Dozhd ran a poll on its website and on live TV asking viewers if Leningrad should have been surrendered to the invading Nazi army in order to save hundreds of thousands of lives during the siege of Leningrad. Presenters cited Viktor Astafyev and compared it with the 1812 capture of vacant Moscow. Within 30 minutes, Dozhd removed the poll and apologized for incorrect wording. On 29 January, the largest Russian TV providers disconnected the channel. Dozhd was forced to move to a private apartment in October 2014. In November 2013, two months before the controversy, Dozhd broadcast a report by anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny investigating high-ranking officials including Vyacheslav Volodin. The channel's owner, Natalya Sindeyeva, suggested that the program caused the campaign against the channel.