Putin Criticizes Russian TV for “Cheap” Imports

MOSCOW, May 31: Russian president Vladimir Putin has lashed
out at local broadcasters, criticizing them for importing “cheap” TV shows
instead of focusing on “wholesome” home-grown entertainment.

According to a Reuters report, citing the RIA news agency,
Putin made the comments at a Kremlin meeting on culture. He is quoted as saying
that Russian broadcasters "buy anything on the international market as
long as it is cheap. For more than 15 years our youth have been living under
the mass cultural influence of ersatz foreign substitutes.”

Putin continued: "We must create the conditions so that
the coming of age of the younger generation takes place in a wholesome
atmosphere of home grown culture, so that young people are brought up with high
artistic taste and standards of behavior.”