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“Dear Tucker”: Kremlin TV Pours One Out for Carlson

In the days since he was fired from Fox News, Carlson has been hailed as a hero and a truth-teller in Russian state media—a testament to his utility in Putin’s wartime campaign.

The Kremlin media is rending its clothes for Carlson.
The Kremlin media is rending its clothes for Carlson. Photo: Jason Koerner/Getty Images
Julia Ioffe
April 26, 2023

In the days since Tucker Carlson’s surprise firing from Fox News, I’ve been wondering what Russian state television thought of his sudden ouster. Carlson, after all, was their favorite and most frequently-cited American TV star. Upon learning of his dismissal, Olga Skabeeva, who co-hosts a popular political talk show on the Kremlin-controlled Rossiya1, referred to Carlson as “our pet.” He was adamantly against U.S. support for Ukraine and, on the eve of Russia’s invasion, infamously challenged his viewers to ask themselves why Americans should hate Vladimir Putin. So I fired up my VPN and decided to find out.