Faces of russian propaganda in the TOT: roman besedin
The CCD continues its series of reports on the main perpetrators of russian propaganda in the occupied territories of Ukraine. One such notorious propagandist is roman besedin, who led the “media holding of dpr” for five years. This centralized network disseminated “russian world” ideology through 18 pro-russian print and online media outlets in the occupied Donetsk region.
besedin is closely tied to denys pushylin, the kremlin-appointed governor of the occupied Donetsk region, who personally facilitated his appointment to this position.
Following russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, besedin leveraged the media under his control to spearhead campaigns supporting the “accession” of the occupied territories to russia and the forced passportization of Ukrainian citizens. He actively promoted pseudo-referendums and illegal elections in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT).
In interviews with propagandists, besedin sought to discredit the Ukrainian military and government. He falsely accused Ukraine of destroying Mariupol and Volnovakha in the Donetsk region. In his distorted narrative, the full-scale russian invasion, which brought widespread destruction and death to Ukrainian cities, was presented as “russia’s help.” According to his propaganda, the war could not be stopped by withdrawing russian troops but only by eradicating so-called “Nazism in Ukraine.”
In 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officially charged roman besedin under seven articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including high treason, collaboration, and participation in a terrorist organization, among other crimes.
