Among other things with “WELTjournal” and “WELTjournal +” on March 13th and “Round Table” with Paul Krisai on March 15th
Vienna (OTS) – Even if the result of the presidential elections from March 15 to 17, 2024 will not come as a surprise, this election is of global political importance. The ORF therefore dedicates a program focus to this topic. On March 13th, “WELTjournal” and “WELTjournal +” on ORF television will focus on Russia; on March 15th, “ZIB 2” and a “Round Table” led by Paul Krisai will look at the election. ORF III will show a five-part “zeit.geschichte” evening on March 16th.
Wednesday March 13th
10.30 p.m., ORF 2
WELTjournal: “Attack on the West – Putin and the US Presidents”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in power for 25 years and determines the fate of Russia and beyond. During this time he has outlasted five very different American presidents: from US President Bill Clinton to George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump to the current US President Joe Biden.
The “WELTjournal” shows the documentary “Putin and the Presidents” by the multi-award-winning US filmmaker Michael Kirk, which sheds light on Putin’s arguments with the five US presidents. The documentary traces US misjudgments over 25 years and five administrations as Putin worked unhindered to rebuild a Russian empire and ultimately invaded Ukraine. The interview features current and former US government officials as well as American and Russian journalists who have been reporting on US-Russia relations for decades and have attended presidential meetings.
11.25 p.m., ORF 2
WELTjournal +: “The other side – On Putin’s front”
More than two years after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, it is estimated that more than 70,000 Russian soldiers and mercenaries have died and more than 200,000 are wounded. Despite Moscow’s recent reports of success from the front, many Russians have long been tired of war.
“WELTjournal +” takes a look at the barely illuminated Russian side in the Ukraine war: British war reporter Sean Langan managed to gain access to the front lines in Donbass. He accompanies Russian soldiers and pro-Russian separatists in the trenches and shows what it means for the civilian population in the contested areas to be exposed to daily bombardment.
Friday March 15th
On election day itself, comprehensive reporting is on the program in all news programs with election day reports and live links to Moscow and initial results in ZIB 1. Election day in Russia and initial reactions to it are also the focus of ZIB 2. There are also further analyzes of the election in Russia in all news formats on the day after the election.
10:25 p.m., ORF 2
“Round Table” with Paul Krisai: Presidential election in Russia
When Vladimir Putin asks Russians to go to the polls from March 15 to 17, there will be no doubt that the long-time president will have his fifth term in office approved. It is an election without a choice: real opposing candidates are not on the ballot this time either, and the death of Alexei Navalny in Siberian camp shows how the regime deals with political opponents. Internal repression, external aggression – where will belligerent Russia go in the next six years under Putin?
Paul Krisai will discuss this at the “Round Table”:
Irina Scherbakova
Historian, co-founder of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Russian human rights organization Memorial
Michael Thumann
Author and Russia correspondent “Die Zeit”
Konstantin Goldenzweig
Russian TV journalist, works for the dissident channel “Telekanal Dozhd”
Wolfgang Mueller
Russia expert, Institute for Eastern European History, University of Vienna
ORF III: Five-part “zeit.geschichte” evening on the Russian election
On the occasion of the Russian presidential elections, ORF III is dedicating the “zeit.geschichte” evening on March 16th to Russia’s history and political present. First, ORF III shows the new production “Putin’s Propaganda Machine – The Manipulated People” (8:15 p.m.). The Kremlin controls the mood in the country with censorship, disinformation and massive pressure on dissidents in Russia: The documentary provides insight into how the government systematically controls nationalist opinion. The historical roots of the conflict are then examined in the three-part production “Russia’s Wars”:
“Tsarist Empire” (9 p.m.), “Soviet Union” (9:55 p.m.) and “Putin” (10:50 p.m.). Finally follows “The Duel – Zelenskyj against Putin” (11.45 p.m.).
In addition, “ORF III AKTUELL” comprehensively analyzes the latest developments surrounding the presidential elections in the Russian Federation.
The focus on the Russia election on ORF radio
The ORF radios Ö1, Ö3 and FM4 are currently reporting in the news and “journals”. On Ö1, the “Journal-Panorama” (6:25 p.m.) on Thursday, March 14th, under the title “Russia has no choice,” deals with the fact that Vladimir Putin will soon be confirmed in office until 2030. Russia is also voting in the super election year 2024: from March 15 to 17, around 110 million voters can vote for their candidate. It is a sham election: In addition to the incumbent Vladimir Putin, who has held power in the country for almost a quarter of a century, there are three pro forma candidates with no chance; Two opponents of the war in Ukraine, Yekaterina Duntsova and Boris Nadezhdin, were not even allowed to vote and the figurehead of the Russian opposition, Alexei Navalny, died in a prison camp in mid-February – this was also a serious blow for political dissidents. Massive manipulation and falsification are expected in the “election” as well as a record result for Vladimir Putin: observers expect that the Kremlin will determine the result and that it will be 80 percent or more. But how big is the support for Putin in Russia really? How do you measure public opinion under dictatorial conditions and how can political protest even be articulated during an election? And what else does Vladimir Putin have planned?
As part of their current reporting, the ORF.at network and ORF TELETEXT provide information about the presidential election and its background – and also analyze the current political situation in Russia as a whole. Streams of the TV programs about the election in Russia will be made available in a separate lane on ORF ON and in the ORF TVthek app, provided the relevant online license rights are available.