Olga Vladimirovna Skabeyeva or Skabeeva (russian: Ольга Владимировна Скабеева; born 11 December 1984) is a Russian

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

, political commentator, and

propagandist Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. Skabeyeva received the nickname "Iron Doll of Putin TV" due to her criticism of the

Russian opposition Opposition to the government of President Vladimir Putin in Russia can be divided between the parliamentary opposition parties in the State Duma and the various non-systemic opposition organizations. While the former are largely viewed as bei ...

Early life and education

Skabeyeva was born in 1984 in Volzhsky, Volgograd Oblast,

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

.Ведущая нового ток-шоу на канале «Россия-1» начинала в газете Волжского
/ref> At first she studied at a private Russian-American school, and then moved to a general secondary school, from which she graduated with honors. In the tenth grade, she decided to become a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. She studied at the Faculty of Journalism at

Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

, where she graduated from with honors in 2008. Her journalism career began at a local newspaper.

Career

Skabeyeva rose to prominence in 2012–2013 with her coverage of the Pussy Riot

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

, the concurrent surge in anti-government rallies and subsequent criminal investigations into the activities of Russian opposition supporters. Her critical reports of the

prompted

TV critic Television criticism is the act of writing or speaking about television programming to evaluate its worth, meaning, and other aspects. Such criticism can be found in daily newspapers, on culture discussion shows (on TV and radio), and in specialis ...

to describe her as a member of Russian state TV's "special operation forces", and her tone as "

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

ial and accusatory". In 2015–2016, Skabeyeva hosted the author's program ''Vesti.doc'' on the Russia-1 TV channel. Since 12 September 2016, together with husband Yevgeny Popov, she has hosted the ''60 Minut'' a social and political

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

on Russia-1, billed as a discussion program on high-profile topics. In 2018, Skabeyeva was involved in an attempt to discredit the British

investigation Investigation or Investigations may refer to: Law enforcement * Investigation, the work of a detective * Investigation, the work of a private investigator * Criminal investigation, the study of facts, used to identify, locate and prove the guilt ...

into the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. Her television program said the Skripal poisoning case was 'an elaborate British plot to smear Russia'. According to an

Anti-Corruption Foundation The Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF or FBK; russian: Фонд борьбы с коррупцией (ФБК), Fond borby s korruptsiyey (FBK), Foundation for combating corruption) is a non-profit organization established in 2011 by Russian opposit ...

(FBK) investigation published 29 July 2021, Skabeyeva and her husband Yevgeny Popov own

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

with a total value of over 300 million

rubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

( $4 million). A 2020 investigation by '' The Insider'' website found Skabeyeva officially earns 12.8 million rubles a year, her husband 12.9 million. Their only reported sources of income are the

state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...

media holding All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company and its subsidiary TV channel Russia-1. Skabeyeva is a two-time winner of the Russian television TEFI Award, receiving the distinction in 2017 and 2018. She called the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

an effort "to protect people in Donbas from a Nazi regime" and said it was "without exaggeration, a crucial junction in history." On 15 April 2022, she reacted to the sinking of the Russian cruiser ''

Moskva Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million r ...

'' by the Ukrainian forces, saying "One can safely call that it has escalated into

World War III World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical World war, worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use ...

". On 24 February 2023, the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

imposed financial sanctions on Skabeyeva owing to her being Popov's spouse. In a press release, the State Department described them as "host ofa Russian talk show where they predominately disseminate pro-Russia propaganda for the war against Ukraine".

References

External links

*
Olga Skabeyeva
at the Zvezda television channel
Russia: Trump's chaos means 'we will finally defeat America'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skabeyeva, Olga 1984 births Living people People from Volzhsky, Volgograd Oblast Russian propagandists Russian women journalists Russian television personalities Saint Petersburg State University alumni 21st-century Russian journalists Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions Sanctioned due to Russo-Ukrainian War