(8 Feb 2014) At least 20 people were detained in Russia on Saturday for protesting what they believe is overt political pressure on the country's main independent television station.
Around 40 people had gathered on Manezh square in central Moscow to protest the decision of leading Russian cable and satellite companies to drop the channel, 'Dozhd' (TV Rain).
The protesters gathered, only a short walk from the capital's iconic Red Square, and opened up umbrellas, playing on the name of the television station.
Dozhd, which broadcasts on the Internet, cable and satellite channels, stirred controversy in January with a poll about the blockade of Leningrad during World War II.
The poll was reported to have asked if Leningrad (now St Petersburg) should have been surrendered to the Nazis in order to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Russian media responded by saying the poll had angered the public, who were busy celebrating the 70th anniversary of the lifting of the siege.
The Kremlin said the station crossed a moral "red line," but many have ascribed the pressure to Dozhd's independent and often critical coverage of the government.
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