Faces of russian propaganda in the TOT: Leonard Svidovskov
The CCD continues its series of reports about the main figures of Russian propaganda in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Today, we will focus on Leonard Svidovskov, a TV propagandist from Luhansk.
Svidovskov began collaborating with the occupiers at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Prior to that, he served as the editor-in-chief of the Luhansk regional TV and radio company, which was later seized by pro-Russian militants. He was also a member of the Luhansk Regional Council. Currently, he holds the positions of chief artistic director of the occupation “State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (STBC) LPR” and head of the Russian-controlled “Union of Journalists LPR.”
For ten years, Svidovskov has been systematically spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda through his television programs and social media platforms. His activities include disseminating fakes about the “atrocities” of the Ukrainian military, justifying Russia’s armed aggression, and defending the crimes of the Russian forces against Ukraine’s population.
In numerous interviews with Russian propagandists, he frequently boasts about being “the first journalist to be charged in absentia by the SBU.” His recollections of pre-war Ukraine are filled with disdain for the Ukrainian state. He speaks of the “oppression of Russian speakers in Donbas” and mocks the Ukrainization of the media space that began in the 2000s.
In 2022, Ukrainian law enforcement notified him of suspicion of collaboration. If convicted, the propagandist faces up to 12 years in prison.
