TV channel “Rain” is recognized as undesirable in Russia. It is clarified that we are talking about “Latvian and Dutch branches” (after the law on military “fakes” was adopted in Russia, the channel’s employees were forced to move the editorial office to the EU).
Here is how the Prosecutor General’s Office explained this decision:
SIA TV Rain and TVR studios BV distribute materials from extremist organizations (FBK, Navalny’s headquarters), terrorist organizations (Hizb ut-Tahrir), foreign agents (Meduza, Radio Liberty). On a regular basis, they publish information materials of organizations recognized as undesirable.”
In early March 2022, the CEO of Dozhd, Natalya Sindeeva, announced that the TV channel was temporarily shutting down due to the law on “fake news” about the war.
“We are temporarily suspending the TV channel. Temporary is very important. We need strength and time to exhale and understand how to work further, because the adoption of this law makes the work virtually impossible. This was the last news release.
In July, Dozhd announced the resumption of its work. It was planned that Dozhd’s studios would operate in Riga, Amsterdam, Tbilisi and Paris.
Last December, the Latvian National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP) decided to revoke the broadcasting license of the Dozhd TV channel. This happened after the presenter Alexei Korostelev uttered a phrase on the air about the supply of Russian mobilized, for which he was fired.