"Less Masha — Less Russia." Netflix Finally Removed the Russian Propaganda Cartoon from Its Catalog

The streaming service Netflix, which back in June acquired the rights to show new seasons of the Russian propaganda cartoon series Masha and the Bear and extended its license to broadcast in more than 100 countries, has finally removed the Ukrainian-language version from the platform. This was announced on 9 September on Facebook by MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn together with the Center for Countering Disinformation.

“Making a decision is the first step. But no less important is its subsequent implementation. And I hope those responsible will exert maximum effort to achieve the result,” the deputy noted.

He added that the head of Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture, Tetyana Berezhna, had an proactive stance in conveying information about the sanctioned animated series Masha and the Bear to partners, and in September she met with Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

“As a result of the meeting, the Ukrainian-language version of the so-called ‘Russian culture’ disappeared from this streaming platform. It was blocked on YouTube earlier. It’s a pity that only the Ukrainian version, not all. Although one has to start somewhere. Less Masha, less Rascia (Russia),” he concluded.