Vladimir Soloviev: It's time to create, and not find out who is in charge in the house. In the beginning there was boxing

The program "Towards the Barrier!" goes to NTV on Thursdays at the most watchable time, the topics there are the most discussed, the heroes 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 this popular and spicy is made. TV brew ".

In the beginning there was boxing

Gayane Ambartsumyan, the chief editor of the program, arranged a backstage tour for me. She has been working on television for 30 years, together with Soloviev - seven years, and the program "Towards the Barrier!" - their common brainchild.

“Volodya and I came up with the program,” she tells me. - This does not 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 flashed across my mind: why not make political boxing? And then Volodya and I brought this idea to mind and, in fact, to the "Duel". This program was broadcast on TVS, it's a pity - at the end of the channel, when the regions were already quietly turned off. When we came to NTV, Kirill Nabutov - he was then the general producer - said: "We need to come up with something similar, but so that it is not boxing." We racked our brains: maybe gladiatorial fights? Then it dawned on: a duel! The name "Towards the Barrier!" invented by Nabutov, at first we did not like it, then we got used to it. Now we know everything about the duel - we had to! On melee weapons, on firearms, different dueling codes ... By the way, the judges in the program are like seconds, two on each side.

So "To the barrier!" - this is the original, not a copy, like most of the products of domestic TV. And we, by the way, 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 opposition. And, by the way, they should have a supply of arguments for at least an hour in order to keep the viewer's attention.

If "To the barrier!" came out 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 have an eternal force majeure. For example, the topic has already been selected, there are duelists, the program is ready - and suddenly something happens that you cannot pass by.

“This was the case with the murder of the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Andrei Kozlov,” recalls Gayane Hambardzumyan. - 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: pick up other opponents, rewrite their outputs ("... are invited to the site ..."), get photographs ... We need to re-pull the artists who tell us the biographies and exits of the guests, as well as the lead-in to the voting. And all this is in an insane time trouble!

Substitute one of a pair of duelists in the program "Towards the Barrier!" almost impossible. People should experience deep contradictions in feelings, thoughts - this is the law of the existence of the program "To the barrier!" Any replacement causes an alteration of absolutely the entire program scheme, because there can be no 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 of his opponents. In one of the last programs, for example, the irreconcilable Valeria Novodvorskaya got a lot. In a fit, Volfovich unpretentiously called her a toad, and Novodvorskaya, who also did not put a finger in her mouth, suddenly began to complain to Soloviev:

- Volodya, he called me a toad!

Zhirinovsky, who all this time did not interrupt his fiery monologue, hesitated for a second and "issued":

- Toad ... Well, there is a toad!

The auditorium was drowned in laughter.

How Soloviev found his 39-year-old ... son

"To the barrier!" goes on air four times - first on Far East, this is where viewers see everything live. Then the program is watched by Siberia, the Urals and, finally, Central Russia. Duplicates for Moscow and the central regions of our country are sometimes "cleaned up". But this practically does not concern Vladimir Solovyov. Actually, half of the audience goes to the program just to listen to him, and not the heroes. Moreover, the presenter never needs editorial tips. Firstly, Soloviev is an encyclopedically educated person, and secondly, he just has an instant reaction to what is happening in the hall.

- Knowing the material and the participants is not enough - you have to be psychophysically prepared, - Vladimir shared his secret. - You will laugh, but I go to the gym every day, because the transfer takes a lot of energy. In a physical sense. This is roughly the same as having a multi-round boxing match yourself.

Even Soloviev before the broadcast necessarily "warms up" the audience in the studio. Sings to them, tells fresh anecdotes ... But sometimes situations are so wild and funny, no anecdotes are needed.

- Once a spectator of such a very shabby appearance came up to me and said: “Dad, hello! Mom asked me to tell you that she is not offended by anything, ”says Soloviev. I told him: "Excuse me, but how old are you?" - "Thirty nine". And I was not 43 then. You, I say, were mistaken, Leonid Yakubovich is filming further down the corridor. That is, usually such characters emerge on the "Field of Miracles" - Leonid Arkadyevich told me a lot of this ...

Several times spectators came, who, during the break, threw themselves at the same Zhirinovsky with a request to give money. Vladimir Volfovich, who adores shocking, began to distribute five hundred rubles to them. It was almost impossible to calm down greedy citizens after that.

Zurabov does not go to visit

- Are there people you dream of getting? - I am torturing Solovyov.

- Yes, I would very much like to see Zurabov. But he does not want to, he is 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 ... Moreover, if my attitude towards Zurabov is unambiguously non-positive, then towards Messrs. Yavlinsky and Zyuganov - just the opposite.

- Will the president ever come to your program?

- This is fundamentally impossible. Applicants 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 are constant. All this is being raked by the team of lawyers and the security service.

The brightest broadcasts

Deputy Valery Komissarov against Deputy Alexander Chuev. The conversation was about freedom of the media. Komissarov brought a live duck on the air, which was supposed to remind of the "ducks" of the newspaper. For the director, it was a terrible stress, and the duck was generally brought to a heart attack with applause.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky against Boris Nemtsov. At the “hottest” moment, Vladimir Volfovich suddenly took out the handcuffs from his pocket, began to shake them and shout that prison awaits everyone. The film crew did not know how to react, everyone was shocked.

Pearls of the participants

Zhirinovsky accused Khazanov of setting fire to the theater in order to get money.

Zhirinovsky - to Khazanov: “Gennady, hand over your theater, go away! Your niche is to be a cashier in a quiet bath. "

Khazanov to Zhirinovsky: “If you hadn’t kissed prostitutes so often, I would have kissed you, and after you appeared in the frame with Chiccholina, I was jealous.”

Deputy Alexey Mitrofanov: - This undermines the liberal idea!

Vladimir Soloviev: - Let's be precise: it does not wash away, but it blurs! Washes away is something else!

Natalia Morozova, editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Faithfulness to Lenin" and Viktor Anpilov's second in the program, where they discuss whether it is 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 "Towards the Barrier!"

Vladimir Zhirinovsky:

- This is the only place where people say whatever they think is necessary, and this is a one-on-one battle - there is an opportunity to instantly react.

Minus one - often the opponent leaves the topic, and the conversation slides to the level of "the fool himself." I like to argue with Anpilov, but the democrats are even more interested - Novodvorskaya, Khakamada. Yavlinsky never comes because he is afraid. When I hear a wild lie, it excites me very much, and after the transfer I need reanimation, and I would gladly send them all to the insane asylum! Let them be brainwashed a little there!

Gennady Zyuganov:

- I consider Solovyov one of the most talented and intelligent journalists. He would be an excellent captain of KVN ... But, unfortunately, he has to spend his talent in order to calm the rage and ardor of Zhirinovsky, Mitrofanov and Novodvorskaya when they practice there! And I cannot stand at the barrier and shout endlessly: "This is not my role and not my genre." I like serious programs when there is an opportunity to discuss a problem, and not listen to a mentally unbalanced counterpart.

Irina HAKAMADA:

- I love this program because it is impromptu, no roles are spoken in advance. Solovyov gives carte blanche - behave as you want. Plus "To the barrier!" still goes live. But I do not like to meet with thugs who come there to throw mud at an opponent and get votes for themselves.

I don't like meeting Zhirinovsky there. Because in response I will hear screams, screams and psychosis. It will be suppression and endless monologue. Behind the scenes, we have normal relations - calm, absolutely intelligent, but not friendly either. But as soon as he goes to the barrier, everything ends at once. In general, this is hard work and no pleasure ...

Alexey MITROFANOV:

- This is a difficult program - it “squeezes out”, then you come to your senses for several days. Solovyov's talent is recognized by everyone - whether he likes it or not. For me, psychologically, the discussion about Litvinenko with Valeria Novodvorskaya was difficult. Novodvorskaya was clearly losing, and it was not clear what to do next with her. It was uncomfortable for me to "drown" her - it would have been better if she had called me rude, I counted on that, then my hands would have been untied. And outside the frame, I behave normally with my opponents - I am a professional diplomat after all. No rudeness!

Prepared by Anna BALUEVA

Today is the day of remembrance. A tragic date in the history of the Armenian people. All of humanity.

I love Armenia. Previously, I often visited both Karabakh and Armenia.

All my life I have been surrounded and helped by my loved ones.

Among the people most dear to me are Gayane Samsonovna Ambartsumyan. I love her. I treat Gayachka like my Armenian mother. All my successes on TV are her credit. 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.

To forget or not to recognize such a tragedy is not just dangerous - it is no coincidence that Hitler said: Who remembers now about the massacre of Armenians? And he began the genocide of peoples - Jews, Gypsies, Slavs.
For many decades the Armenian people have been fighting for international recognition of the fact of the genocide - a number of countries have found courage and adopted a moral stand. They admitted the fact of genocide.
The Israeli Ambassador came to me on the air and asked her why Israel has not officially recognized it yet. She spoke very sincerely and with pain, but as a politician she was obliged to support the official position of the state. They do not want to quarrel with Turkey. I listened and I was ashamed.

Truth is above pragmatism. On the air, he expressed his disagreement and grief at such a strange position of the state, which knows not by hearsay about the horrors of genocide.

How many times have US presidents promised to recognize the genocide, but everyone is playing games.

In vain.

An illustrative example is Germany, which recognized the terrible crimes of Hitler, I am sure that Turkey would only win internationally if it took a moral position. From total denial to open discussion and recognition. Alas, there are terrible pages in the history of almost all countries. Both 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 the genocide.
You can't forget.

The blood of the innocent slain cries out.
Eternal memory to them.

Vladimir Soloviev

Quick reference

The day of the beginning of the genocide of the Armenian population is considered to be the day of April 24, 1915, when the Young Turkish rulers, the main role three of whom played: Talaat Pasha, Enver Pasha and Dzhemal Pasha, ordered to gather all the Armenian intelligentsia in Constnantinople and deport them.

The date of 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, which led to the complete destruction of the whole galaxy prominent figures Armenian culture. The list of persons subject to arrest includes people of different political views and professions: writers, artists, musicians, teachers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, businessmen, political and religious leaders; the only thing that they had in common was their nationality and position in society. Arrests of prominent figures of the Armenian community continued in the Turkish capital with short interruptions until the end of May, and no charges were brought against the detainees. Back in February-March, information about arrests and murders of Armenian leaders began to come from the provinces, but it was with the arrests of Constantinople that the full-scale destruction of the Armenian elite throughout the country began.

The Russian military newspaper "Russian Invalid", in its issue of May 18 (1), 1915, published a message that the protossinkelles 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 evicted by the Turks to Mesopotamia, Lebanon, Syria through the deserts, where most of them died from hunger and disease. Over one million Armenian refugees were scattered all over the world.

In 1915 Russian emperor Nicholas II could not completely prevent the massacre by the Turks, but he helped the Armenians. “By the personal order of the Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II, writes P. Paganutsi, the Russian troops took a number of measures to save the Armenians, as a result of which 375,000 of the 1,651,000 souls of the Armenian population of Turkey were saved, that is, 23%, which in itself is exceptional. digit ". 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 disasters described in 1915, on the personal order of the tsar, the Russian-Turkish border was ajar and huge crowds of exhausted Armenian refugees who had accumulated on it were admitted to the Russian land ”.
The genocide continued after 1918.

The Armenian Genocide is remarkable in many ways, including because, in the bloody 20th century, it was an early example of mass genocide, which many recognize as a "rehearsal" for the Holocaust.
Professor Israel Charney is director of the Institute for the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Genocide.

Http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/ruwiki/18694

Vladimir Soloviev, a well-known Russian journalist, television and radio presenter, publicist and public figure, gave exclusive interview to the chief editor of the newspaper "Noah's Ark" Grigory Anissonyan.

- Last year your book "Enemies of Russia" was published. A lot of enemies were listed: they are terrorists, and bribe-taking officials, and the opposition, and nationalists. So who is the main enemy, from whom is all evil?

- Probably the main enemy of Russia is the Russian. There is no other way to put 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. Here we adopted a law on the protection of our children, named after Dima Yakovlev. There and then there was talk that evil Americans had adopted Dima Yakovlev for money. You would think the CIA agents came here ... Some of our bastards sold the boy. Some of our bastards made it so that a favorable decision was made in court. And what about mothers who donate 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 enemies.

We have developed a mentality that I hate. This is the mentality of young children - someone else is to blame for everything. The Jews who plundered the national property, the Armenians who came to build roads and work hard, Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Dagestanis, Ukrainians, Belarusians - all are to blame. Parents who left little money, children who don’t call, authorities that are bad. Everyone is to blame for everything, but he is always okay, we always forgive ourselves. It is not right. Every time we fail, we give an opportunity for the evil that is in us to get out.

- Having written the book, did you pursue this very goal - to open the eyes of Russians to yourself?

You can return to the book more than once. The book is still a finished work, it is not a quote. The book requires much more substantial 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

walks and kills. See what is happening around us. Now is the time for sorcerers.

- Do you believe that?

- I believe. If there is good, then there is evil. Open any newspaper: "Black magic, I will bring damage." I know that a number of large oligarchs use the services of their own astrologers, sorcerers, witches every day.

- Your TV programs attract people of different levels. You skillfully control the audience, maneuver between the warring parties, sometimes you allow yourself to accuse state officials, judges, and prosecutors. You are looking for justice. Isn't it scary sometimes?

- This is my big problem. I do not know how to be afraid. Because of this, how many times they filed a lawsuit against me, how many attempts were made. We have to ride with security and regularly take care of the safety of the family. This is how I am made. If I wanted it to be sweet, I would write about another pop star. I never blame for nothing. I say when it already reaches the heart and it is simply impossible to be silent. And if I am talking about someone in particular, it means that I have information and it has been rechecked.

- Do you have many informants in law enforcement agencies?

- No, law enforcement agencies have been doing 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 the profession 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 go as often as I would like. This, like love, cannot be explained. I am attracted by history, fantastic nature, amazing people, from whom I personally see a lot of good. It saddens that these people live worse than they deserve. His amazing talents are scattered all over the world - from Latin America to North America, across Europe, and everywhere they are self-sufficient and organized. And when you look at how bad 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, are successful. But when you look at what gigantic money the diaspora sends home, you think: and where does everything go? The way Armenia and Karabakh are developing is unacceptable in the conditions of the modern economy. This is the road to nowhere. Armenia is obliged to convert its intellectual potential into money. Can't in modern world country of such talented people so poor to live. This is offensive. It is necessary to create production facilities, 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 Armenia. And much that you see now in Yerevan is sad to look at. The culture is falling, there is no purposeful and sufficient infusion of money into education, into new jobs.

- In Azerbaijan, the military budget has grown several times over several years. Preparations are underway for a war, for the seizure of Karabakh. International structures, the West, Russia are loyally looking at all this, although these countries have assumed the responsibility of settling the conflict.

- How and when did international organizations help other countries? Unfortunately, now the keys to this conflict do not lie in Moscow, but in Washington. The influence of Washington in Azerbaijan, and in Armenia as well, has grown many times over in comparison with what it was a few years ago. See 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 an amazing place. The place where Armenians have always lived. Yes, it is possible to resolve the Karabakh issue by giving Karabakh to Azerbaijan, to destroy 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 did not know that we were warriors, but when the question of survival arose, everyone became warriors. And the Azerbaijani army, which was many times superior both in number and in armaments, could not do anything.

This is a painful topic for discussion among nations. I talked with my good friend, a wonderful musician - Polad Bul-Bul oglu. He is from Shushi, for him it is pain, his home, his Motherland.

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 nowhere. I do not want to judge anyone, I want to remind you of the pain that cannot be forgotten.

I do not 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, Karabakh. It is necessary to solve the problems legally, to figure out where whose property is, to buy it out. 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 an Armenian surname, and vice versa. This is simply not possible.

- Don't you think that Russia could more intensively arm Armenia so that its enemies would lose the desire to threaten Russia's ally?

- Of course not. This would mean an 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 own technical re-equipment. But Russia's own base, of course, must be in such a state to resolve any military issue effectively, if necessary.

- 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 the people from admitting their mistakes only become stronger. I believe that only the strong admit 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 spoke with the Israeli ambassador to Russia, not with the current one, but with 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 how are Israel's relations with Turkey still normal? No. Politicians need to understand that morality is more important than momentary 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 compensation will arise.

- But why does Israel not want to recognize the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey?

- I think it's immoral. For some reason, I very often answer about Israel, although I have nothing to do with it. I, unlike some Russian TV presenters, have neither American, nor French, nor 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 totally devout, and I don't like pork at all, which doesn't make me a Muslim. I go to the synagogue for two holidays, and each time I promise myself not to go there again, because I never get to pray calmly: I answer, help, listen to complaints.

I go to church, but not to pray, but to look. I have great respect for the Russian Orthodox Church. Any attempt to humiliate Orthodoxy and offend the ROC is always an attempt aimed at destroying Russia. I have a very good relationship with the ministers of the church, with the Patriarch. All my children are baptized.

- What do the Armenians of Russia lack in order to fully succeed in Russia? They already have a lot: the church is being completed, there are organizations, there is a business, but a large cultural center, which, for example, Georgians do not have.

- They always have everything that the Armenians of the capital need. This means that the need has not yet arisen. That is why it took so long to build the church. Could have built 20 years ago? But they could not agree. This is the eternal problem of Armenians - there 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 just sitting in one of them - in "Lavash".

If you look closely at the community, everything is in order. Armenians live, work, the issue of business relations is effectively resolved, and there is a wonderful attitude towards Armenians in Russia. But the interests of the state of Armenia cannot be lobbied through the community. Still, most of the people who are part of the community - Russian citizens... And 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 different levels authorities in Russia. At the same time, personal relations between the leaders of states, as a rule, are not bad, but not as cloudlessly joyful as they were until recently.

- What is the problem, in your opinion, 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 is the benefit of Russia in their implementation. You cannot be in the position of the offended, in the position of the begging one. Relations between countries, mutual dialogue must be conducted at many levels. Here in Armenia this quality has gone somewhere.

At the same time, Armenian organizations in Russia act very effectively 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, Chechens is often worse than towards Armenians.

I have no property in Armenia, I have not been awarded any orders or medals, I have no shares in Armenian businesses, but I have friends - Armenians. I am very proud of our friendship. They helped me many times in my life, helped me out in difficult situations.

- Who do you consider an outstanding Armenian?

- Gayane Samsonovna Ambartsumyan, the greatest TV man, the 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 humble, 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: Baghramyan, Babadzhanyan, Khudyakov ... And, of course, our favorite, twice Hero of Russia and the Soviet Union - Artur Chilingarov, however, he does not speak Armenian, unfortunately ... My friend - Armen Grigoryan, leader of the group "Crematorium ", Moscow Armenian. He speaks Armenian well, and I remember when he arrived in Israel, he hung there for three weeks. He communicated with the monks in his native language.

Among the television personalities - Margarita Simonyan, also a Russian woman. I would especially like to highlight Seyran Karapetyan. He is like a brother to me, we have been friends for 12 years. And we are not talking about sports yet. There are a lot of outstanding Armenians, and each is famous in its own way.

- You are a father of many children. You have 8 children. Do they miss a parent who devotes a lot of time to work? How do you see their future? What do you want to convey to them?

- I do not want to convey anything to them, the man by his example shows something to his children. I have a wonderful dad, an amazing mom, but my grandfather was such a model. Already retired, he was still the breadwinner. A man should make his family happy. I never raise my voice to children.

- What would you wish the readers of our newspaper?

- Firstly, I wish you all health and happiness in the New Year.

Noah's ark is a means of salvation. In Noah's ark, not only animals were saved, but most importantly - 8 people. That is why the number 8 is sacred. Not because it looks like a sign of infinity, but because Noah, 3 of his sons and their wives were saved - and this is where the construction of mankind began.

I am well acquainted with the President of Armenia. A charming person, a wonderful chess player, a subtle politician. I know the people around him well, and I can say a lot of good things about each one. But why does everyone who is involved in Armenian politics seem to live in a different world? Why is it not possible to move this mafia so that the citizens of Armenia feel real changes in their lives?

We are very ancient peoples. We, if we start to live badly, 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, you need to live in the great present, and for this purpose you need to get together and work together. It's time to create, and not find out who is in charge in the house.

I think so.

Interviewed by Grigory Anisonyan

From the editor: The editorial staff of the newspaper apologizes to Vladimir Rudolfovich for the annoying 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."

: You know, today I can already consider myself a seasoned TV guest. I have already lived to such a degree of invitability that in recent times I have been twirling with my snout where to go and where not, because it’s impossible to go everywhere, my legs get stuck. And so best team- this is not flattery, this is pure truth - there is a better team than the team of Solovyov's Barrier-Duel, I personally do not know and I think that it does not exist.

VLADIMIR SOLOVYOV: Just let's clarify - this is not a Solovyov team. I am the presenter Gayane Samsonovna Ambartsumyan... Here she is - my Armenian mother. A man whom - and not unreasonably - I consider a television genius. I have never met anyone equal. That is, it is absolute perfection. A perfectionist, the wisest, the highest culture person. And Gadget and I have been working for many, many years. And they went through very different tests. And, of course, Gayane made me as a host. That is, my mother gave birth to me, for which I thank her as a person, and as a TV presenter Gayane fashioned me.

MICHAEL VELLER: I remember her well from that first fleeting visit to your program, and the most amazing thing is that she remembered me in your crazy whirlwind. She is clearly remembered for a rare mixture of such respectful and charming tact, intelligent behavior - and absolute firmness and certainty within it. A person who definitely knows exactly what he wants and how it should be. […]

And when you come to your show: no fuss, nothing is done ahead of time, everything is provided for, you are in some comfortable environment, where everything is on business. Vovka, forgive me, men do not receive compliments in the face. Nobody in Russia anymore does not only warm up the guests, but also warm up the audience before the broadcast as a presenter. Let me bow to you from numerous audiences of numerous programs. […]

When the presenter is ready to go directly under the cameras, when everyone has already been sitting for five - ten - fifteen - twenty minutes and when, in fact, he doesn't care about these guests, he worked and was tired - that's a little one thing. On the set, in essence, strangers are talking, and then the editor-in-chief mounts on the console, etc.

When I saw you walking around in front of the broadcast on the set, something like an opening act, a kind of lightweight humorous variation of the executioner from Lermontov's Merchant Kalashnikov, uhar-Kiribeyevich ... You walk around the platform and joke with the audience, giving advice and recommendations. A minute later, the audience begins to laugh, after three minutes the audience is friends with you. And when the transmission begins, the transmission takes place in a different atmosphere. Nobody else does this somehow. Now I want to ask an extremely idiotic question: is it professionalism or does it come from the heart?

VLADIMIR SOLOVYOV: This is professionalism coming from the heart. I just treat people, oddly enough it sounds, with great respect. They spent their time, they came, and they are not spectators in the theatrical sense, where they bought a ticket - they sit and watch the action - they are co-authors of the program with me. Because the general perception depends on the audience that is sitting, on how it reacts, on what faces, how much they are included in the process, and the picture, in television language, and the atmosphere inside. You, as a person who performs brilliantly, brilliantly wins in any duel, because you know how important it is when you speak - and the audience hears you, and feels, and breathes with you. Working in vain for a paid public is boring. It freezes people.

Therefore, I always want people to feel that they have been given attention, and I know many in the face of my guests. Not only the main participants - but also those who come to the audience. I greet them, and they greet me. It is not that friendly, but friendly relations are developing.

And I always really do not like it - sometimes, you know, there are such super-cautious editors on the public who try to shield the presenter from the public. I feel like a master in the studio - not in the sense that they are my slaves, but that people who come are my guests.

Therefore, I cannot afford to fight in my studio! For me, if someone tries to throw himself, as it happened several times, I will get in the way. I will not allow the alleged pursuit of the rating of an abomination on my air. I think this is not-to-let. And my guests also know this, they understand, they feel the limits: where it is possible and where it is no longer possible.

By the way, we sometimes had very disturbing cases. We worked in a large studio in Ostankino, we were still doing Sunday evening on the NTV channel, and suddenly I heard such a short sob-cry and the sound of a falling body. Moreover, it was quiet, not very noticeable. And I stopped filming, and it turned out that one of the workers had an epileptic seizure, he was behind the scenes at that moment, behind the scenery. I managed to stop the attack, remove the seizure, everything worked out fine. But when I work, I just feel so much every centimeter of space, moreover, not even square, but cubic. I really feel it.

Therefore, in order for the control of people, participants, transmission to be possible, I must tune them all to a certain frequency. Then the program really turns out, and it turns out to be monolithic. That is why Gadget and I love live broadcasts so much.

MIKHAIL VELLER: Live broadcast is a wonderful, honest, wonderful thing. Only to help a person overcome stiffness, shyness, awkwardness, as it happens for the first time with many. This is an honest job. Because (I will not name the names now) when they write down one thing, and then glue something completely different, it is also impossible, this is a deception ... but it happens.

VLADIMIR SOLOVYOV: This is despicable. Because, I believe, when a person who comes to you says something, expresses thoughts, views, you have no right to distort reality. We've had some non-live broadcasts that we edited, during editing, you can remove the defect in speech, but you cannot remove the essence. Essential things must not be distorted. I saw a couple of programs, fortunately, not with me, when I saw the guest, but I never heard the text. And there were programs when the guest's legs were visible - but the guest was not.

MIKHAIL WELLER: I had to take part in programs where I, speaking in a discussion categorically against something, as a result saw myself on the screen smiling affectionately and silently nodding my head in time to those who spoke for and whom I vilified on the recording. There have been such cases.

VLADIMIR SOLOVYOV: Fortunately, not with me. From here comes trust - or non-trust. For example, why do they come to me and Gennady Andreevich Zyuganov, and Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky, and all-all-all people of diametrically opposed views? They know that I will never substitute them, and the essential that they said will surely sound, if it is a recording, not. live.

That being said, they also know that I will never stoop to dirt. I will never dig into dirty laundry... This is not for me.

Weller M.I., Anything you want, just work! / Friends and stars, M., Astrel, 2012, pp. 291-295.