Vladimir Solovyov (journalist)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vladimir Rudol'fovich Solovyov (Alternative spelling: Vladimir Rudol'fovich Soloviev, in Russian: Влади́мир Рудо́льфович Соловьё́в) (b. October 20, 1963, Moscow, USSR) is a popular Russian TV and radio journalist. He graduated from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys and completed post-doc position at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. Solovyov is a Doctor of Economics and a member of Russian Jewish Congress.

His father, Rudolf Naumovich Solovyov, and his mother, Inna Solomonovna Shapiro, both graduated from the history and philology faculty of the Lenin Pedagogical University. Later on his father taught political economy at a school of statistics, while his mother worked as an arts critic at the Battle of Borodino museum.

In 1980 he graduated from the elite English language secondary School No. 27 in Moscow, where the children and grandchildren of diplomats and members of the Central Committee of the CPSU used to study, and entered Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys [1], where he made a friend of Vladislav Surkov, a prominent figure in present-day Russian politics [2], and graduated in 1986.

In 1989 Solovyov completed post-graduate studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow with the defence of his thesis "Basic tendencies of new materials production and its efficiency factors in the USA and Japan" and became a candidate of economic science (second (of three) Russian graduate degree in economics). He taught physics, mathematics and astronomy at the School No. 27 until 1990.

In 1990-1992 he visited the USA to lecture in economics at the University of Alabama.

Since 1997 he has been the host of the Nightingale Warbling live radio programme broadcast by the Silver Rain radio station, discussing many subjects such as culinary, fashion, etiquette, social and political life, computers, cars, oriental philosophy and poetry.

In 1999 he first appeared as a presenter on two TV talk shows: The Process on the ORT channel (performing with Alexander Gordon) and Passion for Soloviev on the TNT channel, which were followed by his own projects Breakfast with Soloviev and Nightingale Night on TV6, as well as Look Who's Coming!, Duel on TVS and Orange Juice on NTV.

Since 2003 and 2005, respectively, he has been hosting two more programmes on NTV – political talk show On the Stand and weekly news commentary programme Sunday Night in a talk-show format.

Soloviev is regarded as a person close to the administration of president Putin.^{[citation needed]}

In the fall of 2005 Vladimir Solovyov was awarded the TEFI Russian television prize as the best interviewer.

Solovyov is known for his bright, often scandal statements on numerous questions concerning politics, economics, religion, sports, journalism, what frequently cases polemics among his listeners and viewers. He showd himself as an aggressive polemist, defending his own convictions in sharp form.

He is the author of books Russian Roulette (2005, Exmo Publisher), The Gospel according to Solovyov (2005, Kolibri Publisher), Solovyov against Solovyov (2004, Arbor Publisher).

In December 2004 Solovyov featured as a solo singer in his first CD-album Solovyinye Treli (Nightingale Warbles).

He has been married three times and has five children: his eldest daughter Polina attends the University of Radio and Television, his son Alexander studies at a college in the UK, while his daughter Ekaterina studies in a Moscow English secondary school. His youngest son, Mikhail is 5 and his daughter Sofia is 3 years old. Presently he is married to Elga Solovyova, a psychologist and daughter of a known Russian satirist Viktor Koklyushin.