassy/status/983096407761530882">tweeting the video clip and saying</a>: "This is how the Salisbury poisoning is seen by the Russian TV."Watch the bizarre segment here:Aleksey Pushkov, a Russian senator and close ally to Vladimir Putin, separately accused the Queen of excessive drinking on state-run TV, an unrelated slight on her character.He claimed, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5998336/russia-queen-theresa-may-alcohol-fake-news/">according to a translation by The Sun</a>:"Before dinner she drinks a ­cocktail made from gin and another based on wine, with ice and lemon."After the meal, she has a glass of wine with a bar of chocolate. She also drinks dry Martini."At the end of the day, she likes to drink cool champagne."It's not clear how Pushkov claimed to know this, but he might not be too far off. Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's cousin, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/60-facts-about-the-queen-you-didnt-know-6592256.html">previously said</a> the monarch drank a gin before lunch, wine with lunch, and a dry Martini and a glass of champagne in the evening.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5acb6b44146e7123008b4933-1500/theresa%20may%20drink.jpg" border="0" alt="theresa may drink" data-mce-source="Peter Nicholls/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May toasts The Royal Family before she delivers a speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet, at the Guildhall, London, Britain November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls">Peter Nicholls/ReutersBritain's Prime Minister Theresa May toasts with red wine at a banquet in London in November 2016.</img></div></div></div>Pushkov also claimed that Theresa May has a brandy habit because&#xa0;the Prime Minister was seen cupping her red wine glass rather than holding the stem.Elina Denisover, a wine expert Pushkov brought onto the show, claimed:&#xa0;&#xa0;"You will get drunk quicker and it is just not pleasant. It means that May&#xa0;got used to another kind of glass - for Cognac."Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who collapsed on March 4, are both <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/sergei-skripal-no-longer-in-critical-condition-after-salisbury-poisoning-2018-4">recovering from the attack</a> and no longer in critical condition.<div><iframe width="800" height="440" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Z0QzzYE9tbk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-1999-russian-apartment-bombings-led-to-putins-rise-to-power-2018-3">How a series of deadly Russian apartment bombings in 1999 led to Putin's rise to power</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/l7umpvvi-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div></hr>

Queen Elizabeth is Russia's new biggest target in its information war with Britain

The announcement that <keyword id="43440" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vladimir-Putin">Vladimir Putin</keyword> would be dissolving the <keyword id="6358826" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword>n state news agency RIA Novosti (and radio station Voice of Russia) <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ria-novosti-2013-12">took many by surprise</a>. The agency, which had a robust English-language section, was particularly well-regarded by foreigners and had been a central part of the Russian media world since it was formed in 1942.
Making matters even more alarming is the outspoken conservative who will take charge of the new venture designed to replace RIA Novsoti, Rossia Segodnya. His name is Dmitry Kiselyov, and he has often courted controversy in his previous position as a news anchor on the domestic Rossiya 1 TV channel.
For example, last year Kiselyov made controversial comments regarding homosexuality - a very touchy subject in Russia - which later went viral. This clip features the comments and a translation:
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<a href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russian-talk-show-host-defends-anti-gay-remarks/484517.html">The Moscow Times reported at the time</a>:
In April 2012, Kiselyov stated on his show that he believed anti-gay propaganda laws did not go far enough and that homosexuals should be banned from donating blood and sperm. Taking it even further, he said if a homosexual died in a car accident, his or her heart should be buried or burned, but never given to someone as a transplant since the organs would be "unsuitable for extending the life of another."
 Kiselyov went on the radio to defend his remarks but <a href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russian-talk-show-host-defends-anti-gay-remarks/484517.html">ended up offending even more people</a>:
In his Sunday interview with Ekho Moskvy, Kiselyov defended his remarks, stating that he simply wanted Russia to become more "civilized" by joining the U.S., EU, Japan and Arabic countries in banning homosexuals from donating blood and organs. He explained that homosexuals cannot "hide" what they are and that in the U.S. the Food and Drug Administration keeps a database of everyone in the U.S. who has had a same-sex sexual relation over the past twenty years, with the equivalent EU agency doing the same.
In most Western countries as a result of the AIDS crisis there are restrictions on men who identify themselves as having sex with men donating blood. The FDA, however, does not maintain a database of homosexuals.
When asked about Vlad Tornovy, 22, who was murdered in May after coming out as gay, Kiselyov explained that the problem was that homosexuals continue to "provoke" the majority. He added he did not regret his statement and that it is the people who organize gay pride parades who should be ashamed.
The timing of Kiselyov's appointment suggests an official sanctioning of other recent extreme views.
According to the Washington Post, Kiselyov <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russia-news-agency-appoints-controversial-leader/2013/12/09/45934c58-60ab-11e3-a7b4-4a75ebc432ab_story.html">has railed against the Ukrainian protesters</a> in Kyiv on his show in the past few weeks, arguing that the Sweden and Poland are engaged in a conspiracy to encourage the demonstrations. To make his point about how terrible life in EU would be for Ukrainians, he played part of a Swedish public television show that features characters in brown and yellow costumes <a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/12/05/people_of_ukraine_beware_the_swedish_gang_of_pee_pee_turd_and_mr_butt#sthash.tYDRXyxZ.dpbs">designed to teach children how to go to the bathroom</a>.
As the Economist notes, <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2013/12/ukraine?fsrc=gn_ep">Kiselyov has a history with Ukraine</a>. He worked on a pro-government Ukrainian channel during the Orange Revolution. His reporting has become notorious amongst the protesters - during one recent broadcast, a young activist handed a Rossiya 1 reporter a small statue, telling the camera "Pass this Oscar to the Russian Channel and to Dmitry Kiselev for the lies and nonsense you are telling people about Maidan."
He certainly seems a strange choice for the head of a state news agency, but it's no doubt deliberate. RIA Novosti had come under criticism from the Kremlin in 2011 for what was perceived as (relatively) sympathetic coverage to anti-Putin protests. Under Kiselyov, Rossia Segodnya (which translates as Russia Today but is said to remain separate from the international RT news service), will almost certainly not make the same mistake - Kiselyov is already fond of <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d4eac08c-60c6-11e3-b7f1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2n5KuUOoJ">explicitly comparing Putin's most popular critic, Alexei Navalny, to Adolf Hitler</a>.
Even in their announcement of their own demise, RIA Novosti reporters were able to see the bigger shifts taking place. "The move is the latest in a series of shifts in Russia's news landscape," the <a href="http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131209/185390572/Russia-Announces-State-Owned-Media-Overhaul.html">agency reported</a>, "which appear to point toward a tightening of state control in the already heavily regulated media sector."

Meet The Scary Man In Charge Of Vladimir Putin's New State News Agency

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/526e8913ecad046479237801-1200-924/vladimir-putin-cries-russia-1.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Vladimir Putin Cries Russia" width="480" />AP</div></div><keyword id="43440" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vladimir-Putin">Vladimir Putin</keyword> just dissolved major state media organization RIA Novosti, which has been around since 1941.
<a href="http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131209/185390572/Russia-Announces-State-Owned-Media-Overhaul.html">From RIA Novosti</a>:
The Kremlin announced Monday the dissolution of RIA Novosti, the country's major state-run news agency, amid a significant reorganization of state-owned media assets.
News agency RIA Novosti and the state-owned Voice of <keyword id="6358826" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword> radio will be scrapped and absorbed into a new media conglomerate called Rossiya Segodnya, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin.
The move is the latest in a series of shifts in Russia's news landscape, which appear to point toward a tightening of state control in the already heavily regulated media sector.
In a separate decree published Monday, the Kremlin appointed Dmitry Kiselyov, a prominent Russian television presenter and media manager recently embroiled in a scandal over anti-gay remarks, to head Rossiya Segodnya.
Head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov said the changes were about saving money and making state media more effective. 
"Russia has its own independent <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Politics">politics</keyword> and strongly defends its national interests: it's difficult to explain this to the world but we can do this, and we must do this," Ivanov told reporters.
<a href="http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131209/185390572/Russia-Announces-State-Owned-Media-Overhaul.html">Read the full report here &gt;</a>

Vladimir Putin Just Dissolved A Major State-Run Media Organization That's Been Around For Decades

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57fe86115124c99314e9a57c-800" alt="Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the annual VTB Capital " />Thomson ReutersRussian President Putin attends VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in MoscowFrance's upcoming presidential election has turned into a de facto referendum on whether to halt or strengthen the nationalist fervor sweeping the west that propelled US President Donald Trump into the White House last year and spurred Britain's exit from the European Union.Russian president Vladimir Putin, who has been accused of meddling in both the US election to help elect Trump and the Brexit vote to help fracture the EU, has two horses in France's race - the far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, and the center-right Republicans candidate Francois Fillon.Both candidates have touted policies that are at once Russia-friendly and hostile to two institutions Putin abhors: the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). They also oppose western sanctions on Russia and advocate a closer relationship between France and Moscow. Le Pen has vowed to pull France out of both the EU and NATO, comparing Europe to a prison and calling NATO "obsolete." Fillon's view of the institutions is more nuanced, but he has indicated that he would like to see the EU's power diminished and <a href="http://www.politico.eu/article/francois-fillon-thatcherite-with-a-thing-for-russia-juppe-france/" target="_blank">has characterized NATO</a> as an arm of "American imperalism." Le Pen - who has said she admires Putin and thinks sanctions on Russia are "completely stupid" - traveled to Moscow in late March to meet with the Russian president. Fillon, who developed a close relationship with Putin between 2008-2012, is <a href="http://www.politico.eu/article/francois-fillon-thatcherite-with-a-thing-for-russia-juppe-france/" target="_blank">a tireless defender of Kremlin policies</a>: He has sought to justify Russia's invasion of eastern Ukraine, demanded that the US lift its Crimea-related sanctions, and has advocated for France to realign with Russia, Iran, and Syrian president Bashar Assad to fight terrorism.<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58d53edf112f701f008b6b07-800/2017-03-24t135631z1lynxmped2n141rtroptp3russia-france-lepen-putin.jpg" alt="marine le pen vladimir putin" />Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev via ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Marine Le Pen, French National Front (FN) political party leader and candidate for the French 2017 presidential election, during their meeting in Moscow, Russia March 24, 2017.The stakes are high for Russia. Depending on who wins, the French election could set the tone for a broader European shift toward Moscow and away from Washington. It is no surprise, then, that both the French and English-language versions of Russia's state-sponsored news agencies, including Sputnik and Russia Today (RT), have been conspicuously bolstering the Kremlin's candidates.RT featured Le Pen's statement about Thursday's terror attack in Paris at the top of its site on Friday: "<a href="https://www.rt.com/news/385582-le-pen-close-borders/">Restore France's borders, expel foreign nations on watchlist - Le Pen to French govt</a>," the headline read. <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/385582-le-pen-close-borders/" target="_blank">The article</a> made no mention of the statement released by her centrist opponent, Emmanuel Macron, in the wake of Thursday's attack: "Don't give in to fear, divisions and intimidation."A recent article in Russia's state-sponsored Sputnik News agency listed Fillon and Le Pen as the two most "pro-Putin" French candidates; Macron, meanwhile, could be both a secret "US agent" and a puppet of France's "rich gay lobby," according to a Sputnik article published in February. Following Sputnik's cue, Russian television anchor Dmitry Kiselyov told his audience that month that there are "still rumors about [Macron's] nontraditional [sexual] orientation...He has also been connected with Hillary Clinton," the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russian-media-leap-on-french-presidential-candidate-with-rumors-and-innuendo/2017/02/06/d123676a-ec7d-11e6-a100-fdaaf400369a_story.html?utm_term=.fae9527501f7" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> reported at the time.<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f4bfe85124c97232d8bb67-800" alt="Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election, delivers a speech during a visit at the INRIA in Montbonnot-Saint-Martin, near Grenoble, France, April 14, 2017. REUTERS/Robert Pratta " />Thomson ReutersEmmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election, delivers a speech during a visit at the INRIA in Montbonnot-Saint-MartinShortly thereafter, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange - who CIA director Mike Pompeo recently characterized as a foreign intelligence agent - told the Russian Izvestia broadsheet that his organization had "interesting information" about Macron that could be released imminently. (Assange has said that his quote was taken out of context, and WikiLeaks has, so far, not leaked anything related to Macron. But RT quickly <a href="https://francais.rt.com/france/33403-wikileaks-macron-clinton-email-assange" target="_blank">picked up</a> on the claim.)February continued to be a rough month for Macron: His campaign website was targeted by thousands of cyberstrikes and phishing attacks that his team claimed had originated in Russia. France's foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, quickly denounced the cyberattacks as "unacceptable.""It's enough to see which candidates, Marine Le Pen or Francois Fillon, Russia expresses preference for in the French electoral campaign," Ayrault told the French <a href="http://www.lejdd.fr/" target="_blank">Journal du Dimanche</a>. "Whereas Emmanuel Macron, who is pro-Europe, is being targeted by cyberattacks.""This form of interference in French democratic life is unacceptable and I denounce it," he added.<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f92c470ba0b81c008b4fd3-780" alt="Francois Fillon" />REUTERS/Pascal RossignolFrancois Fillon, former French Prime Minister, member of the Republicans political party and 2017 French presidential election candidate of the French centre-right, attends a political campaign rally in Lille, France, April 18, 2017.Facebook, meanwhile, has been indundated with fake accounts set up in France used to spread hoaxes and conspiracy theories overwhelmingly associated with <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/04/17/524393092/facebook-cracks-down-on-30-000-fake-accounts-in-france">the far-right.</a> The site <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/facebook-shuts-down-30-000-fake-accounts-france-ahead-presidential-n746821" target="_blank">recently announced</a> that it had shut down approximately 30,000 of these accounts in an attempt to stop the flood of disinformation ahead of France's first round of voting on Sunday.Twitter is facing a similar problem: A <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-socialmedia-idUSKBN17M31G" target="_blank">recent study</a> conducted by researchers at Oxford University found that as many as 25% of links shared by Twitter accounts in France represented "junk news" containing "ideologically extreme, hyper-partisan or conspiratorial" political views. Another study published by the Hungary-based private research group Bakamo <a href="https://www.lesechos.fr/elections/presidentielle-2017/0211987550595-reseaux-sociaux-un-lien-partage-sur-quatre-pourrait-etre-du-fake-news-2080820.php#xtor=CS1-33&amp;utm_content=social-bpwtj&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=SocialMedia&amp;utm_campaign=SocialPilot" target="_blank">concluded that</a> several "alternative" news sources widely shared on Facebook and Twitter - whose stated aim is to "counter the narrative of the traditional media" - cite Russian sources to justify their narratives. French newspaper Le Monde <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2017/04/21/etudes-bidons-rumeurs-boules-puantes-le-grand-n-importe-quoi-de-fin-de-campagne_5115237_4355770.html?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;utm_campaign=Echobox&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1492788632" target="_blank">recently compiled</a> a list of the most egregious examples of fake news, including one site, "<a href="http://www.wikistrike.com/2017/04/les-resultats-du-premier-tour-des-elections-presidentielles-francaise-de-2017.html" target="_blank">Wikistrike</a>," which deemed Marine Le Pen the winner before any voting had actually taken place. (These results, it said, were based on electronic ballots that had been "scanned in the USA, opposite the CIA headquarters.")The impact of this "junk news" pushed by the far-right - much of it inspired or created by Russian disinformation - on the outcome of the French elections will be difficult to measure. In an encouraging sign, experts say that French citizens, on average, have shared far fewer fake stories in the run-up to their election than Americans did in the runup to theirs.Russian bots and trolls, meanwhile, are already shifting their attention to another high-stakes European election. "A contingent of the Trump campaign supporters we believe to be 'bots' and accounts from Russia have shifted to Germany," <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-socialmedia-idUSKBN17M31G" target="_blank">said Clint Watts</a>, a former FBI special agent who testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month about Russia's use of bots and trolls to spread disinformation online. "If I had to estimate," he added, "about one-third of previous Trump supporter accounts are now trying to influence the German election." <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cnn-commentator-shut-down-comparing-trump-mlk-donald-healthcare-jeffery-lord-2017-4">Watch a Trump surrogate get shut down after calling Trump the 'Martin Luther King of healthcare'</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

You Searched For "dmitry kiselyov" and got 11 results

Photos appear to show Putin's top propagandist at 5-star Dubai resort hours after threatening a nuclear strike on the UK

Bill Bostock

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Russian propagandist makes state broadcast threatening the UK and Ireland with nuclear strike: 'Just one launch, Boris, and England is no more'

Cheryl Teh

Russian state TV claims the Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince Andrew are pushing for war in Ukraine to distract from scandals at home

Kieran Corcoran,Bill Bostock

Russian state media are calling for Trump - or 'Trumpusha' - to get asylum in their country when he leaves the White House so he can save himself from prosecution

Bill Bostock

Russian state media is gleefully reviving its hatred for Biden's new press secretary Jen Psaki, whom they ruthlessly mocked for a series of slip-ups during the Obama administration

Bill Bostock

A Kremlin mouthpiece has gone from praising Trump to comparing him to North Korea's Kim Jong-Un in 3 months

Veronika Bondarenko

Queen Elizabeth is Russia's new biggest target in its information war with Britain

Alexandra Ma

Meet The Scary Man In Charge Of Vladimir Putin's New State News Agency

Adam Taylor

Vladimir Putin Just Dissolved A Major State-Run Media Organization That's Been Around For Decades

Joe Weisenthal

A dark and familiar cloud is hanging over France's high-stakes presidential election

Natasha Bertrand