Commercial TV channel Duo Media has responded to a request from public broadcaster ERR to explain its decision to air a Russian-made historical TV drama which appears to justify the annexation of Crimea, albeit in the context of the time in which it is set, ERR reports.

Broadcast by Kanal 7, Duo Media's Russian-language channel, the series is historical in nature, dating back to the 18th century and not to the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.

Kanal 7 and Duo Media is in turn a part of Postimees Grupp.

Katrin Rajasaare, head of procurement at ERR, said that with the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine from February 2022, the public broadcaster opted to stop purchasing Russian-made series, or making payment to Russian firms engaged in any activity.

"Naturally, we still require some Russian-language content for ETV+, as if the channel only had the flagship Russian-language "Aktuaalne kaamera" news show but nothing else to attract a Russian-speaking audience, people wouldn't tune in even to watch the news," she conceded.

For this reason, ERR still purchases "a few" Russian-language series, but these are made in countries other than the Russian Federation, eg. Ukraine itself.

In fact this source is even more significant than it had been before, though this also rubs up against the problem of a de-emphasis of the Russian language in the media there, for understandable reasons.

Whereas shows were usually made in both languages, increasingly they are made in Ukrainian-only.

Rajasaare added that: "It has also however lately been the case that an actor from a Ukrainian series or film goes on to make a pro-Putin statement later. This recently happened with one of the main characters of the series "The Gynecologist" in its most recent, 4th season."

"News of that statement reached us last week, and we immediately pulled the series, although our rights to broadcast it remain valid," she went on.

There is no legal bar on ERR purchasing Russian-made content; the decision not to do so is an internal ERR one.

Meanwhile at Duo Media, Jüri Pihel (pictured), who heads that channel, noted that the series in question depicts events of the 18th century, and does not pertain to the present-day situation in Ukraine or Crimea in any way.
The historical drama "Catherine's Favorites" was produced in Russia last year and premiered on Russia's Rossija 1 channel in November, and as noted is beign carried in Estonia by Kanal 7.

Jüri Pihel said that he had previously been unaware of the series' existence and having reviewed the matter at ERR's request, noted that the drama, which like many such historical epics of our times including those in English focuses on the life of the empress, her relations with the leading Russian men of the time (most famously Grigory Potemkin), is despite its historical background a work of art, a fiction based on history, rather than a documentary or something being presented wholly as fact.

Pihel added that viewers who see inappropriate historical interpretations in this and other series are taking the matter too sensitively. He said he thinks that authors should retain the right to their own take on history, which one is free to agree or disagree with, adding he does not believe history should be censored on the basis of current political beliefs.

Duo Media did not purchase the series to interpret history from a contemporary perspective, either, he stressed. "When dealing with historical figures, attempts are made to see historical narratives through their eyes. Probably the empress thought herself 'cool' in her subjugation of Crimea. We cannot today judge via a historical series whether she was right or wrong, even as she thought she was the first of these."

Pihel added that the company has tried to select series for their Russian channel highly responsibly, checking all details, but cannot rule out something inappropriate slipping through the net, mainly because an entire series is not normally previewed ahead of purchase.

In any case, Russian culture should not be wholesale excised from society, Pihel added. Duo Media has recently started re-airing the series "Brigada (also part of sanctioned VGTRK catalog), from 2002. Its male lead, Sergey Bezrukov, has more recently spoken out in favor of Russian aggression, and is even one of the EU's sanctioned individuals.

The main watchdog body, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) says it has not received any complaints in relation to "Catherine's Favorites."

Helen Rohtla, head of the TTJA's information Society Department, stated that there is a basis for suspending or revoking a media service license if the Media Services Law's requirements are significantly violated, for example, by repeated incitement to illegal acts, to hatred or to violence. The TTJA says it has not monitored the series "Catherine's Favorites," nor received any tip-offs or complaints about it.

"Based on available public information, it seems to be a historical drama. Therefore, it can be assumed that the series dramatizes historical events, which may include the portrayal of decisions, actions, and beliefs of that time," Rohtla said, adding that it is hard to provide a more detailed assessment without knowing the specifics of the series.

Kanal 7 also airs a show by Gazprom-owned TNT – Musical Intuition.

TV3 Group also operates a Russian-language channel in Estonia, but 3+ relies fully on programming acquired from Ukrainian producers and broadcasters.

CEETV has also contacted the broadcaster for comment. The news from ERR appeared on the day Estonian defense minister Hanno Pevkur visited Kyiv to announce yet another military aid package for Ukraine which suffered another large-scale missile attack for a second night in a row, yesterday and today.