Once a star of Russian state television, Farida Kurbangaleeva now lives in exile in Prague and is considered a terrorist in Russia.
January 29, 2026, 7:37 p.mJanuary 29, 2026, 7:37 p.m
The year is 2007: Farida Kurbangaleeva starts as the presenter of the main news program “Vesti” on Rossiya 1, one of the largest and most influential state television channels in Russia. In the following years she became one of the most famous television faces in the country SRF reported.
In an interview with SRF Rundschau, she said she was amazed at how willing many colleagues were to take on state propaganda. Critical questions about specific events – such as the deployment of Russian ground troops – were evasively but unequivocally blocked by superiors: “Please don’t ask me that.”
She herself was part of the system and spread the propaganda on television. It was only after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 that she began to question her work.
“You have to force yourself every time – and you always ask yourself: Why are you doing this?”
The great disinformation campaign
Another event deepened her inner conflict: the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The Boeing 777 was hit by a Russian Buk missile over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, killing all 298 people on board.
Russia then began an unprecedented disinformation campaign. Kurbangaleeva echoed the state’s one-sided messages, even though she internally disagreed with them. Looking back, she feels guilty and admits to having been part of this propaganda.
«Yes, we spread disinformation in 2014. And I was part of it.”
In the same year, the presenter resigned from state television.
In her homeland, Farida Kurbangaleeva is now considered a terrorist and “foreign agent” and her name is on Russian wanted lists. Her open criticism of the war in Ukraine and President Putin has put her in the sights of the Russian authorities.
In February 2025, the Russian public prosecutor’s office will submit an extradition request to the Czech Republic. Three months later, the Prague City Court rejected the decision: neither freedom of the press nor a fair trial were guaranteed in Russia. This means that Kurbangaleeva is protected in the Czech Republic for the time being, although her legal situation remains tense. In July 2025, a Russian military court sentenced her in absentia to eight years in prison.
Will never see her parents again
The worst thing for Kurbangaleeva is not that Russia classifies her as a terrorist.
“My parents still live in Russia, are very old, and I know that even if Putin disappears in a few years, it will be years before my case is even processed. I will probably never return to Russia and never see my parents again.”
Kurbangaleeva told SRF Rundschau.
She continues to fight against the Putin system, but remains realistic: the propaganda will not simply disappear without him.
“Those who engage in disinformation will always find a way to spread their propaganda.”
The most effective way to counter such propaganda is to promote critical thinking, explains Kurbangaleeva. This is exactly what is lacking in Russia: a one-sided pro-Putin perspective dominates, and there is hardly any room for alternative perspectives – also for cultural reasons.
“A large part of Putin’s electorate is used to watching television. Still from the Soviet era. And they are used to believing everything they see on TV. In addition, many Russians always have their television on in the background. Of course that sticks in people’s minds.”
Regarding Switzerland and parts of Europe, Kurbangaleeva is pleased with the efforts to teach people media literacy from an early age. It is important that different political forces, sources of information, media and institutions exist. (fake)