Vladimir Solovyov (journalist)

Vladimir Rudolfovich Solovyov (russian: Владимир Рудольфович Соловьёв, born October 20, 1963) is a Russian TV presenter and propagandist. He has been an anchor on the television show ''Evening with Vladimir Solovyov'' on Russia-1.

In March 2022, Youtube blocked his channel "Solovyov Live". Since then, he was assigned the TV channel frequency of the news channel Euronews, which Moscow had banned from Russia.

Early life and education

Vladimir Solovyov was born into a Jewish family. He was born in Moscow and was raised in a family of teachers. His father, Rudolf Solovyov, was a political economy instructor.

Career

In 1999 Solovyov first appeared as a presenter on two TV talk shows: ''The Process'' on the ORT channel (with Alexander Gordon) (1999-2001) and ''Passion for Solovyov'' on the TNT channel (1999-2002). These were followed by his own projects ''Breakfast with Solovyov'' and ''Nightingale Night'' on TV6, the latter being the final show broadcast on the station before it was shut down in early 2002, as well as ''Look Who's Coming!'', ''Duel'' on TVS and ''Orange Juice'' on NTV.

On New Year's Eve in 2013, the then popular Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Russian comedian Maxim Galkin, who spoke out against the war in Ukraine and fled Russia in 2022, performed together in a traditional New Year's program called ''Little Blue Light'' on the Russia-1 TV channel. Solovyov also appeared on the show as one of the presenters and danced in the audience during Zelenskyy's performance.

Since September, 2018 Solovyov has hosted the ''Moscow. Kremlin. Putin.'' show on the channel Russia-1, in which for one hour he talks about the deeds done by the president over the past week. The intonation of the program, the selection of guests - in the premiere, they turned out to be only individuals connected with state power: the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov Andrei Makarov - the co-host ( VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin, has prompted a number of media outlets to consider the show to be an attempt to raise the rating of Putin.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 23 February 2022, one day before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Solovyov was sanctioned by the European Union and has been barred from entering the EU countries so long as the sanctions remain in force. All his EU domiciled assets have been frozen.

In the lead-up to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Solovyov claimed that Russia has "enough firepower for the full annihilation of the Ukrainian military infrastructure without an incursion of forces into Ukrainian territory. But we aren't preparing to do this." He later voiced support for Putin's invasion of Ukraine, saying that "Today is the day that a righteous operation was launched for the de-Nazification in Ukraine."

On 27 February 2022 Solovyov said he had been placed on a list of international sanctions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and that his ownership of real estate at Lake Como was at risk. Later, on March 5, 2022, ''The Guardian'' wrote that the Financial Guard of Italy seized his villa, along with billionaire Alisher Usmanov's property. On April 6, 2022, his villa on the shores of Lake Como caught fire and was severely damaged, in what was probably an intentional fire.

In March 2022 Solovyov warned: "if you think we're going to stop with Ukraine, think 300 times, I will remind you that Ukraine is merely an intermediate stage in the provision of the safety of the Russian Federation." He accused Western-backed Ukrainian "Banderites" of attempting to assassinate him because he is "Jewish anti-fascist."

As of March 2022, Youtube had blocked his channel "Solovyov Live" according to its three strikes policy.
He then received the TV frequency of the news channel Euronews, which Moscow had banned from Russia.

On 20 April 2022, Solovyov talked on Russian state TV about a new stage of the war that started as part of the "special operation" against Ukraine. He said this new stage of war would be against "NATO's war machine and all its citizens", asserting that Russia "will show no mercy".

On 26 April 2022, while discussing the possibility of World War III and nuclear war with Solovyov on ''The Evening with Vladimir Solovyov'', RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said, "Personally, I think that the most realistic way is the way of World War III, based on knowing us and our leader, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin knowing how everything works around here, it's impossible—there is no chance—that we will give up…We're all going to die someday." Solovyov added, "But we will go to heaven, while they will simply croak."

Igor Albin, former Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg, wrote on his Telegram channel: "Crazy 'propagandists' will burn in hell. You don't scold your own in times of war, but you shouldn't be proud of them either. There will be no winners in a nuclear war!" In June 2022, Solovyov warned that the US-UK military shipments to Ukraine were seen by the Kremlin as an escalation of the conflict, saying that "I hope we'll live through this. If everything keeps progressing the way that it is, only a couple of mutants in Lake Baikal will survive; the rest will be destroyed in a massive nuclear strike."

On 13 May 2022, he complained that Russian troops were being sent to Ukraine with "hopelessly obsolete weapons."

On 18 August 2022, he suggested attacking Berlin, Paris, London and Brussels using missiles.

On 5 October 2022, he said that some high-ranking Russian commanders should be shot by firing squad. Speaking of the chaotic partial mobilization, Solovyov suggested recruitment officers who call up the wrong people should either be shot or sent to the front to fight themselves. The clip with fabricated satirical subtitles has been circulating online purporting to show Solovyov complaining about being drafted into the Russian army as part of Putin's partial mobilization.

On 8 October 2022, a fire broke out on the Crimean Bridge as a result of an explosion on the road part of the bridge. Solovyov urged retaliatory strikes across all Ukraine targeting "bridges, dams, railways, thermal power plants and other infrastructure facilities". He also called on Putin to reinstate Stalin’s counter-intelligence agency SMERSH – whose motto was "Death to Spies" – to suppress any internal opposition to the war in Ukraine.

Towards the end of November 2022, Solovyov suggested that Russia should attack Norway, since the General Secretary of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, is a Norwegian. This was not taken very seriously in Norway.

Solovyov has repeatedly called for Russia to escalate the war with nuclear strikes. In January 2023, he said that "life is highly overrated" and urged Russians not to fear death, saying "Why be afraid of what is inevitable? We’ll go to heaven.".

On 12 January 2023, on his show, Solovyov casually called for Russia to launch false flag terror attacks against France and Britain.

Conflicts, 2006-2019

In October 2006, Solovyov moderated a televised debate between the candidates for the post of the head of the Samara city district, Viktor Tarkhov and Georgy Limansky. As Solovyov insulted Tarkhov during and after the broadcast, Tarkhov filed a lawsuit against him for 10 million rubles. After a year and a half, the court partially satisfied the claim, collecting 70 thousand rubles from the defendant.

In February 2014, Solovyov announced on air of the ''Full Contact'' program, that "under the auspices of" the Faculty of Applied Political Science at the Higher School of Economics, "organized terrorist groups" were operating, who prepared the "Maidan underground". The university reacted negatively to both Solovyov's statements and students' remarks, and attempts to link the institution with the political position of the participants in the scandal were regarded as a provocation.

In June 2014, businessman Sergei Polonsky appealed to the Savelovsky court of Moscow with a claim for the protection of honour and compensation for moral damage in the amount of 200 million rubles against the "Vesti FM" radio station and Solovyov because of his broadcast in November 2013. Polonsky lost the lawsuit.

In August 2014, the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine included Solovyov in the sanctions list for his position on the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the Russo-Ukrainian War.

In June 2016, he intervened in the election campaign, harshly criticizing the KVN actress Yulia Mikhalkova-Matyukhina, who took the "passing place" in the primaries of United Russia in the Sverdlovsk region, who built her campaign under the slogan "I can take care of myself, I can also take care of the country". After that Mikhalkova-Matyukhina withdrew her candidacy.

In September 2017, during the broadcast of Channel One's program ''Evening Urgant'', presenter Ivan Urgant said in response to the remark of former MTV Russia presenter Irena Ponaroshku about the face mask from the nightingale droppings brought to her studio: "First of all, this is a good name for a show on the "Russia" channel..." (The surname "Solovyev" is derived from "solovey", a Russian word for "nightingale".).

The episode of the show did not go unnoticed by Solovyov: a few days after this TV broadcast, in his live program for the Far East, he made the following speech: "I know a great way to avoid getting into the Myrotvorets. It's enough to make a nasty joke about me on your channel". When broadcasting the release of Solovyov's program to Moscow, this comment was cut out at the request of the presenter himself. Later, in an interview with ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'', Solovyov regarded the passage of Urgant as a "declaration of war".

In November 2018, a picket was held in St. Petersburg against Vladimir Solovyov. The police detained seven people, six of whom were soon released. A protocol was drawn up against one of the participants in the picket, Pavel Ivankin, under an administrative article on disobeying the lawful demand of a police officer. The picket participants compared Solovyov particularly with Julius Streicher, one of the main propagandists of Nazi Germany, editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''Der Stürmer''.

In May 2019, during the protests in Yekaterinburg against the construction of the Cathedral of St. Catherine in the park near the Drama Theatre, Vladimir Solovyov called the protesting people "demons" and "devils", and promised to visit the city to purge them. In response to Solovyov, they began to sue him, he was even challenged to a duel.

Controversies and criticism

Numerous media organizations have described Solovyov as a propagandist. Solovyov regularly talks about his patriotism, the rapid development of Russia under Putin and the decline of the West. On November 21, 2007, at a pre-election rally forum in Luzhniki, Solovyov spoke in support of Putin and described him as a "strong, intelligent, talented leader" who loves the Motherland and does everything to make Russians proud of their country.

At the end of February 2014, together with a number of other pro-Putin journalists, public and political figures signed an appeal for the "All of us are Berkut" foundation, which was created mainly to support the members of the Ukrainian special unit "Berkut" which was involved in violence and shootings against Ukrainian protesters during Euromaidan and the Orange Revolution.

Since the Russo-Ukrainian War began in 2014, Solovyov's position has mirrored that of president Putin and the Russian government: that the conflict was between the fascists of the Ukrainian maidan and the anti-fascists of the rebel-held eastern territories.

Solovyov has changed his opinion on different questions numerous times; for example, the Crimean problem:The fate of the propagandist. Vladimir Solovyov: business and propaganda in one bottle
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:Any person who tries to start a war between Russia and Ukraine is a criminal, moreover, I can't even imagine the extent of such criminality. In Ukraine live people fraternal to us in spirit, in blood, in common history. Do not shout "Sevastopol is ours!" Do not shout "Crimea is ours!" (2008).

:And why do you need Crimea?... It was, without a doubt, legitimately transferred (to Ukraine) by Kruschev. If we suddenly say (we're taking it back) - it means war. Do you want a war with Ukraine? How many Ukrainian and Russian lives are you ready to lay down in order to take Crimea, which (by the way) has long become a Tatar territory?... Crimeans are against (rejoining Russia). (2013).

:We brought this day as best we could. Crimea and Sevastopol are again a part of Russia. Historical justice has triumphed! (March 18, 2014).

In June 2017, Solovyov called participants in an anti-corruption in Russia rally in Moscow "the eternal two percent of shit", "children of corrupt officials" and "majoritarian imbeciles", and he also stated that "if not for the police, the (counter protest) people would tear them to shreds". The statement was criticized by journalist Alexander Nevzorov. Solovyov continued to use similar remarks against some audience members and Russian opposition journalists.

In February 2020, Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) lawyer Alexander Golovach turned to the Investigative Committee with a request to check Solovyov's documentary ''Mussolini. Sunset'' on the subject of violation of the law "On counteraction to the rehabilitation of Nazism" and other normative legal acts. Golovach, in particular, referred to the statements of President Putin and the text of the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, mentioning fascism.

In May 2020, a petition on change.org started collecting signatures for banning Solovyov from entering Italy and the EU. The petition was addressed to the Italian Interior Minister, Luciana Lamorgese, and received the support of more than 200,000 people. Solovyov refused to comment on the appearance of this initiative.

In February 2021, Solovyov was banned from the Clubhouse social networking app. Likewise in Latvia, Solovyov was included on the list of ''personae non gratae'' after he compared jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny with Adolf Hitler, saying that Hitler was a "very brave man" and "unlike this codpiece ''Führer'' avalny he itlerdid not get out of army service." Alla Gerber, president of the Russian Research and Educational Holocaust Centre, said:

Personal life

As of 2011, Solovyov has been married to Helga Solovyova (née Sepp), a psychologist and daughter of a known Russian satirist Viktor Koklyushkin. She has Volga German and Estonian descent on her mother's side.

In September 2017, the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) discovered that Solovyov has a villa on Lake Como, Italy, three apartments in Moscow and a house in the Moscow region, estimating the total cost of Solovyov's real estate in Moscow, the Moscow region and Pianello del Lario at 1 billion rubles ($17 million).

In January 2019, FBK discovered that Solovyov owned a second villa on Lake Como and a Maybach car. In July 2019, FBK found that Solovyov has permanent residency status in Italy; and the next day, the founder of FBK, Alexei Navalny, was arrested.

As of March 2022, his villa on Lake Como in Italy was seized by Italian authorities. The seized properties were valued at 8 million euros, though the exact number of properties involved is unknown.

Assassination hoax

In April 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had stopped a Ukrainian neo-Nazi plot to kill Solovyov; the FSB then released video of a raid of the alleged plotters' flat, where a book signed with the words "Signature unclear", a green wig, three ''The Sims'' video game boxes, a Nazi-styled t-shirt, a portrait of Adolf Hitler, and Ukrainian passports were shown. Nataliya Vasilyeva of ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that the video "raised suspicions that the foiled plot may have been a Russian intelligence hoax", as the signature seemed like "an apparent instruction carried out too literally", while ''The Sims'' boxes being shown could be an error "instead of mobile phone Sim cards that would have helped frame the plot." The supposed Ukrainian passports were also noted to have been outdated.

Work

Television

* ''Актуальное интервью «Страсти по Соловьёву»/«Страсти по…»''; (Interview of current interest "Passion for Solovyov" / "Passion for ...") — TNT, 1999–2002
* ''Ток-шоу «Процесс» (совместно с Александром Гордоном)''; (Talk show "Process" (together with Alexander Gordon)) — ORT, 1999–2001
* ''Утренний канал "На свежую голову"/'' ''"Сегоднячко на свежую голову" (совместно с Еленой Ильиной)''; Morning channel "With a fresh mind" / "Today with a fresh mind" (together with Elena Ilyina) — TNT, 2000-2001
* ''Документальное наблюдение «Завтрак с Соловьёвым»''; Documentary observation "Breakfast with Solovyov" — TV-6, 2001–2002; TVS, 2002
* ''Музыкальная программа "Соловьиная ночь"''; Musical program "Nightingale Night" — TV-6, 2001–2002
* ''Новогоднее шоу "Венеция в Москве" (совместно с Юлией Бордовских)''; New Year's show "Venice in Moscow" (together with Yulia Bordovskikh) — TV-6, 2001
* ''Актуальное интервью "Смотрите, кто пришёл!"''; Interview of current interest "Look who's here!" — TVS, 2002–2003
* ''Ток-шоу "Поединок"''; Talk show "Duel" — TVS, 2002–2003; Russia-1, 2010–2017
* ''Теледебаты кандидатов в депутаты Государственной думы РФ и Президента РФ''; Television debates of candidates to the State Duma of the Russian Federation and the President of the Russian Federation — Russia-1, 2011–2012, 2018
* ''Детский конкурс талантов "Синяя птица"''; Children's talent contest "Blue Bird", Russia-1
* ''Ток-шоу "Кто против?" (совместно с Сергеем Михеевым)''; Talk show "Who is against?" (together with Sergey Mikheev) — Russia-1, 2019

Narrative films

Documentaries

* 2013 — «''Муссолини. Закат''» (Mussolini. Sunset) — author and presenter.
* 2015 — «''Президент''» (The President) — co-author and presenter.
* 2015 — «''Миропорядок''» (World Order) — co-author and presenter.
* 2018 — «''Миропорядок 2018''» (World Order 2018) — author and presenter.

In popular media

On September 28, 2019, Boris Grebenshchikov uploaded the song "Evening M" on his YouTube channel, which described a typical television propagandist. ("M" stands for "Mudozvon", which is a rude Russian word.) Solovyov claimed that Grebenshchikov had "degraded to a coupletist," and also that "there is a program in Russia that has the word "Evening" in its name, alluding to the program "Evening Urgant". Grebenshchikov replied: "There is an insurmountable distance between "Evening U" and "Evening M" - as between dignity and shame."

''Evening Urgants Ivan Urgant parsed the song, hinting in many ways that it is about Solovyov. In September 2019, the song "" was dedicated to Solovyov.

Solovyov then argued that the song is dedicated to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The phrase "Evening M" have become associated with Solovyov, and journalist Vladimir Pozner expressed the opinion that "he deserved what he got" and that Solovyov does great harm to journalism, and he "will not shake his hand at a meeting".

In October 2019, Solovyov got into the ''Guinness Book of Records'' for the longest time on television as a host in the span of one week (25 hours 53 minutes and 57 seconds).

On October 30, 2019, the British television channel Channel 4 released the film ''The World According to Putin''. It is a 50-minute set of fragments of Russian political talk shows and Vladimir Putin's speeches. The film included statements by Solovyov, in particular, that "Britain has degraded to the level of a public toilet". According to ''The Guardian'' columnist Stuart Jeffries, the film displayed the "propaganda machine in full swing – just the thing to distract from a nation in chaos".

Awards

*In the fall of 2005, Solovyov was awarded the TEFI Russian television prize as the best interviewer.TEFI-2005 Winners: Interviewer
at the TEFI website (in Russian)
Archived

*In 2013, Solovyov received the Order of Honour from Vladimir Putin.

Bibliography

* ''Евангелие от Соловьёва.'' (The Gospel of Solovyov) — 2005. — . Second edition in 2007.
* ''Русская рулетка.'' (Russian roulette) — М.: Eksmo, 2006. — .
* ''Мы и Они. Краткий курс выживания в России.'' (We and They. A short course on survival in Russia) — М.: Eksmo, 2007. — .
* ''Апокалипсис от Владимира.'' (Apocalypse from Vladimir) — М.: Eksmo, 2007. — . (Continuation of the "Евангелие от Соловьёва").
* ''Путин. Путеводитель для неравнодушных.'' (Putin. A guide for those who are not indifferent) — М.: Eksmo, 2008. — .
* ''Хроники Второго пришествия.'' (Chronicle of the Second Coming) — М.: Eksmo, 2008. — 544 p. — .
* ''Противостояние: Россия.'' (Confrontation: Russia) ''—'' USA. — 2009. — . (Co-authored with Nikolai Zlobin).
* ''Мы — русские! С нами Бог!'' (We are Russians! God with us!) — 2009. — .
* ''Соловьёв против Соловьёва. Худеть или не худеть?'' (Solovyov against Solovyov. To lose weight or not to lose weight?) — М.: Eksmo, 2009. — .
* ''Минус 80 килограммов! Кто больше?'' (Minus 80 kilograms! Who is more?) — М.: Eksmo, 2009. — 256 p. — .
* ''Путин — Медведев. Что дальше?'' (Putin ''—'' Medvedev. What's next?) — М.: Eksmo, 2010. — 384 p. — . (Co-authored with Nikolai Zlobin).
* ''1001 вопрос о прошлом, настоящем и будущем России.'' (1001 questions about the past, present and future of Russia) — М.: Eksmo-Press, 2010. — 288 p. — .
* ''Русская рулетка. Заметки на полях новейшей истории.'' (Russian roulette. Notes on the margins of recent history) — М.: Eksmo-Press, 2010. — 352 p. — .
* ''Манипуляции. Атакуй и защищайся!'' (Manipulation. Attack and Defend!) — М.: Eksmo, 2011. — 352 p. — .
* ''Евангелие от Соловьёва.'' (The Gospel of Solovyov) — М.: Eksmo, 2011. — 352 p. — .
* ''Враги России.'' (Enemies of Russia) — М.: Eksmo, 2011. — 320 p. — .
* ''Последний солдат империи: Юрий Дмитриевич Маслюков в воспоминаниях современников.'' (The last soldier of the empire: Yuri Dmitrievich Maslyukov in the memoirs of his contemporaries) — М.: Eksmo, 2011. — 224 p., 1 000 cop. — .
* ''Империя коррупции. Территория русской национальной игры.'' (Empire of corruption. The territory of the Russian national game) — М.: Eksmo, 2012. — .
* ''Русский вираж. Куда идёт Россия?'' (Russian bend. Where is Russia going?) — М.: Eksmo, 2014 (Co-authored with Nikolai Zlobin). — .
* ''Разрыв шаблона.'' (Breaking the pattern) — М.: Eksmo, 2015. — 320 p. — .
* ''Русская тройка.'' (Russian troika) — М.: Eksmo, 2016. — 735 p. — .
* ''Апокриф.'' (Apocrypha) — М.: Eksmo, 2016. — 576 p. — .
* ''Зачистка: Роман-возмездие.'' (Sweep: Novel Retribution) — М.: Eksmo, 2016. — 288 p. — >.
* ''Революция консерваторов. Война миров.'' (Conservative revolution. War of the Worlds) — М.: Eksmo, 2017. — 320 p. — .
* ''Сложные переговоры в комиксах. Книга-тренер.'' (Complex negotiations in comics. Trainer book) — М.: Eksmo, 2018. — 176 p. — .

Notes

References

External links

Official site
*
Solovyov's profile and assets on Russian Asset TrackerOfficial biography
(in English, archived 2012)
Interview of Solovyov with ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' newspaper, 2005Interview of Solovyov with ''Rossiyanka'' magazine, 2005George W. Bush's interview to V. Solovyov

Articles

(in Russian)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solovyov, Vladimir
Living people
1963 births
Russian Jews
Russian propagandists
Russian conspiracy theorists
Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions
Russian television journalists
Russian television presenters
Russian television talk show hosts
Russian nationalists
National University of Science and Technology MISiS alumni
20th-century Russian journalists
21st-century Russian journalists
Russian schoolteachers
Writers from Moscow
Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Russia
Sanctioned due to Russo-Ukrainian War