In discussions of thepolitics of Russia, the expressions"battle of the fridge vs. TV" (битва холодильника с телевизором),"refrigerator and TV set", etc., refer to the relative influence of the actual living conditions ("what's in the fridge") andstate propaganda ("what's on TV") on the opinions of the ordinary population of Russia.[1][2][3]
In mid-2010s it appeared that the TV is winning. For example, while in 2015 polls the majority agreed that Russia is in crisis, the blame was commonly put onthe West, rather than on the poor performance of the government.[1][4] The expression was among the entries for the 2015Russian Word of the Year.[5]
The situation began to change around the2021 Russian protests.[6]
Still, the very existence of the witticism indicates that the grip of the state propaganda is incomplete yet.[7]