Russia’s Consumer Rights Protection Society (OZPP) has filed a lawsuit against four pay TV operators for allegedly violating the rights of consumers by dropping the liberal Dozdh network without warning.

In the complaint filed in a Moscow court, the OZPP says excluding Dozhd violated the rights of consumers by breaking the terms of their subscription agreements with providers, citing Article 4 of the country’s consumer rights protection law.  Dozdh is one of the few media outlets to give airtime to opposition figures and voices critical of President Vladimir Putin’s regime.

The carriers – Tricolor TV, Akado, NTV+ and VimpelCom – said Dozdh’s editorial policy violated their editorial policies.  The straw that broke the camel’s back was likely a poll asking if lives could have been saved had the Soviet city of Leningrad – now Saint Petersburg – surrendered to Axis forces during World War II rather than withstanding a costly three-year siege that cost 1.5 million lives.

The poll was pulled after only 12 minutes.  But a sudden surge of negative online reaction began two hours later.  And then the Kremlin itself began criticizing the channel, followed by the carriers blacking it out in 80 percent of the country, claiming the channel “insulted the feelings of veterans”.

Dozdh’s reporting has frequently bucked the Kremlin line on the political crisis in Ukraine, which the government blames on western meddling and fascist rabble-rousers.  It also exposed a secret dacha owned by a top aide to President Vladimir Putin.

But Putin’s Kremlin didn’t stop at clipping the cable.  More than 40 people were arrested over the weekend in Moscow’s Manezh Square protesting in support of Dozdh. 

To give an idea how petty the Kremlin’s response has been, please understand that the name “Dozdh” means “rain” in Russian.  The protesters simply showed up and opened umbrellas.  Putin’s cops then swept in, because unauthorized protests are illegal.  A woman of 72 was reported to be among more than 40 people arrested, and a French journalist was injured in scuffles with police.

Dzodh, meanwhile, is preparing for what may be its only future – broadcasting on the Internet.