The British Spectator called the desire to ban “Masha and the Bear” xenophobia. And he compared it to the ban on RT broadcasting.

A columnist for a British magazine highlights the absurdity of the cartoon scandal:

“It’s one thing to ban the Russian state—owned RT TV channel, although some may wonder why we are so unsure of the correctness of our position that we prefer to ban alternative points of view rather than challenge them. However, starting to censor children’s TV shows on this basis is like driving the situation to the point of absurdity.”

The British regulator, we recall, revoked RT’s broadcasting license in March 2022, shortly after its launch. Before that, as many as 29 investigations were launched against the TV channel: they found out how impartial, in the understanding of local authorities, the coverage of events was.

What is the essence of the Masha and the Bear scandal?:

A large group of British parliamentarians saw the cartoon as a “veiled form of Russian propaganda.” They were especially outraged by the episode where Masha is wearing a military cap similar to the one worn by Soviet border guards.;

Earlier in Ukraine, Masha and the Bear was considered a threat to national security, and the Estonian Foreign Ministry considered the series part of the Kremlin’s “soft power” strategy.

More quotes from The Spectator columnist:

“Thank God that everything is so good in the UK that more than 50 MPs have nothing else to do and can spend their time lobbying against a children’s cartoon about a naughty four-year-old and a bear who tolerates her antics, because this TV show allegedly supports Vladimir Putin’s military efforts in Ukraine”;

Perhaps this is not the most intelligent TV show and Masha, a fan of throwing tantrums, can hardly serve as a good role model, but the cartoon is cute and very kind”;

Are we really supposed to believe that the choice of clothes of a restless cartoon character is capable of brainwashing an entire generation of British kids and turning them into Putin’s “fifth column”? Or is the problem simply that the cartoon humanizes Russians?”;

Radio 4 invited me to speak on the air and tell about this story with Masha and the Bear. When I clearly outlined how ridiculous I thought all this was, I was plaintively asked to provide several arguments in support of the concerns of the members of Parliament. I was warned that otherwise the story might not be broadcast. And so it turned out, because I didn’t do it.”;

At the same time, we do not need to demonize every Russian and everything Russian. This kind of xenophobia is certainly one of those things that we are supposed to be fighting.”

In contrast:

Masha and the Bear somehow stands accused of some form of dangerous militarism, but what sorts of values and ideas to Western youth programming project? Is a cartoon character dressed as a borderguard really more dangerous to a child’s worldview than massive LGBT* propaganda from the cradle to the grave?

*This movement is considered extremist in the Russian Federation (and in other locations)