RantCrush Top 5: June 15, 2017

Every year, Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a call-in show on live TV where people can send in questions or comments. Usually, these are pretty well-controlled and censored–no questions that are overly critical of the government even make it onto the show. But this year the show also allowed video calls and messages through social media. And somehow, some critical messages did make it onto the show. Questions like “When are you going to resign?” and “Do you really think the people are buying this circus with scripted questions?” were sent in. Someone asked if the relationship with the U.S. will improve, and apparently, an eight-year-old asked why Russia hasn’t defeated “the terrorists” yet.

State TV flashing slightly less filtered questions suggesting some Russians have had it with Putin. “Three presidential terms is enough!” pic.twitter.com/jF50qWTtYF

— Maria Antonova (@mashant) June 15, 2017

Putin didn’t answer any of these questions, but they were written messages that showed up on a TV-screen in the background. After an hour, the screen was turned off. But a lot of people were wondering how the questions even got that far, and why they weren’t turned off sooner. Maybe the people of Russia are ready to fight for their rights, or at least have a little fun at Putin’s expense.

Text message: “The whole of Russia thinks you’ve been sitting on your throne for too long” https://t.co/4oV1zIzw2V

— Ola Cichowlas (@olacicho) June 15, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.