Modi Allowed Putin To Broadcast Russian Propaganda In India

• 5.12.2025, 22:30

Propagandist Margarita Simonyan will launch RT India in the country.

Vladimir Putin during a visit to India has given the go-ahead to regional TV channel RT India, the new English-language arm of the Kremlin-funded propaganda media group. "I sincerely hope that Russia Today will not only help showcase modern Russia, but also help orient our societies on key issues of our cooperation," he said as he inaugurated the broadcast.

RT's editor-in-chief, propagandist Margarita Simonyan called India a "friendly and hospitable country" during the launch, contrasting it with Western nations where RT broadcasts have been banned or suspended since Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine.

After the 2022 invasion, RT America disappeared from the grids of most U.S. cable and satellite operators, and the European Commission stopped RT and its associated Sputnik channel from broadcasting within the EU, citing concerns about Kremlin influence campaigns. Putin criticized these decisions, saying Western governments are "afraid of the truth," and called RT an "effective channel" to promote the Russian position.

The launch of RT India was accompanied by an extensive advertising campaign across the country. The promo included billboards, digital ads, a themed train in Delhi, a green light projection on Mumbai's Bandra-Worli Bridge and a studio entrance in New Delhi designed in the shape of a matryoshka doll. In the debut video, the channel emphasized the new studio and used remarks by Indian and Soviet leaders about close bilateral relations.