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Each of the major TV channels has several talk shows where social and political topics are discussed. On "Russia 1" he broadcasts "Duel" and "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov", the talk show "60 Minutes" with Olga Skabeeva and Evgeny Popov is also broadcast there. The talk show "First Studio" with Artem Sheinin became the flagship of the socio-political block of Channel One. He, along with Ekaterina Strizhenova and Anatoly Kuzichev, hosts the daytime talk show "Time Will Tell". On NTV during the day, “Meeting Place” with Andrey Norkin and Olga Belova is aired, and on the TV Center channel in the evenings they show “The Right to Vote” with Roman Babayan, as well as “The Right to Know” with Dmitry Kulikov.

It is enough to look at these and other political shows to notice: the same people wander from show to show. Moreover, some of them are experts on almost all issues. The structure of the show, themes, and techniques are also repeated. Afisha Daily decided to look into these and other features of discussions on Russian political talk shows.

Release dated March 27, 2017. Theme: "At the scene of the crime." The program is dedicated to Ukraine. Presenter Artem Sheinin appeals to the reaction to the murder of Voronenkov, US Senator John McCain. After that, a discussion unfolds.

Leonid Smekhov

Business coach, teacher oratory MBA at IBDA RANEPA, author of the book "Popular Rhetoric"

Thanks to the image of the presenter, a feeling is created: the program is being broadcast by a “man from the people”, a kind of boorish-rude native of the proletarian environment. Scheinin rudely devalues ​​McCain as a speaker, citing the argument: "I understand that McCain spent a long time in a cell in Vietnam, where he was beaten regularly." This is labeling "not quite a mentally healthy person."

One of the participants in the program, Igor Drandin, agrees with McCain's words about Russia's involvement in the murder, recalling the example of Alexei Navalny: "As soon as you talk about Putin and corruption, you are immediately sent to jail." Other speakers begin to interrupt him, claiming that in America, Navalny would have been imprisoned for 15 years for rallies. This is a manipulative, unverifiable statement - a trick called "imposed consequence" when the chain of reasoning is hidden, and the emphasis is on the conclusion. The host labels the interlocutor “you are now talking like McCain”, ignores counter questions and uses an authoritarian trick - repeats the same phrase until the interlocutor gets tired and falls silent. The host also uses other tools to control the dialogue: gives commands to the speakers; lowers the pace of speech and increases the emphasis on words, which makes his speech more weighty; gets personal, directly accusing the opponent of lying.

When Drandin is already off balance, trying to outshout his opponents, he looks like a naughty child. At this point, the rest of the program participants begin to behave like educators who are trying to calm him down from the position of an "adult".

An employee of a socio-political talk show of one of the central channels

The expert wished to remain anonymous.

Opposition speakers are the most a big problem for such talk shows. The leadership wants new faces, but at the same time you need to be absolutely sure that this “liberal light” will not say too much. Especially if the program is live. Of course, there is a stop list, and it is periodically supplemented, in particular, due to "tired, too much on the air." These "light liberals" can be counted on the fingers. They are all royalty, that is, it is their job to go around TV channels and portray enemies in a mode that is safe for the channel.

Artem Sheinin is generally a strange character. He could still be tolerated when he was the shadow head of the channel's political broadcasting. But after the departure of Pyotr Tolstoy to the State Duma, Sheinin apparently decided to demonstrate the height of professionalism in conducting political talk shows. Well, in his opinion, of course. This style of transmission is generally Sheinin's manner of communication. The appearance of Anatoly Kuzichev as a co-host in the show "Time will tell", in general, fits into the concept. Under the guidance of Sheinin himself, they were looking for someone who would resemble Sheinin without overshadowing him.

Release dated February 21, 2017. Topic: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on Europe to tighten sanctions against Russia because it recognized the documents of the DPR and LPR. Conversation with Vyacheslav Kovtun, who is presented as a Ukrainian political scientist.

Leonid Smekhov

The host sets the framework in advance in which the audience will perceive the video with Poroshenko. Immediately after watching, he once again points out the incompatibility of Poroshenko's statements with his status and religious beliefs. It is important that the statement of the President of Ukraine is taken out of context: neither the situation, nor the identity of the interlocutor, nor the background is known. It is also impossible to say for sure that Poroshenko uttered the insult - it sounds from behind the scenes. Kovtun is trying to clumsily justify Poroshenko, instead of shifting the focus or even transferring the game to the opponent’s field (the favorite speech device is “the fool himself”). He does this belatedly, recalling the remarks made by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a press conference with a Saudi Arabian counterpart.

"Evening with Vladimir Solovyov" on "Russia 1"

Issue dated May 16, 2017. The topic of the program: “The ban on social networks in Ukraine. Medicine in Russia. Cultural extremism". Vladimir Solovyov and the guests again oppose the Ukrainian political scientist Vyacheslav Kovtun.

Leonid Smekhov

Solovyov acts in the habitual image of a cynic intellectual, increasing the persuasiveness of his statements by listing names and facts. He responds to Kovtun with manipulative tricks: sometimes he sticks a label, reducing the authority of the interlocutor; sometimes appeals to other people - Shoigu, Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky and their supposed reaction; then goes to direct accusations. In the future, even antics are used against Kovtun to devalue his words and seize the initiative. He is eventually hammered again with a series of accusations. Under them, he temporarily drowns.

TV show employee

The TV shows really played with the topics of Ukraine and Poroshenko. The viewer has long been unnerved by such a statement of the question, because it resembles a transfusion from empty to empty. When foreign policy topics are a priority on the Zvezda TV channel of the Ministry of Defense, this is at least somehow understandable. In the case of the first button and "Russia" - no.

Topics for talk shows (especially daily ones) are formed from the current agenda. Editors regularly offer interesting moves and twists, but from time to time it ends with the topic being canceled and the command: “Making Ukraine”. If some time ago this was interpreted as "Ukraine-actual", then in this moment actual with such periodicity is not forged. Therefore, the topic, as well as the program, are out of thin air.

Issue dated April 6, 2017. Topic: "What is expected from Russia?". They discuss "unsubstantiated" accusations from the West of Russia's involvement in a chemical attack in Syria. Igor Korotchenko, a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense, opposes American journalist Michael Bohm.

Leonid Smekhov

Korotchenko's statement is a typical sifting of facts: he omits something quite significant, but, on the contrary, brings something to the fore. He gives additional persuasiveness to his statement with a low rate of speech, harsh voice delivery, and accentuation. When Bom tries to interrupt Korotchenko, he immediately begins to insult him, as he would insult a criminal who has already been discovered, but is still trying to interfere with the course of the investigation. In the end, everything negative is attached personally to Bohm, as it usually happens on such programs.

Here it is worth noting the volume imbalance as an additional means of influencing the listener: in this dialogue, we hear Korotchenko's remarks much more clearly and better than Bohm's remarks. But how could it be the other way around? The opinion of the American is secondary here.

TV show employee

With Bohm, as well as with Kovtun, the situation is the same as with the fee oppositionists. It's just their job to go on talk shows and portray enemies (NTV dedicated a series of programs to foreign stars of Russian television: here it is. - Note. ed.). As for the fees, Bom, for example, received fifteen thousand rubles for the air two years ago. Kovtun was initially paid five, but soon the fee was raised to ten.

"First Studio" on Channel One

Release dated March 29, 2017. Topic: "Protest actions: how society should react to them." The guests talk about why the youth came out to protest on March 26.

Leonid Smekhov

Putin recognized the collapse of the USSR as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, which means that such an interpretation of the events of 1991 can be recognized as the official and main one. Gennady Zyuganov, for obvious reasons, develops this theme, linking the events in Ukraine to it and using recognizable Soviet propaganda cliches: "orange provocateurs", "under far-fetched slogans" and so on. But this does not sound archaic: modern media often use the tools of speech influence from the past.

The image of Navalny instantly transforms into the image of the enemy thanks to the label "Fuhrer". In general, the event under discussion is presented by Zyuganov as something illegal, dangerous for the country and inexperienced youth who do not understand anything. But, thank God, there are law enforcement agencies that protect the country and do not allow it to fall apart. They, according to the leader of the Communist Party, smarter than the protesters.

The next speaker is Olga Timofeeva (member of the Russian Federation Council Committee on International Affairs. - Note. ed.) develops the image of an unthinking young Russian who can be drawn into a dangerous game by conscription. There is an appeal to a probable future, the topic under discussion is inflated to a global scale, and the organizers of the rallies immediately become enemies of the country, encroaching on its future. Bursting into a dialogue with sharp questions and claims of Sergei Ivanenko (member of the Yabloko party. - Note. ed.) the host neutralizes with such an argument: “Are you a democrat? Are you saying you respect the law? So respect the laws of our studio. The host says this with a disparaging tone, which weakens the statement and the oratorical image of Ivanenko.

TV show employee

Did the choice of topic have been influenced by the fact that the central channels were criticized on the Internet for hushing up the protest action? Usually they react selectively to criticism on the Internet, there is no system as such. It was rather the gravitation of the leading Sheinin. It cannot be argued that the program management is constantly offended by criticism of the Internet and they run to give "our answer to Chamberlain."

The presenter appeals to the words of director Alexander Sokurov, without saying a word about the fact that this phrase was taken, and also without mentioning that Sokurov has repeatedly criticized the actions of the Russian authorities.

Leonid Smekhov

The presenter undertakes to assert that on his program a decision is formed on the correct reaction of society to rallies. And again a statement about the dullness, stupidity of young people: if you go to a rally, it means that the wind is in your head.

Look: even such worthy and recognized people as Sokurov were able to join. He proposes to divide the protesters into those who cannot be touched under any circumstances, and the rest who can be touched. And now we will prove that everyone should be touched. Here is a video of cute girls. Here they are sitting. But a building in Odessa is on fire. This type of insinuation is called a "sandwich". We take known fact- girls at the rally, we take another well-known fact - the burnt house of trade unions in Odessa, and between them we put an unknown and unverifiable fact: the assertion that the house was burned, including these girls. The trick is usually persuasive.

TV show employee

The system of taking phrases out of context, unfortunately, is practiced all the time. Those who make the broadcast are aware that the person whose statement was distorted will never come to the program. And if he wouldn’t have gone anyway, then his hands are completely untied.

"Time will tell" on Channel One

Release dated July 21, 2017. Topic: "Why don't we give birth?". Program about the drop in the birth rate for last years begins with a discussion of the presenter's recent vacation in the Crimea.

Leonid Smekhov

Again sifting the facts: we talk about one thing, we omit the other. There is an interesting point in the discussion of Crimea: childhood memories of the hosts about the taste of peaches. Firstly, these memories should cause the same reaction in the target audience of the program - consent, warm memories, nostalgia, and at the same time a desire to agree with the position of the presenters. And secondly, these memories are presented with an emphasis on the kinesthetic channel of perception: taste, sensations of flowing juice from a ripe fruit. This is done so that the viewer's imagination draws the right pictures, and does not deal with issues of prices and congestion of the beaches.

The national television award TEFI has exactly two nominations for information and analytical broadcasting (a program in this genre and its presenter), and through and through the political with its "Sunday Evening" is forced to compete (as it was at TEFI-2016) in the category "Evening talk show "With the shows "Revizorro" and "Let's Get Married" that are very far from politics. In this situation, however, there is nothing extraordinary - and after the update, TEFI has not yet figured out its categories (they change almost every year), and the politicization of domestic television - especially in prime time - leaves much to be desired.

Of course, there is news broadcasting: various "News", "Vesti", "Today" and "Events" go on the air several times a day, followed by final releases on the main events of the day.

But with the news, almost everything is clear, they are also in TEFI in separate nominations, and their format has remained unchanged almost since Soviet times. In addition, they enjoy constant success with the audience and regularly occupy almost the entire top 10 most popular programs of the week according to Mediascope (formerly TNS Russia), and only Eurovision or Voice can move them from the first places. Political talk shows, on the other hand, are not on the highest ratings. high places, which does not exclude rivalry already between them outside of TV awards.

Popular and not so popular

Vadim Takmenev with figurines after the TEFI award ceremony (2014)

Political talk shows should not be confused with copyright programs - like the show, which goes back to the program of the American TV presenter. Invented back in the 60s by Phil Donahue, the format of communication with the audience (and invited experts) to discuss topical issues is more often used for any social topics (for example, “Let them talk”). Extended newscasts that usually come out at the end of the week (such as "Sunday Time") still play in a different field than talk shows, although they can be similar to them.

The most popular talk show in the genre of politics has long been "Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov", which airs late on Sunday evenings on Rossiya 1.

In the week from February 13 to 19, this program received a rating of 4.6%, and a share of 18.9%, took first place among social and political programs and became thirteenth overall (Moscow, audience 4+).

Also, two more Solovyov's programs often fall into the top ten of this section - the Evening, which is released on weekdays, as well as the Duel, in which the viewers make the politician they like the winner.

In addition, the repeated owner of TEFI with the Saturday Central Television (3.4% rating and 9.8% share), as well as two shows on the channel "" - "The Right to Know!" and the right to vote. And, of course, the gaining momentum "60 minutes" on "Russia 1" and "First Studio" on the First.

By the way, it was Takmenev and his program who won TEFI twice - in 2014 and 2016.

Discord Slot

Olga Skabeeva and Evgeny Popov (program "60 minutes")

The seven-hour slot is traditionally considered the very beginning of the evening prime - not the most prestigious, but already popular. On weekdays, part of the domestic channels assigned it to news programs: the 40-minute release of Segodnya did not start at 19.00, and the half-hour "Events" on "TV Center" and "News" did not start at 19.30. Since 2013, Rossiya 1 has been broadcasting Live with Boris Korchevnikov, who, in terms of the intensity of passions and the topics raised (scandals in show business and social issues), was a worthy rival of the Let's Get Married show, which goes on First since 2008. For a long time, this distribution seemed to suit everyone, but at the beginning of the 2016/17 season, Rossiya 1 decided to change the concept.

The new talk show 60 Minutes opened the evening prime time.

The show airs daily on weekdays at 18.50 and goes - including advertising - until the 20-hour issue of Vesti. It was positioned and is positioned as a socio-political one and is dedicated to the main topic of the past day, which is discussed by the hosts (spouses and) and invited guests of the program - political and public figures. As for "Live", he did not go anywhere, but simply moved along with Korchevnikov an hour earlier. Beyond prime.

The main competitor of "Russia 1" for about half a year did not notice changes in the grid of the neighboring channel.

And only in January 2017 it hit back - at six in the evening, the almost two-hour talk show "First Studio" with host Artem Sheinin began to air. The format turned out to be approximately the same as that of 60 Minutes - a discussion of the topics of the day with invited experts (but in the legendary Ostankino First Studio), but perhaps a little more detailed than that of Skabeeva and Popov. Due to the longer run time.

It's about the ranking

Artem Sheinin

The ratings of their programs on TV channels are treated very carefully. And even if for the First or "Russia 1" fluctuation in percentage is not fatal, any change still requires attention. So, according to the data, at the end of 2016, the Russia 1 channel became the leader with 12.9% (the previous year it was 12.7%) of the audience share, and the First became the second with 12.7% (in 2015 it was 13, 7%). The first, by the way, was the first to take not the most popular measures to take the show off the air, which did not live up to expectations, such as the series “ back side moon - 2 "or own hockey cup.

The idea of ​​"Russia 1" with a socio-political talk show at the beginning of prime time did not at first look like a serious attempt to turn the tide.

At the start, "60 Minutes" showed 3.2% of the rating and 12.4% of the share - indicators comparable to "Let's Get Married", and therefore not dangerous. In the end, "Live" had about the same numbers: for example, exactly a year ago, in February 2016, Korchevnikov's show had 2.8% and 10.3% (and television matchmakers - 4.0% and 13.1%). And during the release of "60 Minutes" there was no direct competition: television actively covered the elections and there was no time for possible weddings.

By the end of the year, however, the situation had changed: “60 Minutes” entered the top 3 best socio-political programs aired on weekdays (according to data), and at the beginning of 2017 they were already clearly ahead of “Let's Get Married” - 5.4 % and 17.2% versus 4.0% and 12.7%.

Now "First Studio" and "60 Minutes" compete almost on an equal footing. The program of the First Channel in the week from February 13 to 19 had a rating of 4.1%, and a share of 13.8%, the show of Rossiya 1 had 4.2% and 13.7%, respectively.

The parity between the two similar programs will apparently continue in the future. “Russia 1” is helped by the fact that after “60 minutes” “Vesti” begins and it is possible to maintain the continuity of the news and analytical agenda. The First has Andrei Malakhov's scandalous talk show “Let them talk”, which has been going on for a decade and a half and looks completely unsinkable. The audience, perhaps, only benefited from this rivalry: you can choose the presentation of relevant material to your taste - aggressive from 60 Minutes or calmer from First Studio.

The main victims in this struggle of ratings were the fans of the Let's Get Married show, which suddenly found itself in an unusual place (it now airs at 17.00) - not all viewers have time to get to the TVs from work by this time. True, the protest that swept through social networks was not paid attention to the First.

There are dozens of political talk shows on Russian television. Almost all of them broadcast the opinion of the same experts, plying from one program to another. Among them, Ukrainian political scientists stand out: they are silenced, frankly trolled, and even often beaten. remembered the brightest episodes with the participation of Ukrainian experts and found out why, despite the humiliation, they remain frequent guests of Russian television studios.

Typical Scenario

Ukraine continues to hold prime-times of Russian TV channels. Despite the general fatigue of viewers from the informational noise around the events in the neighboring state, they did not stop watching talk shows about Ukraine. The lion's share of the rating for such programs is provided by Ukrainian experts - without them, political programs would lose their intensity and element of the show.

The dramaturgy of the programs with their participation is built according to a completely standard scenario. The host asks the political scientist a question (conditionally - about those responsible for the war in Donbass), he says a couple of sentences, after which he is bombarded with counterarguments from all sides. A hubbub begins, which sometimes even the presenters are not able to stop. However, they themselves do not shy away from making fun of the speakers, and sometimes they even shut their mouths.

Usually, the presenter and guests associate the expert from Ukraine (the same principle applies to the American participants in the discussion) with the Poroshenko regime, and he has to answer for the entire state. Since most of the time they fail to complete their thought, they speak smoothly and at the maximum density of words per second.

The composition of experts from Ukraine in all Russian television broadcasts is approximately the same. Olesya Yakhno and Olesya Yakhno and go to the program on Channel One, TV Center and Zvezda. Of these, only Karasev appears on Ukrainian TV from time to time. The other three are accused of being unpopular in Ukraine, so they want to do themselves PR in Russia.

Scandals and fights

Vyacheslav Kovtun, the Ukrainian headliner of Russian political talk shows, was especially successful in this. He has repeatedly become the hero of scandals on Russian TV and outside of television studios. The last time during a break in the filming of the program "Time Will Show" on Channel One, he was beaten in the dressing room. According to one of the broadcast participants, this was done by the former chairman of the Council of Ministers of the DPR, who could not stand the provocative behavior of the Ukrainian guest.

But this is not the first time Kovtun has been beaten on Russian TV. During the conflict in Ukraine, the political scientist got hit at least four times. On the air of Zvezda, the head of the information department of the “Committee for the Salvation of Ukraine” hit him several times in the face after Kovtun promised to check what his 17-year-old son, who lives in Ukraine, is doing.

In March 2016, Kovtun went outside after the next filming and was preparing to get into a taxi, but he was prevented by unknown people who dipped his head into the cake.

However, the political scientist himself believes that the attacks on him are nothing more than a staging. In the summer of 2015, during the filming of the Barrier program, a Ukrainian deputy attacked him with fists. It seemed to him that Kovtun was grinning when he spoke about the starvation of a seven-month-old child in Mariupol. The host Vladimir Solovyov separated the fighters and explained that Kovtun did not actually smirk - the peculiarities of his facial expressions were to blame.

Kovtun is not the only one who was openly “pressed” on Russian TV. In 2015, the Kyiv lawyer got it. He was not convinced by the arguments of the co-chairman of the People's Front of Novorossia, who tried to prove with the help of photographs that fascist power had settled in Kyiv. Dolgov first promised to break Bagirov's jaw, and then moved on him.

In relation to Ukrainian experts, TV presenters do not hesitate to show emotions. So, the new host of the talk show "Time Will Show" openly mocks over them in front of the audience.

However, the most memorable case was the September incident on the air: the host of the Meeting Place, Andrey Norkin, from the studio of a visiting political scientist. The program discussed the details of the investigation into the crash of the Malaysian Boeing.

Norkin argued that the international community was ignoring Russia's opinion. According to him, for the first time the version that the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian bomber was put forward not by Russia, but by an American blogger. Zaporizhzhya objected to him. Norkin considered that the political scientist was wrong, and then explained to the audience that he did not need the advice of "any sheep."

Where to go to swear

An employee of the editorial board of a major talk show, who wished to remain anonymous, explained in a conversation with Lenta.ru that the pool of experts from Ukraine quoted on federal TV fully satisfies the formal needs of the channels to present the opinion of the Ukrainian side. On the other hand, being on a talk show good opportunity for unknown political scientists to make themselves PR. That is why, despite the spread of rot, they continue to spud television studios.

Lenta.ru was assured that rumors that experts (including Ukrainian experts) are paid money for organizing enchanting performances on the air are false - there are no rewards for guests in the show of the Russia 1 channel.

Lenta.ru asked the Ukrainian Vadim Karasev why he agreed to participate in Russian programs. He lamented that they don’t always let people speak on the air, but, according to him, everything depends on the preparation of the speaker: “If you try, if you have professional and emotional preparation, you can convey some thoughts. Well, how do I do it. The political scientist notes that participation in Russian shows is "a kind of challenge, a test of professional suitability."

“There is one more thing. We (Ukrainian political scientists - approx. "Tapes.ru") in Russia we play the role of the opposition. Oppositionists, even if they go to shows, are very careful in their statements. We have no restrictions. We can say about Russia and about Ukraine what we want and believe to be true.”

Karasev is not embarrassed that in any Russian TV show he a priori looks like a loser. He even advises where a Ukrainian should not go: according to him, it is better not to appear on Zvezda (one of the reasons is that the channel belongs to). On the other hand, he freely goes to the TV Center, but only if, as a specialist in global strategists, he is offered to discuss the development of Europe. According to his confession, he does not attend all the broadcasts of Vladimir Solovyov, because sometimes he feels in advance that "there will be something cloudy."

Karasev explains his frequent appearance on federal TV also by the fact that they want to hear him. “Let this be a small stratum, but I know that there are such people,” he concluded.

In recent years, the format of political talk shows has become incredibly popular in Russia. The key to success is a bright discussion and heated debate. To ensure the intensity of passions, the authors and presenters invite experts to the programs who defend the American, European or Ukrainian position. The same people "from the other side of the ideological front" go from broadcast to broadcast. Sometimes the participants in the disputes cause by their statements such powerful emotions that leave the studio with bruises. Ruposters recalls TV's most notable whipping boys.

Vyacheslav Kovtun

Vyacheslav Kovtun

One of the most recognizable "artists of the expert genre" is Vyacheslav Kovtun, director of the Kyiv Center for the Study of Social Processes "Expert" and a member of the presidium of the Liberal Party of Ukraine. Perhaps he was more likely than others to get hit because of his statements. The political scientist considers himself brave, almost every time he emphasizes that he is in a hostile atmosphere, nevertheless he does not stop going to the show.

Perhaps the most famous case of an attack on a Ukrainian occurred in the spring of 2016 on the “Process” program on the Zvezda TV channel. Then a member of the organization "Committee for the Salvation of Ukraine" Yuriy Kot took the remark "We will find out what kind of son you have" as a threat to the child and hit the political scientist several times on the head.

Before that, Kovtun had already been beaten because of the mention of children. An expert from Ukraine, ex-deputy Vladimir Oleinik attacked his opponent in Solovyov's "Sunday Evening". He did not like the facial expression with which the political scientist commented on the death of a seven-month-old child in Mariupol from starvation.

Another high-profile case of an attack on Kovtun was a cake in the parking lot of the Ostankino television center. The victim claimed that his ill-wishers had the flag of Novorossiya with them. Journalist Vladimir Solovyov called the attack an abomination and called for the attackers to be punished. The SERB movement later assumed responsibility.

The last time Kovtun was beaten was in December. Then, in the dressing room of the program "Time Will Show" during a break for him, none other than one of the creators of the DPR, Alexander Borodai. The host of the program, Artem Sheinin, eventually apologized to Kovtun for the incident, but there is no video of the fight itself on the network.

Yakub Koreyba

Yakub Koreyba

Another frequenter of the programs is a Polish publicist, known for his sharp statements on federal TV, former employee Center for Post-Soviet Studies MGIMO Yakub Koreiba. His viewers call him an ardent Russophobe. He often accuses Russia of all sins, speaks confidently and emotionally, but does not provide evidence.

Fragment of a typical speech

A notable episode in his television career was a conflict with political scientist Sergei Kurginyan. The latter defiantly left the studio after Koreiba's words that in Russia they hold on to the past so much, because "in the present everything is bad", and in the future, perhaps, it will be even worse.

It is curious that for regular publications in the Russian media (and, in particular, for the article "Sabotage against Ukraine: the Polish trace") Koreiba was fired from the Polish Newsweek.

Sergey Zaporizhsky (Kutsenko)

Sergey Zaporozhsky

Zaporizhzhya, who calls himself a businessman-political scientist, has citizenship Russian Federation. At the same time, in Ukraine, he is primarily known as the author of the popular political microblog on Twitter "Bandera football". In it, a participant in a television show many times allowed himself harsh criticism of Russia and rejoiced at the success of a neighboring country.

The speaker, who has listed “President of Ukraine 2024-2034” as his profession on Facebook, does not visit Russian TV shows very often and does not speak very brightly in them. He became famous because of the conflict with TV presenter Norkin. During the live broadcast, he led Zaporizhsky out of the studio of the "Meeting Place" program with the words "Every other sheep will teach me."

The guest of the TV show said that Norkin should be treated, as he is deceiving. The Twitter troll managed to piss off a journalist and TV presenter with 26 years of experience. Later, Norkin publicly said that he did not "break" his opponent.

Alexey Goncharenko

Alexey Goncharenko

Goncharenko is the son of the former mayor of Odessa and a member of the Verkhovna Rada. In the past, he was a member of the Party of Regions, but after the events on the Maidan, he left it. Since 2014, he has been the deputy head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction. He became notorious after the tragedy at the House of Trade Unions. "We cleared the Kulikovo field of the separatists," Goncharenko said in Shuster's program. He happens on Russian TV not so often. But almost every appearance of him in the TV studio causes a storm of emotions and an angry reaction in social networks.

Fragment of a typical speech

Once Goncharenko almost caused a diplomatic scandal. He decided to participate in the Moscow march, his metropolitan police. Soon, however, the holder of diplomatic immunity was released. Goncharenko is also known for trying to present a symbolic order for a Russian plane shot down by the Turks, and also staged his own abduction.

Vadim Karasev

Vadim Karasev

A frequent guest of Russian TV programs is Vadim Karasev, director of the private enterprise "Institute for Global Strategies". He is remembered by the viewer in the first place by his face, abundantly dotted with warts.

Fragment of a typical speech

In recent months, Karasev has rather abruptly changed his rhetoric from radical Ukrainian-patriotic to compromising and conciliatory. Now, in one form or another, he declares that Ukraine is obliged to reckon with Russia.

Michael Bohm

Michael Bohm

Of all the foreign opponents on the talk show, American Michael Bohm is the most good-natured. It can even be called a favorite of viewers and presenters. In any case, it rarely comes to open flogging. Once he was scolded on the air by the head of the Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, who "didn't understand what such people do on Russian TV at all."

Known for his style of inserting (sometimes out of place) Russian proverbs and sayings, Bohm calls himself a "Russian scholar". 18 years ago, he came to Moscow to engage in the insurance business and later abandoned it in favor of journalism. Although with money in this area, according to him, not very much, he achieved professional realization. He even taught a course at the Faculty of Journalism of MGIMO. He was married to a Russian citizen (which was recently revealed live), loves to confess his love for Russia.

While acknowledging that he is a "whipping boy" on Russian television, Bom says he is closer to being a public diplomat.

Pavel Zhovnirenko

Pavel Zhovnirenko

Political technologist, political scientist and chairman of the board of the Center for Strategic Studies Pavlo Zhovnirenko stands out from other Ukrainian talking heads on Russian television in that he regularly leaves the film studios himself if he believes that the presenters pay him little attention and airtime.

He first tried such a "knight's move" in April 2016. Then the political scientist was offended by the leading NTV and left the studio, citing a lack of attention. At the same time, Zhovnirenko received the right to speak during the program, and when leaving he tried to linger and continue the dialogue again.

He applied the already tested method of attracting attention six months later in the 60 Minutes program on Russia-1. It seems that at some point he was simply tired of what was happening in the TV show, and he decided to leave without a shadow of a doubt.

Jiri Yust

Jiri Yust with "colleague" Michael Bohm

Another lover of bow ties is Czech Jiri Yust. Former MK columnist and Moscow correspondent for the Czech information portal. One of the few "whipping boys" who are aware of and publicly designate their role in this way.

"For me, "going" to these talk shows has two meanings, two incentives. The first is that before or after the program I can talk with the politicians invited there. The second - yes, of course, I understand what I'm like there whipping boy. That even with my presence, I to some extent support the propaganda of Russian television. But I go to these talk shows in order to show that there is another point of view, "he said.

Fragment of a typical speech

Just defends a pro-European position, but he is quite objective in his statements, which earns the respect of the presenters and viewers, and his natural phlegm prevents him from getting into serious skirmishes.

Olesya Yakhno

Olesya Yakhno

One of the few "whipping girls" on the show is Olesya Yakhno, a native of the Vinnytsia region, a special correspondent for the official parliamentary newspaper "Voice of Ukraine" and director of the "Institute for National Strategy of Ukraine" (a branch of a similar Russian institution her ex-husband, political strategist Stanislav Belkovsky).

Fragment of a typical speech

A loud voice, systematically used tactics of shouting opponents and a truly unpredictable logic of argumentation (one gets the feeling that Yakhno herself does not know where her next phrase will lead) made Olesya one of the brightest representatives of Ukraine on Russian talk shows.

Leonid Gozman

Leonid Gozman

An associate of Chubais, who was a member of many liberal parties from the Union of Right Forces to the Right Cause, a member of the Russian Jewish Congress, Leonid Gozman, was initially an almost ideal candidate to participate in Russian TV shows on the "wrong" side. He began his trips to television almost before anyone else: he held his first debate on January 26, 2009 with Vladimir Zhirinovsky, discussing the now distant conflict between Russia and Georgia.

Fragment of a typical speech

Regularly falls under a flurry of criticism from opponents, forced to listen to insults (sometimes open). The politician refers to this part of his television activities with irony. In an interview, he admitted that he perfectly understands that it is impossible to convince someone. Gozman knows that he is being used only because he is "a Jew, a friend of Chubais, cross-eyed - as you know, God marks the rogue - and in general, the scum is over." He justifies his desire to participate in discussions by saying that someone should demonstrate to liberals without the Internet the presence of people with a similar point of view.

According to open data, for all the time of visits to television programs, Gozman was not beaten. However, on December 1, 2016, a case was made public when a politician, following the example of Zhovnirenko, got up and left the hall during the filming of one of the shows. Prior to that, he listened to an almost two-minute critical monologue by host Andrei Norkin.

Boris Nadezhdin

Boris Nadezhdin

Gozman's colleague in the Union of Right Forces and a former State Duma deputy, Nadezhdin is a regular participant in the TV show. He explained his frequent appearance on the air by the fact that he was very persistently called. They say that the ratings of TV channels have fallen, while disputes took place on their airs without representatives of even a conditional opposition.

Fragment of a typical speech

In addition, in this way the politician is trying to increase his awareness. This is necessary for him to continue participating in the elections. However, numerous programs did not help him get into the State Duma of the next convocation. Nadezhdin called his political position moderate and admitted that he criticized Putin only on economic issues. Recognizing Russia's right to Crimea, the politician tries to defend pro-Ukrainian theses on the TV show.

Tomas Maciejczuk

Tomas Maciejczuk

A frequenter of political talk shows, the Polish journalist Maciejczuk became widely known in the fall of 2016. On the set of one of the programs, he suggested that the Russian people "live in shit." A heated discussion with the TV presenter turned into a fight with the former Ukrainian MP Igor Markov.

Matseychuk admitted that he became a journalist thanks to Euromaidan and for a long time supplied humanitarian aid to protesters and volunteer battalions of nationalists in eastern Ukraine. Later, the journalist witnessed atrocities by Ukrainian neo-Nazis and reconsidered his views. The publication in the Polish press of materials about the presence of real Nazis among the ATO fighters quickly spoiled the Pole's relations with the Ukrainian authorities. The last straw was that Matseychuk prevented representatives of the Ukrainian authorities from hiding a photo of a neo-Nazi that accidentally got into an exhibition about "heroes of the ATO" in the European Parliament.

Fragment of a typical speech

According to some reports, the expert, who ardently defends the position of Ukraine, was banned from entering this country. He also repeatedly received threats from radicals. After consulting with subscribers in social networks about the need to participate in Russian TV shows, Matseychuk left for Russia in October 2016 and has been on TV since then.

Andrey Okara

Andrey Okara

One of Kovtun's most famous colleagues is Ukrainian political scientist Andriy Okara. Born and raised in Moscow, the ethnic Ukrainian studied the ideas of Russian conservatism of the 20th century, repeatedly criticized Ukraine in his publications and deprived it of its right to exist. On Russian TV shows, he gets the role of a Moscow Ukrainophile. According to some reports, the political scientist was deported from Ukraine in 2015. However, a small number of sources does not allow confirming or refuting this information.

Fragment of a typical speech

On Russian TV, he likes to speak in support of the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, almost always becoming the object of criticism from other guests of the TV show and its hosts. Okara did not escape the fate of being beaten. Back in 2014, on a live TV show, he got into a fight with Konstantin Dolgov, co-chairman of the Popular Front of Novorossia.

Most of the mentioned persons will surely be seen by the audience more than once. Pro-Western and pro-Ukrainian political experts like to be invited to Russian channels. They rank programs and help opponents hone their arguments.

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