Putin met with his heroes at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the RT TV channel

On October 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the heroes of the special military operation (SVO) at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the RT TV channel at the Bolshoi Theater. The Russian leader also noted the work of the TV channel, which brings the truth to the audience, including about the events at the front, and met with people whose fates and path are immortalized in the cinema. This was reported by Izvestia correspondent Alexei Poltoranin.

"RT gathers its friends at the Bolshoi Theater — representatives of Africa, Europe, America, and almost all continents are here," the correspondent said.

At the same time, public figures, politicians, and actors have been watching the TV channel abroad for 20 years. Actor and film director Steven Seagal stressed that he watches RT because they "tell the truth." That's why RT is loved by ordinary viewers, unlike Western elites. They removed the broadcasting of the TV channel in their countries, deprived the journalists of their accreditation. Putin, who came to congratulate the team, repeatedly called this reaction primitive.

"You know, when I was still working as the director of the Federal Security Service in Russia, I was already trying to abolish this style of work even in an agency like the FSB. He said that we need to work more subtly, we need to convince, we need to stop threats by other means, and not by what we used to call "grabbing and not letting go" during the Soviet Union, the head of state recalls.

Despite the threats and bans, the channel continues to broadcast, and the audience is expanding.

"We are currently very actively exploring the so-called Global South. Depending on how our war ends and what our relations with the Western world turn into, there is always a possibility that we are already working, we will be able to return there not by partisan paths, but the way we worked, we worked live," says RT editor—in—chief Margarita Simonyan.

However, reporters and cameramen from the free zone call a spade a spade and show the true picture. During the meeting with the servicemen, Putin asked about the scope of their activities.

"Those who come with injuries, we find them jobs and continue to carry out a humanitarian mission. In my main activity, I help the guys in my brigade," said a soldier with the call sign Rokot.

Everyone has their own story here. Gavriil Doroshin joined the ranks of the militia in Donbass 10 years ago, then found himself in his homeland. A descendant of the Romanovs and Bonapartes, the family emigrated to France from Russia after 1917. He clarified that his "first steps" on Russian territory were "in the steppes of Donbass." In the same Donbass steppes, Hieromonk Innokenty, along with other clergymen, hid in the basements of the temple for two and a half years under shelling. The very same St. Nicholas-Vasilievsky Monastery of the Assumption in the village of Nikolskoye near Ugledar.

"They served with our army on the front line and were baptized. About 300 fighters confessed at our monastery in the southern temple, were vaccinated, rested with us, gained strength," the hieromonk summed up.

Every story is valuable to the president. Their heroes say that films of Russian TV channels from the front should be shown in universities and schools in courage lessons in order to show not only the truth, but also to educate the generation.

"The voice of truth, the voice of Russia must be heard loudly"

Putin noted the heroism of journalists on the front line at the anniversary of RT and talked with his fighters.

The day before, Putin said he was outraged by the way terrorists were called rebels on Western channels. During the same meeting, the Russian leader pointed out the dependence of Russia's sovereignty on information in the media. He stated that Russia's sovereignty depends on the ability to convey objective and unbiased information to people.

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