Today is a wonderful day!
Today is my Armenian mother's birthday.
Yes, I have a mother and there is a person who has done very, very much for me in this life - Gayane Samsonovna Ambartsumyan.
Gayane Samsonovna is an absolute information genius, a person with a phenomenal level of exactingness. If someone has worked for Gayane Samsonovna Abortsumyan at least once in their life, this is a sign of quality for life. There are no such television professionals in the world anymore. She is the only one, absolutely piece goods. A man of the highest culture, amazing. When she speaks, you want to write down every word after her - her speech is so beautiful and correct. The wisest woman. Someday I will sit down and write a book about Gayane Samsonovna.
Many people think that I’m a good TV presenter, but I’m just the talking head of editor-in-chief Gayane Samsonovna. I love the nut. At Gayachka's complex character, because he is fair, because he is strong, because he is caring! Gayachka is a person of the highest level of education and culture. I love just sitting and listening to her. Her stories are always so informative, so interesting, I always feel sorry that the camera isn’t working at that moment - all this needs to be recorded and shown on air.
Gayachka has an excellent television career: she worked both on camera and was a wonderful presenter, and behind the scenes. And now she is, of course, the best chief editor that exists on television. Everyone knows Gayane Russian politicians and she is adored, Gayane is known by all people working on television and they worship her. She has a wonderful husband... and what a housewife she is! She is a wonderful Armenian housewife, wife, mother and grandmother. Gayachka has a wonderful son, it turns out that he is like my brother, a smart, subtle, intelligent boy, an excellent financier who gave her wonderful grandchildren.
Gayane is simply a unique, legendary, great person, the pride of both the Armenian people and Russian Federation. Films should be made about such people, books should be written, and odes should be written.
Dear Gayachka, Happy Birthday! I’ll come by in the evening and be sure to congratulate you.
I’ll try to invite Gayane Samsonovna on air soon, but she’s so modest person that I will have to try very hard.
Gayane is a great teacher, she has absolute ear for music, simply fantastic! And the way she edits... you have to see it! There are no such level of professionals left at all. My children, who are involved in television and are interested in directing, ask me “What do you need?” I say “Only one thing - do not leave Gayane Samsonovna. Then you will learn something."
Great man! Happy birthday!
Today is a day of remembrance. A tragic date in the history of the Armenian people. All of humanity.
I love Armenia. I used to often visit Karabakh and Armenia.
All my life I have been surrounded and helped by my loved ones.
Among the most dear people to me is Gayane Samsonovna Ambartsumyan. I adore her. I treat Gayachka like my Armenian mother. All my successes on TV are her merit. Gayane has no equal in the profession.
My very close friend Seyran Karapetyan, who opened Karabakh to me...
Samvel is the very embodiment of reliability and friendship.
All my friends share a common pain. Memory of the people. For me this is a litmus test.
Forgetting or not recognizing such a tragedy is not only dangerous - it is no coincidence that Hitler said: Who remembers the massacre of Armenians now? And the genocide of peoples began - Jews, Gypsies, Slavs.
For many decades, the Armenian people have been fighting for international recognition of the fact of genocide - a number of countries have found courage and taken a moral position. The fact of genocide was recognized.
The Ambassador of Israel came to me on air and asked her why Israel has not yet been officially recognized. She spoke very sincerely and with pain, but as a politician she was obliged to support the official position of the state. They don’t want a quarrel with Turkey. I listened and I was ashamed.
Truth trumps pragmatism. On air, he expressed his disagreement and disappointment at such a strange position of the state, which knows firsthand about the horrors of genocide.
How many times have US presidents promised to recognize genocide, but everyone is playing games.
In vain.
The example of Germany, which recognized the terrible crimes of Hitler, is indicative; I am sure that Türkiye would only benefit internationally if it took a moral position. From complete denial to open discussion and recognition. Alas, there are terrible pages in the history of almost all countries. And Great Britain committed atrocities in India, and the United States set up concentration camps for immigrants from Japan, not to mention the fate of the Indians and the slavery of African-Americans.
Armenians all over the world remember the day of genocide.
You can't forget.
The blood of the innocently killed is crying out.
Eternal memory to them.
Vladimir Soloviev
The day the genocide of the Armenian population began is considered to be April 24, 1915, when the Young Turk rulers main role among whom three played: Talaat Pasha, Enver Pasha and Dzhemal Pasha ordered the entire Armenian intelligentsia to be collected in Constantinople and deported.
The date April 24, 1915 occupies a special place not only in the history of the Armenian genocide, but also in the history of the Armenian people as a whole. It was on this day that mass arrests of the Armenian intellectual, religious, economic and political elite began in Constantinople, which led to the complete destruction of a whole galaxy of prominent figures Armenian culture. The lists of people subject to arrest included people of different political views and professions: writers, artists, musicians, teachers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, businessmen, political and religious leaders; the only thing that united them was their nationality and position in society. Arrests of prominent figures of the Armenian community continued in the Turkish capital with short breaks until the end of May, and no charges were brought against the detainees. Back in February-March, information began to arrive from the provinces about the arrests and murders of Armenian leaders, but it was with the Constantinople arrests that the full-scale destruction of the Armenian elite began throughout the country.
The Russian military newspaper "Russian Invalid" in its issue dated May 18 (May 1), 1915, published a message that the proto-syncell of the Armenian Patriarchate and 400 Armenians were arrested in Constantinople
The massacre of the Armenian population continued until September 1918.
Over the next three years, over 1.5 million Armenians died, the rest fled or were deported by the Turks to Mesopotamia, Lebanon, and Syria through the deserts, where most of them died from hunger and disease. Over one million Armenian refugees were scattered throughout the world.
In 1915, Russian Emperor Nicholas II could not completely prevent the massacre carried out by the Turks, but provided assistance to the Armenians. “By the personal order of the Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II, writes P. Paganutsi, Russian troops took a number of measures to save the Armenians, as a result of which, out of the 1,651,000 souls of the Armenian population of Turkey, 375,000 were saved, that is, 23%, which in itself is exceptional number." G. Ter-Markarian wrote about this in his book “How It Was”: “For the sake of historical justice and the honor of the last Russian Tsar, one cannot remain silent that at the beginning of the described disasters in 1915, on the personal order of the Tsar, the Russian-Turkish border was slightly opened and huge crowds of exhausted Armenian refugees who had accumulated on it were allowed onto Russian soil.”
The genocide continued after 1918.
The Armenian genocide is remarkable in many ways, not least because it was an early example of mass genocide in the bloody 20th century, which many recognize as a “rehearsal” for the Holocaust.
Professor Israel Charney Director of the Holocaust and Genocide Institute in Jerusalem, editor-in-chief"Encyclopedia of Genocide".
Http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/ruwiki/18694
Vladimir Solovyov, famous Russian journalist, television and radio presenter, publicist and public figure, gave exclusive interview to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Noah's Ark” Grigory Anisonyan.
– Last year your book “Enemies of Russia” was published. There were many enemies listed: terrorists, bribe-taking officials, the opposition, and nationalists. So who is it anyway? main enemy, from whom is all the evil?
– Probably the main enemy of Russia is the Russian. There is no other way to say it, since the enemy looks at himself in the mirror every morning. The ability to overcome it in oneself determines who will win this personal war. They passed a law to protect our children, named after Dima Yakovlev. Immediately there was talk that Dima Yakovlev was adopted by evil Americans for money. You'd think CIA agents came here... Some of our bastards sold the boy. Some bastard of ours made it so that a favorable decision was made in court. How should we treat mothers who send their children to an orphanage, who kill their newborns, fathers who do not support their children, who spend their last money on vodka? Are their enemies interfering with their lives? They themselves are the enemies.
We have a mentality that I hate. This is the mentality of small children - everything is someone else's fault. Jews who plundered the people's property, Armenians who came to build roads and work hard, Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Dagestanis, Ukrainians, Belarusians - everyone is to blame for everything. Parents for leaving little money, children for not calling, authorities for being bad. Everyone is to blame for everything, but we always get along, we always forgive ourselves. This is wrong. Every time we underperform, we give the opportunity for the evil that is in us to get out.
– By writing the book, did you pursue precisely this goal – to open Russians’ eyes to themselves?
You can return to the book more than once. The book is still a finished work, it is not a quotation. The book requires much more significant revision.
Now I started writing fiction about a man who made it his life's goal to kill sorcerers. And there are many sorcerers - from deputies to ministers. And he
goes and kills. Look what's happening around us. Now is generally the time for sorcerers.
– Do you believe this?
- I believe. If there is good, then there is also evil. Open any newspaper: “Black magic, I’ll cause damage.” I know that a number of large oligarchs use the services of their own astrologers, sorcerers, and witches every day.
– Your television programs attract people of different levels. You skillfully control the audience, maneuver between warring parties, sometimes allowing yourself to blame government officials, judges, and prosecutors. You are looking for justice. Aren't you scared sometimes?
- This is mine big problem. I can't be afraid. Because of this, I have been sued many times, and there have been many attempts. You have to travel with security and regularly take care of the safety of your family. That's how I'm built. If I wanted it to be sweet, I would write about another pop star. I never make accusations just like that. I speak when it reaches my heart and it is simply impossible to remain silent. And if I’m talking about someone specifically, it means I have information and it’s been double-checked.
– Do you have many informants in law enforcement agencies?
– No, law enforcement agencies have been engaged in business for a long time. If we are talking about an investigation, about the fight against officials, then look - in any scheme for selecting a business, one of the law enforcement officers is involved in one form or another: either a policeman, or the Investigative Committee, or a prosecutor. We live in Russia. It is no coincidence that the most dangerous profession is that of an entrepreneur. All the pre-trial detention centers are filled with them. Journalists are not imprisoned, they are killed.
– You often visit Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. What attracts you to the Armenian country?
– I don’t come as often as I would like. It's like love, you can't explain it. I am attracted by the history, fantastic nature, amazing people, from whom I personally see a lot of good. It saddens me that these people live worse than they deserve. His amazing talents are scattered all over the world - from Latin America to North America, throughout Europe, and everywhere they are self-sufficient and organized. And when you look at how poorly people live in Armenia, your heart bleeds. There is no reasonable explanation for this. It saddens me that many talented people leave the country, find work in Russia, and are successful. But when you look at the enormous amount of money the diaspora sends to their homeland, you think: where does it all go? The way Armenia and Karabakh are developing is unacceptable in the conditions of the modern economy. This is a road to nowhere. Armenia is obliged to convert its intellectual potential into money. Can't in modern world country of such talented people living so poorly. This is offensive. It is necessary to create production, it is necessary to revive educational institutions, it is necessary to see intelligent faces on the streets. I now meet many intelligent Armenian people outside of Armenia. And much of what you see in Yerevan now is sad to look at. There is a decline in culture, there is no targeted and sufficient injection of money into education and new jobs.
– In Azerbaijan, the military budget has increased several times over several years. Preparations are underway for war, for the seizure of Karabakh. International structures, the West, Russia view all this loyally, although these countries have taken upon themselves the responsibility of resolving the conflict.
– How and when did international organizations help other countries? Unfortunately, now the keys to this conflict lie not in Moscow, but in Washington. Washington's influence in Azerbaijan, and even in Armenia, has increased many times compared to what it was several years ago. Look what is happening in Armenia! She has always been Russia's closest friend and neighbor. And now? A generation will change, and it will be much more convenient and easier for young Armenian politicians to communicate with America than with Russia.
Karabakh is amazing place. The place where Armenians have always lived. Yes, it is possible to solve the Karabakh issue by giving Karabakh to Azerbaijan and destroying all the Armenians who live there. They will never leave there voluntarily. Karabakh has always been Armenian. This is not Azerbaijani land, not Turkic, this is a Christian shrine. Guys, my peers who went through the war, said: we didn’t know that we were warriors, but when the question of survival arose, everyone became warriors. And the Azerbaijani army, many times superior in both numbers and armaments, was unable to do anything.
This is a painful topic for discussion between nations. I talked with my good friend, a wonderful musician, Polad Bul-Bul ogly. He is from Shushi, for him this is pain, his home, his homeland.
Now the situation is so dangerous that it smells like war. The tension is terrible and does not subside. But war is a path that leads to nowhere. I don’t want to judge anyone, I want to remind them of the pain that cannot be forgotten.
I don’t see how the Karabakh issue can be resolved now. It seems to me that the main thing now is not to touch him. Only time heals. I believe that it is necessary to establish economic relations between Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Karabakh. We need to solve problems legally, figure out where whose property is, and buy it back. In many ways, the positive experience of building relations between Israel, neighboring Arab states and Palestine helps here.
There should not be such a situation in the 21st century when they say: you cannot fly to Azerbaijan because you have Armenian surname, and vice versa. This is simply impossible.
– Don’t you think that Russia could arm Armenia more intensively so that its enemies would lose the desire to threaten Russia’s ally?
- Of course not. This would mean international conflict and damaged relations, including with Azerbaijan. Russia is obliged to establish much more effective economic relations with Armenia so that its budget is sufficient for Armenia to solve the problem of its technical re-equipment itself. But Russia’s own base, of course, must be in such a state that, if necessary, it can resolve any military issue effectively.
– You are well acquainted with the history of Armenia. The 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide is approaching. Should we expect Turkey to admit guilt in this tragedy?
– I believe that people only become stronger by admitting their mistakes. I believe that only the strong admit to their mistakes. Many nations have something to apologize for. Will the Turks be able to do this? This question is much more complex than the problem itself. I talked with the Israeli ambassador to Russia, not the current one, but the previous one, and asked: “How is it possible that you, a representative of a people who went through the Holocaust, do not support Armenia with its demands?” He replied: “It is very important for us good relationship with Turkey." So, are Israel's relations with Turkey still normal? No. Politicians need to understand that morality is more important than immediate political interest. The French understood this, a number of American politicians understood this. The Turks are afraid that if the genocide is recognized, the issue of paying compensation will arise.
– But why doesn’t Israel want to recognize the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey?
– I think this is immoral. For some reason, I very often answer about Israel, although I have nothing to do with it. For me, unlike some Russian TV presenters, there is no American, French or Israeli citizenship. I have been to Israel less often than to Armenia. I am a citizen of Russia, but I am a Jew and an atheist. I love seafood too much to be completely devout, and I don't like pork at all, which doesn't make me a Muslim. I go to the synagogue on two holidays, and each time I promise myself not to go there again, because I never manage to pray calmly: I answer, help, listen to complaints.
I go to church, but not for prayers, but to look. I have great respect for the Russian Orthodox Church. Any attempt to humiliate Orthodoxy and insult the Russian Orthodox Church is always an attempt aimed at destroying Russia. I have very good relations with the ministers of the church, with the Patriarch. All my children are baptized.
– What do the Armenians of Russia lack to become fully established in Russia? They already have a lot: a church is being completed, there are organizations, there is a business, but the big one is cultural center, which Georgians have, for example, do not.
– They will always have everything that the capital’s Armenians need. This means that the need has not yet arisen. That's why it took so long to build the church. Could they have built it 20 years ago? But they couldn't agree. This is the same eternal problem Armenians are a lot of marshals. Armenians have the same problem as Jews. They unite only in the face of an external threat or out of love for their food. There is no shortage of wonderful Armenian restaurants in Moscow, and we are sitting in one of them - Lavash.
If you look closely at the community, everything is fine. Armenians live, work, the issue of business relations is effectively resolved, and the attitude towards Armenians in Russia is wonderful. But it is impossible to lobby the interests of the state of Armenia through the community. Still, the majority of people who belong to the community - Russian citizens. But Armenia has its own interests, which do not always coincide with the interests of the community. And Armenia does not know how to convey its own interests in an informal language and build a system of relations with at different levels authorities in Russia. At the same time, personal relations between state leaders are, as a rule, quite good, but not as cloudlessly joyful as they were just recently.
– What do you think is the problem in communication?
- There are no speakers. It is not the diaspora, but the Armenian state that needs to be able to formulate tasks and gently show what Russia benefits from in their implementation. You cannot be in the position of the offended, in the position of the one asking. Relations between countries and mutual dialogue must be conducted at many levels. In Armenia this quality has disappeared somewhere.
At the same time, Armenian organizations in Russia are very effective in protecting the interests of representatives of the Armenian diaspora. There are no problems here. The attitude towards Armenians in Russia is remarkable both at the state level and at the personal level. The attitude towards Dagestanis, Ingush and Chechens is often worse than towards Armenians.
I do not have any property in Armenia, I have not been awarded any orders or medals, I do not have shares in Armenian businesses, but I have Armenian friends. I am very proud of our friendship. They have helped me many times in my life, helping me out in the most difficult situations.
– Who do you consider an outstanding Armenian?
– Gayane Samsonovna Ambartsumyan, the greatest television personality, a person with whom I have been working for many years. Samvel Sarkisovich Karapetyan, who does a lot for the entire Armenian community. He is very modest and calm. The country where Armen Borisovich Dzhigarkhanyan works is already great country. If we talk about military leaders, then the whole history of the Great Patriotic War intertwined with their names: Bagramyan, Babajanyan, Khudyakov... And, of course, our favorite, twice Hero of Russia and Soviet Union– Arthur Chilingarov, however, he does not speak Armenian, unfortunately... My friend is Armen Grigoryan, leader of the “Crematorium” group, a Moscow Armenian. He speaks Armenian well, and I remember when he arrived in Israel, he hung out there for three weeks. He communicated with the monks in his native language.
Among the television personalities is Margarita Simonyan, also a Russian. I would especially like to highlight Seyran Karapetyan. He is like a brother to me, we have been friends for 12 years. And we’re not talking about sports yet. There are a lot of outstanding Armenians, and each is famous in his own way.
- You father of many children. You have 8 children. Do they miss having a parent who spends a lot of time working? How do you see their future? What do you want to convey to them?
“I don’t want to convey anything to them; a man, by his example, shows something to his children.” I have a wonderful dad, an amazing mother, but my grandfather was such an example. Already retired, he was still the breadwinner. A man must make sure that the family lives happily. I never raise my voice to children.
– What would you wish to the readers of our newspaper?
– First of all, I wish everyone health and happiness in the New Year.
Noah's Ark is the means of salvation. Not only animals were saved in Noah’s Ark, but most importantly – 8 people. That is why the number 8 is sacred. Not because it looks like an infinity sign, but because Noah, his 3 sons and their wives were saved - and from here the construction of humanity began.
I know the President of Armenia well. A charming person, a wonderful chess player, a subtle politician. I know the people who surround him well, and I can say a lot of good things about everyone. But why does everyone involved in Armenian politics seem to live in another world? Why is it impossible to move this mafia so that the citizens of Armenia feel real changes in their lives?
We are very ancient peoples. If we start living badly, we disappear from the face of the earth. We must prove in our homeland that we can build a garden city. Stop living in the past, we need to live in the great present, and for this purpose we need to get together and work together. It's time to create, and not find out who is boss in the house.
I think so.
The conversation was conducted by Grigory Anisonyan
From the editor: The editors of the newspaper apologize to Vladimir Rudolfovich for the unfortunate mistake in the interview; instead of the words: “I am a citizen of Russia, but I am a Jew and an atheist,” it is correct to read: “I am a citizen of Russia, but I am a Jew and a monotheist.”
Program “To the Barrier!” airs on NTV on Thursdays at the most watchable time, the topics there are the most discussed, the characters are the most interesting and seasoned, the host is Vladimir Solovyov himself... The Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent looked into the kitchen of the program and looked at what and how such a popular and spicy " telebrew."
In the beginning there was boxing
Gayane Ambartsumyan, the editor-in-chief of the program, gave me a behind-the-scenes tour. She has been working on television for 30 years, together with Solovyov for seven years, and the program “To the Barrier!” - their common brainchild.
“Volodya and I came up with the program,” she tells me. - This doesn’t exist anywhere else - this is absolutely our know-how! It’s just that, jumping from channel to channel, I accidentally saw a box somewhere. I am a person far from sports, but I really liked the picture. And then it occurred to me: why not make a political box? And then Volodya and I brought this idea to mind and, in fact, to the “Duel”. This program was broadcast on TVS, it’s just a pity that it was at the end of the channel, when the regions were gradually switching off. When we came to NTV, Kirill Nabutov - he was then the general producer - said: “We need to come up with something similar, but it’s not boxing.” We racked our brains: maybe gladiator fights? Then it dawned on me: a duel! Title "To the Barrier!" Nabutov came up with it, we didn’t like it at first, but then we got used to it. Now we know everything about the duel - we had to! There are different dueling codes for bladed weapons and firearms... By the way, the judges in the program are like seconds, two on each side.
So “To the barrier!” - this is an original, not a copy, like most domestic TV products. And by the way, we have proposals to sell the format to other countries.
“You, Lera, are just a toad!”
So, the main tasks of the show: the topic should be relevant, and the guests should be reactive and withstand a clear confrontation. And, by the way, they must have at least an hour’s supply of arguments in order to hold the viewer’s attention.
If “To the barrier!” aired on weekends, like most socio-political programs, then the life of the team would be much calmer. But it comes out on Thursday, and the employees are under eternal force majeure. For example, the topic has already been selected, there are duelists, the program is ready - and suddenly something happens that you can’t ignore.
“This happened with the murder of the deputy chairman of the Central Bank Andrei Kozlov,” recalls Gayane Ambartsumyan. “They shot him the day before, and he died on the day of the broadcast - early Thursday morning. I had to redo everything at once! And this means: select other opponents, rewrite their appearances (“...they are invited to the site...”), get photographs... We need to re-trace the artists who tell us the biographies and appearances of the guests, as well as the summary for the vote. And all this - in a crazy time pressure!
Replace one of the pair of duelists in the program “To the barrier!” almost impossible. People should experience deep contradictions in their feelings and thoughts - this is the law of the existence of the “To the Barrier!” program. Any replacement causes a rework of absolutely the entire program scheme, because there cannot be an invented conflict here.
The leader of the LDPR party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has proven himself to be a particularly “hot guy.” He seems to have quarreled with all his opponents. In one of latest programs, for example, the irreconcilable Valeria Novodvorskaya suffered greatly. In an impulse, Volfovich simply called her a toad, and Novodvorskaya, who also shouldn’t put a finger in her mouth, suddenly began to complain to Solovyov:
- Volodya, he called me a toad!
Zhirinovsky, who had not interrupted his fiery monologue all this time, hesitated for a second and “gave out”:
- Toad... Well, that’s what a toad is!
The audience drowned in laughter.
How Solovyov found a 39-year-old... son
"To the barrier!" airs four times - first on Far East, that's where the audience sees everything in live. Then the program is watched by Siberia, the Urals and, finally, Central Russia. Doubles to Moscow and central areas our country is sometimes “cleaned up”. But this practically does not concern Vladimir Solovyov. In fact, half of the viewers go to the program only to listen to him, and not to the heroes. Moreover, the presenter never needs editorial tips. Firstly, Solovyov is encyclopedic educated person, and secondly, he simply has an instant reaction to what is happening in the hall.
“It’s not enough to know the material and the participants—you have to be psychophysically prepared,” Vladimir shared his secret. — You will laugh, but I go to the gym every day, because transmission takes a lot of energy. In a physical sense. It's about the same as fighting a multi-round boxing match yourself.
Soloviev also makes sure to “warm up” the audience in the studio before the broadcast. Sings to them, tells them fresh jokes... But sometimes situations are so wild and funny that no jokes are needed.
“Once a very shabby-looking spectator came up to me and said: “Dad, hello!” Mom asked me to tell you that she is not offended by anything,” says Soloviev. I said to him: “Excuse me, but how old are you?” - "Thirty nine". And I was not 43 then. I say, you were mistaken, Leonid Yakubovich is filming further down the corridor. That is, such characters usually pop up in the “Field of Miracles” - Leonid Arkadyevich told me a lot of this...
Spectators came several times and during the break they all rushed at the same Zhirinovsky asking for money. Vladimir Volfovich, who adores shocking behavior, began handing out five hundred rubles to them. It was almost impossible to calm down the greedy citizens after this.
Zurabov does not come to visit
— Are there people you dream of getting? - I torture Solovyov.
- Yes, I would really like to see Zurabov at my place. But he doesn’t want to, he’s hiding. It would be very interesting to get Grigory Yavlinsky, but, unfortunately, he does not show such a desire. I would also be glad to see Gennady Zyuganov... At the same time, if my attitude towards Zurabov is definitely negative, then towards Messrs. Yavlinsky and Zyuganov it’s just the opposite.
— Will the president ever come to your program?
- This is fundamentally impossible. Candidates for this post may come, but not the president. Who should he stand against?
— Do you receive threats because of your statements?
- Intrigues, threats, lawsuits - this is constant. All this is sorted out by a team of lawyers and a security service.
The brightest broadcasts
Deputy Valery Komissarov against deputy Alexander Chuev. The conversation was about media freedom. Komissarov brought a live duck on air, which was supposed to be reminiscent of newspaper “ducks”. It was a terrible stress for the director, and the applause actually gave the duck a heart attack.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky vs Boris Nemtsov. At the most “hot” moment, Vladimir Volfovich suddenly took handcuffs out of his pocket, began shaking them and shouting that prison awaited everyone. The film crew did not know how to react, everyone was in shock.
Pearls of the participants
Zhirinovsky accused Khazanov of setting fire to the theater in order to obtain money.
Zhirinovsky to Khazanov: “Gennady, hand over your theater, leave! Your niche is to be a cashier in a quiet bathhouse.”
Khazanov to Zhirinovsky: “If you hadn’t kissed prostitutes so often, I would have kissed you, and after you appeared in the frame with Cicciolina, I was jealous.”
Deputy Alexey Mitrofanov: — This undermines the liberal idea!
Vladimir Soloviev: - Let’s be precise: it doesn’t wash away, it blurs! It washes away - that's something else!
Natalia Morozova, editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Loyalty to Lenin” and Viktor Anpilov’s second in a program where they discuss whether it’s time to take Lenin out of the Mausoleum: “There are only two Mahatmas in the world - Mahatma Gandhi and Mahatma Lenin.
Duelists about the program “To the Barrier!”
Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKY:
- This is the only place where people say whatever they think is necessary, and this is a one-on-one fight - there is an opportunity to react instantly.
There is only one minus - often the opponent goes off topic, and the conversation slides to the level of “he’s a fool.” I like to argue with Anpilov, but I’m even more interested in the democrats - Novodvorskaya, Khakamada. Yavlinsky never comes because he is afraid. When I hear wild lies, it excites me very much, and after the program I need intensive care, and I would gladly send them all to a madhouse! May they be brainwashed a little!
Gennady ZYUGANOV:
— I consider Solovyov one of the most talented and intelligent journalists. He would be an excellent captain of KVN... But, unfortunately, he is forced to spend his talent in order to calm down the rage and ardor of Zhirinovsky, Mitrofanov and Novodvorskaya when they practice there! But I can’t stand at the barrier and endlessly shout: “This is not my role and not my genre.” I love serious programs when there is an opportunity to discuss a problem rather than listen to a mentally unstable counterpart.
Irina KHAKAMADA:
— I love this program because it is impromptu, no roles are spoken out in advance. Soloviev gives carte blanche - behave as you want. Plus “To the barrier!” It's still broadcast live. But I don’t like meeting with thugs who come there to throw mud at their opponents and get votes at their expense.
I don't like meeting Zhirinovsky there. Because in response I will hear screams, screams and psychosis. It will be suppression and an endless monologue. Behind the scenes we have a normal relationship - calm, absolutely intelligent, but not friendly. But as soon as he reaches the barrier, everything ends immediately. In general, this is hard work and no pleasure...
Alexey MITROFANOV:
- This is a difficult transfer - it “squeezes out”, then it takes a few days to come to your senses. Everyone recognizes Solovyov’s talent, whether he likes it or not. For me, the discussion on Litvinenko with Valeria Novodvorskaya was psychologically difficult. Novodvorskaya was clearly losing, and it was unclear what to do with her next. It was inconvenient for me to “drown” her - it would be better if she called me rudely, I was counting on that, then my hands would be free. And outside the camera I behave normally with my opponents - I am, after all, a professional diplomat. No rudeness!
Prepared by Anna BALUEVA
