Russian TV executive promises to deliver New Year’s Eve ‘emotions,’ no matter what
Russia-1 and other state television channels are promising to deliver a festive mood to viewers, “in spite of all the changes in the world and in the country.”
Speaking at the National Broadcasting Association congress, Alexander Nechayev, the Russian state television deputy director, said that “the television and the Russian media, broadly speaking,” are “subject to traditions and rituals.” It would be “strange,” he said, not to try to meet the viewers’ expectations. “We will create a festive New Year’s mood by all available means,” he promised.
Although he wasn’t ready to discuss the New Year’s TV programming in detail, Nechayev expressed a certainty that the viewers “will definitely get all the emotions they’re used to getting on New Year’s Eve.”
New Year’s Eve celebrations — and the budgets necessary for a public holiday — are something that Russian authorities have been discussing as winter approaches. The Russian army’s situation in Ukraine is among the reasons why some of the officials question the appropriateness of lavish celebrations, when the same resources could be channeled to the military.
On November 5, the Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin started a Telegram poll, aiming to find out what his readers think about the best approach to ringing in 2023. Of the nearly 500K respondents, only 10 percent replied that they’d like to celebrate the New Year as usual. Two-thirds of the respondents voted for “keeping only the children’s parties.” A quarter voted for a wholesale cancellation of all state-sponsored festivities.
On November 16, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin invited Moscow residents to vote on the question whether “to give up on the celebrations in the name of demonstrative compassion, or to remain human in spite of the tragic circumstances.”
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