A new television channel, “Nomad”, associated with the propaganda channel Russia Today (RT), funded by the Kremlin, and with the organization of fugitive Ilan Șor, is being launched in Kyrgyzstan, writes Meduza, citing an investigation published by “Radio Azattyk”, part of the media corporation Radio Free Europe. The sources specify that the new platform will promote a pro-Russian agenda.
The sources cited report that the producer of the new channel is Russian citizen Anna Abakumova, who previously worked in the media group Russia Today. After the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Abakumova made reports from the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia. “Radio Azattyk” calls Abakumova “Simonyan’s (RT and MIA “Rossiya Segodnya” editor-in-chief Margarita) protégé or close collaborator, as well as the main producer of RT”.
Journalists employed at “Nomad” are trained within the “Eurasia” center, according to the “Radio Azattyk” sources “initiated in the subject”. The founder of “Eurasia”, according to Simonyan, is Moldovan businessman Ilan Șor. According to the cited source, among others, the editor-in-chief of RT and the chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, are on the board of the organization. In Kyrgyzstan, Șor and his structure have carried out extensive activities: they have opened journalism and other specialization courses, donated buses to schools, built the “Eurasia” park in Bishkek, and opened social stores, notes the publication.