MOSCOW -- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has criticized the decision of the Dozhd TV station to conduct a poll asking viewers if surrendering Leningrad during the Nazi siege of World War II would have been more humane.
More than 1 million people died during the nearly 900-day siege.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said Dozhd had "broken the limits of all that is acceptable."
"This surely is an issue of moral and ethical dimensions and it has stepped over the boundary of what is acceptable for our people from the moral and ethical point of view," Peskov said.
"You may not like it but I absolutely share the opinion of those who believe and say that [Dozhd TV] has crossed every boundary of acceptable behavior."
Since the poll, several Russian cable TV operators have pulled Dozhd from their networks. Staff at Dozhd, which is known for its critical coverage of Putin, called the decision of the cable providers politically motivated.
Russia's human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin said calls to shut the station down were "wrong" and equated to "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut." Lukin, however, called the survey "improper."
More than 1 million people died during the nearly 900-day siege.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said Dozhd had "broken the limits of all that is acceptable."
"This surely is an issue of moral and ethical dimensions and it has stepped over the boundary of what is acceptable for our people from the moral and ethical point of view," Peskov said.
"You may not like it but I absolutely share the opinion of those who believe and say that [Dozhd TV] has crossed every boundary of acceptable behavior."
Since the poll, several Russian cable TV operators have pulled Dozhd from their networks. Staff at Dozhd, which is known for its critical coverage of Putin, called the decision of the cable providers politically motivated.
Russia's human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin said calls to shut the station down were "wrong" and equated to "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut." Lukin, however, called the survey "improper."
