On Russian TV ahead of the election, there’s only one program: Putin’s

By EMMA BURROWS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power almost 25 years ago and since then he’s eliminated nearly all independent media — a process he ramped up after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin’s control over media is now absolute. State television channels cheer every battlefield victory, twist the pain of economic sanctions into positive stories, and ignore that tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have died. While some Russians seek news from abroad that circumvents state restrictions, most still rely on state television, which is flooded with propaganda. The effect, over time, is to whittle away their desire to question it.