A group of MPs from British political parties has filed a formal request with the government to remove a popular children's cartoon of Russian origin from broadcast. More than 50 lawmakers from the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Greens, Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru sent a joint letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy demanding that the animated series "Masha and the Bear" be taken off platforms such as Netflix and ITVX.
In the letter, the MPs argued that the series could contain "indirect propaganda." Pointing to scenes in which the main character Masha wears Soviet military symbols, they said such images are used to normalize imagery from the history and security apparatuses of the former Soviet Union, and that this is inappropriate for children.
The series, based on a Russian folk tale and among the most-watched children's content on YouTube, had previously been criticized by Ukrainian and Estonian officials, who described it as "Russian soft power." The MPs argued that the content, which reaches millions of children through global and British broadcast platforms, is not adequately scrutinized, and stressed that oversight of content aimed at young age groups should be tightened.
The production company Animaccord firmly denied the allegations. In a statement, it said "Masha and the Bear" is purely a children's entertainment program, carries no political message, explores universal themes such as friendship and imagination, and has no state funding or ties.
Russian officials also said the allegations against the series were "exaggerated and cynical." While no decision has yet come from the UK's culture ministry and broadcasting regulators, the series continues to be shown on various platforms in the United Kingdom.