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

Vyacheslav Kovtun

Vyacheslav Kovtun

One of the most recognizable "artists of the expert genre" is the director of the Kiev Center for Research of Social Processes "Expert" and a member of the Presidium of the Liberal Party of Ukraine Vyacheslav Kovtun. Perhaps, he more often than others came under attack 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 Trial 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 on the head several times.

Prior to this, they had already tried to beat Kovtun because of the mention of children. Expert from Ukraine, ex-deputy Vladimir Oleinik attacked his opponent in Solovyov's "Sunday evening". He did not like the expression on the face with which the political scientist commented on the death of a seven-month-old child in Mariupol from hunger.

Another resonant 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 a flag of Novorossiya with them. Journalist Vladimir Soloviev called the attack an abomination and called for punishment of the attackers. The SERB movement later took responsibility.

The last case of beating Kovtun in December. Then in the dressing room of the program "Time Will Show" during the break for it, none other than one of the founders of the DPR, Alexander Borodai. The host of the show, Artem Sheinin, eventually apologized to Kovtun for the incident, but there is no video footage of the fight on the network.

Yakub Koreyba

Yakub Koreyba

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

Fragment of a typical performance

A notable episode in his television career was the conflict with the political scientist Sergei Kurginyan. The latter defiantly left the studio after Koreyba said that Russia is so holding on to the past, because "everything is bad in the present," and in the future it may be even worse.

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

Sergey Zaporozhsky (Kutsenko)

Sergey Zaporozhsky

Zaporozhsky, who calls himself a businessman and political scientist, has the citizenship of the Russian Federation. Moreover, in Ukraine, he is primarily known as the author of the popular political microblogging on Twitter "Bandera Football". In it, a TV show participant many times allowed himself harsh criticism of Russia and rejoiced at the successes of a neighboring country.

The speaker, who named "President of Ukraine 2024-2034" on Facebook as a profession, does not visit Russian TV shows very often and does not appear in them very brightly. He became famous because of the conflict with TV presenter Norkin. During the live broadcast, he took Zaporozhsky out of the studio of the "Meeting Place" program with the words "Every sheep will teach me."

The guest of the TV show said that Norkin needed to be treated, as he was cheating. The Twitter troll managed to piss off a journalist and TV presenter with 26 years of experience. Later, Norkin publicly stated that he had not "broken" his opponent.

Alexey Goncharenko

Alexey Goncharenko

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

Fragment of a typical performance

Once Goncharenko almost caused a diplomatic scandal. He decided to take part 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 the 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 primarily with a face abundantly covered with warts.

Fragment of a typical performance

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

Michael Bohm

Michael Bohm

Of all the foreign opponents on talk shows, the American Michael Bohm is the most good-natured. He can even be called a favorite of TV viewers and presenters. In any case, it rarely comes to open flogging. Once the head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, arranged for him to be dragged out on the air, who "did not understand what such people do on Russian TV."

Known for his manner 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 his admission, 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 (as it turned out recently in live), loves to confess his love for Russia.

While admitting that he is a "whipping boy" on Russian television, Bohm claims that he is closer to the role of a public diplomat.

Pavel Zhovnirenko

Pavel Zhovnirenko

Pavlo Zhovnirenko, a political strategist, political scientist and chairman of the board of the Center for Strategic Studies, stands out from among other Ukrainian talking heads on Russian television in that he regularly leaves filming studios himself if he thinks that the presenters give him little attention and airtime.

He first tried such a "knight's move" in April 2016. Then the political scientist took offense at the leading NTV and left the studio, citing a lack of attention. At the same time, during the broadcast, Zhovnirenko received the right to speak out, 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 the Czech Jiri Yust. A former columnist for MK and a Moscow correspondent for a Czech news portal. One of the few "whipping boys" who recognize and publicly designate their role in this way.

"For me, going to these talk shows has two meanings, two incentives. The first is that I can talk to the politicians invited there before or after the program. Second, yes, of course, I understand that I am there as Whipping boy. That even by my presence alone, 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 performance

Yust defends a pro-European position, but he is quite objective in his statements, which earns respect from presenters and viewers, and his natural phlegm does not allow him to get involved in serious skirmishes.

Olesya Yakhno

Olesya Yakhno

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

Fragment of a typical performance

A loud voice, the systematically applied tactics of yelling at opponents and a truly unpredictable logic of argumentation (it seems 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

Chubais's associate, 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 campaigns on television almost before everyone else: he held his first debates on January 26, 2009 with Vladimir Zhirinovsky, discussing the now distant conflict between Russia and Georgia.

Fragment of a typical performance

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

According to open sources, during all the visits to television programs, Gozman was not beaten. However, on December 1, 2016, a case was publicized when a politician, following the example of Zhovnirenko, got up and left the audience during the filming of one of the shows. Before that, he listened to an almost two-minute critical monologue of the presenter Andrei Norkin.

Boris Nadezhdin

Boris Nadezhdin

Gozman's colleague from 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 fell while on their air disputes took place without representatives of even the conventional opposition.

Fragment of a typical performance

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

Tomasz Maceychuk

Tomasz Maceychuk

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

Matseychuk admitted that he became a journalist thanks to the Euromaidan and for a long time supplied humanitarian aid to demonstrators and volunteer battalions of nationalists in eastern Ukraine. Later, the journalist witnessed atrocities by Ukrainian neo-Nazis and revised his views. The publication in the Polish press of materials about the presence of real Nazis among the ATO fighters quickly spoiled the relationship of the Pole 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 ended up at an exhibition about "ATO heroes" in the European Parliament.

Fragment of a typical performance

According to some reports, the expert, ardently defending the position of Ukraine, was banned from entering this country. He also received repeated threats from radicals. After consulting with subscribers on social networks about the need to participate in Russian TV shows, Matseychuk left for Russia in October 2016 and has not left TV screens since then.

Andrey Okara

Andrey Okara

One of the most famous colleagues of Kovtun is the Ukrainian political scientist Andrey Okara. Born and raised in Moscow, the ethnic Ukrainian studied the ideas of 20th century Russian conservatism, 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, the small number of sources does not allow to confirm or deny this information.

Fragment of a typical performance

On Russian TV, he likes to speak out in support of the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, almost always at the same time 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 had a scuffle with the co-chairman of the Popular Front of New Russia, Konstantin Dolgov.

Most of the people mentioned will surely be seen by the audience more than once. Pro-Western and pro-Ukrainian political experts are fond of calling on Russian channels. They rank programs and help opponents hone their argumentation.

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The national television award TEFI has exactly two nominations for information and analytical broadcasting (a program in this genre and its presenter), and a thoroughly political one with its Sunday Evening is forced to compete (as it was at TEFI-2016) in the category of Evening Talk Show "With the shows" Revizorro "and" Let's get married ", which 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", "Segodnya" and "Events" are aired several times a day, alternating with final broadcasts on the main events of the day.

But with the news, almost everything is clear, they are also nominated in TEFI, and their format has remained unchanged almost since Soviet times. In addition, they enjoy constant success with viewers and regularly occupy almost all the 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 are not in the highest places in the ratings, which does not exclude rivalry between them outside of the television awards.

Popular and not so popular

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

Political talk shows should not be confused with copyright programming, like a show that dates back to an American TV host. Invented back in the 60s by Phil Donahue, the format of communication with viewers (and invited experts) to discuss topical issues is often used for any social topic (for example, “Let them talk”). Extended news bulletins, usually at the end of the week (for example, "Sunday Time"), still play on a different field than talk shows, although they are similar to them.

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

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

Also, two more programs of Solovyov often fall into the top ten of this section - "Evening", which is published on weekdays, and "Duel", in which the TV viewers make the politician they like the winner.

In addition, the repeated winner of TEFI with Saturday's "Central Television" (3.4% rating and 9.8% share), as well as two shows on the channel "Right to Know!" and "The Right to Vote". Well, and, of course, gaining speed "60 minutes" on "Russia 1" and "First Studio" on the First.

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

Discord slot

Olga Skabeeva and Evgeny Popov (60 minutes program)

The seven-hour slot is traditionally considered the very beginning of the evening prime - not the most prestigious, but already popular. On weekdays, some of the domestic channels allotted it to news programs: the 40-minute Segodnya episode did not start at 19.00, and the half-hour “Events” on TV Center and Novosti began at 19.30. At that time, on Russia 1, at that time, since 2013, there was “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 show “Let's Get Married”, which goes on The first since 2008. For a long time such a distribution seemed to suit everyone, but at the beginning of the 2016/17 season at Russia 1 they decided to change the concept.

The evening prime time was opened by a new talk show "60 minutes".

The show is aired daily on weekdays at 18.50 and runs - including advertising - until the 20-hour release 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 invited guests of the program - political and public figures. As for "Live", it did not go anywhere, but simply moved with Korchevnikov an hour earlier. Beyond the Prime.

The main competitor of "Russia 1" for about six months did not notice any changes in the network of the neighboring channel.

It was only in January 2017 that he struck back - at six in the evening, the almost two-hour talk show "First Studio" with the host Artyom Sheinin began to appear. The format turned out to be approximately the same as that of "60 minutes" - discussion of the topics of the day with invited experts (but in the legendary First Studio Ostankino), but perhaps a little more detailed than that of Skabeeva and Popov. Due to the longer timing.

It's about rating

Artem Sheinin

They are very attentive to the ratings of their programs on TV channels. And even if for the First or "Russia 1" the fluctuation in percentage is not fatal, any change requires attention. So, according to the data, at the end of 2016, the channel "Russia 1" became the leader with 12.9% (the year before 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 remove the show from the air, which did not meet expectations, such as the TV series "The Other Side of the Moon - 2" or his own hockey cup.

The idea of \u200b\u200b"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: so, exactly a year ago, in February 2016, the Korchevnikov show had 2.8% and 10.3% (and TV channels - 4.0% and 13.1%). And even 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 it was 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 equal terms. The First Channel program in the week from February 13 to February 19 had a rating of 4.1%, and its share - 13.8%, the show "Russia 1" - 4.2% and 13.7%, respectively.

The parity between the two similar programs, apparently, will remain in the future. “Russia 1” is helped by the fact that after “60 minutes” “Vesti” begins and the continuity of the news and analytical agenda can be preserved. The First has Andrey Malakhov's scandalous talk show “Let them talk”, which has been going on for fifteen years and looks completely unsinkable. The audience, perhaps, only benefited from this rivalry: you can choose the presentation of topical material to your taste - aggressive from "60 minutes" or more calm from "First Studio".

The main victims in this rating struggle were fans of the show "Let's Get Married", which unexpectedly found itself in an unusual place (now airing at 17.00) - not all viewers have time to get to their TV sets from work. True, the protest that swept across social networks did not pay attention to the First.

Dozens of political talk shows are broadcast 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 gagged, openly trolled and even often beaten. "Lenta.ru" recalled the brightest issues 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 time on Russian TV channels. Despite the general fatigue of viewers from the information 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 programs with their participation is based on a completely standard scenario. The presenter asks the political scientist a question (conditionally - about those guilty of 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 unable to stop. However, they themselves do not hesitate to sneer at the speakers, and sometimes completely shut their mouths.

Usually, the host and guests associate the expert with 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.

By opinion President of the Center for Systems Analysis and Forecasting Rostislav Ishchenko, this tradition in Ukraine was set by Yulia Tymoshenko.

The composition of experts from Ukraine in all Russian TV broadcasts is approximately the same. Vadim Karasev, Olesya Yakhno and Vyacheslav Kovtun are regularly featured in the programs of Vladimir Solovyov, Andrei Norkin, on Channel One, TV Center and Zvezda. Of these, only Karasev appears on Ukrainian TV from time to time. The other three are reproached for being unpopular in Ukraine, so they want to make themselves public relations in Russia.

Scandals and fights

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

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

In March 2016, Kovtun went out into the street after another shoot and was preparing to get into a taxi, but he was prevented by unknown persons 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, Ukrainian deputy Volodymyr Oleynik 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. Presenter Vladimir Solovyov separated the fighters and explained that Kovtun was not really grinning - the peculiarities of his facial expressions were to blame.

Kovtun is not the only one who has been openly “pressed” on Russian TV. In 2015, it went to the Kiev lawyer Eduard Bagirov. He was not convinced by the arguments of the co-chairman of the Popular Front of Novorossiya, Konstantin Dolgov, who tried to prove with the help of photographs that the fascist government had settled in Kiev. Dolgov first promised to break Bagirov's jaw, and then moved on him.

In relation to Ukrainian experts, TV presenters are not shy about showing emotions. So, the new host of the talk show "Time Will Show" Artem Sheinin openly mocks above them in front of the audience.

However, the most memorable incident was the September incident on the air of NTV: the host of "Meeting Place" Andrei Norkin from the studio of the invited political scientist Sergei Zaporozhsky. The program discussed the details of the investigation into the crash of the Malaysian Boeing.

Norkin argued that the international community ignores Russia's opinion. According to him, for the first time the version that the plane shot down a Ukrainian bomber was put forward not by Russia, but by an American blogger. Zaporozhsky objected to him. Norkin considered that the political scientist was wrong, and then explained to the audience that he did not need advice from “every ram”.

Where to go to swear

An editorial staff member of a large 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, participation in talk shows is a good opportunity for unknown political scientists to make themselves public relations. That is why, in spite of the spread rot, they continue to spill the television studios.

VGTRK "Lentu.ru" was assured: rumors that experts (including Ukrainian ones) are paid money for organizing enchanting performances on the air, false - no rewards are provided 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 the air is not always allowed to speak, but, according to him, everything depends on the preparation of the speaker: “If you try, if you have professional and emotional training, 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. "Lenta.ru") in Russia we are playing the role of 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 by the fact 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 the Ministry of Defense). But he freely goes to TV Center, but only if he, as a specialist in global strategies, is invited to discuss the development of Europe. According to him, he does not attend all the broadcasts of Vladimir Solovyov, because sometimes he feels in advance that "there will be something muddy."

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

Many people, especially women, like to watch talk shows online or live. They discuss many important life issues and ways out of situations. Especially, the audience is attracted by the talk shows of Ukraine. They really consider the problems of real people who have fallen into different life vicissitudes.

TV experts opinion

Many experts agree that the talk shows of Ukraine show real life in the country, and consider important aspects. And ordinary people like to watch such programs, to empathize with the participants.

Why are there online views?

Let's imagine that a person is at work, and there is no way to watch a live broadcast, but you really want to. There are people who do not miss a single episode of their favorite show. Especially for them, there are sites that allow you to watch talk shows online in recording. Thus, you can view all important points, as well as review once again what was not clear. This is convenient, since you cannot rewind a live broadcast. Now there are Ukrainian services that will allow you to watch talk shows online, both in Ukrainian and in Russian.

Each of the major TV channels has several talk shows discussing social and political topics. On "Russia 1" he broadcasts "Duel" and "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov", there is also a talk show "60 minutes" with Olga Skabeyeva and Evgeny Popov. The flagship of the social and political bloc of Channel One was the First Studio talk show with Artem Sheinin. He, along with Ekaterina Strizhenova and Anatoly Kuzichev, hosts the daytime talk show "Time Will Show". NTV broadcasts "Place of Meeting" with Andrey Norkin and Olga Belova during the day, and TV Center in the evenings shows "The Right to Vote" with Roman Babayan, as well as "The Right to Know" with Dmitry Kulikov.

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

March 27, 2017 release. Topic: "At the scene of the crime." The program is dedicated to Ukraine. Host Artyom Sheinin appeals to the reaction to the murder of Voronenkov by US Senator John McCain. After that, a discussion unfolds.

Leonid Smekhov

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

Thanks to the image of the presenter, a feeling is created: the broadcast is being conducted by a "man from the people", a kind of boorish-rude native of the proletarian environment. Scheinin in rude terms devalues \u200b\u200bMcCain as a speaker, making the following argument: "I understand that McCain spent a long time in a cage in Vietnam, where he was regularly beaten." This is the labeling of "not entirely healthy mentally."

One of the program participants, 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 be jailed for 15 years for rallies. This is a manipulative, unverifiable statement - a trick called an "imposed consequence" when the chain of reasoning is hidden and the emphasis is on the conclusion. The presenter sticks on the interlocutor the label "you are now speaking like McCain", ignores counter questions and uses an authoritarian trick - repeating the same phrase until the interlocutor gets tired and stops talking. The presenter also uses other tools to control the dialogue: gives commands to speakers; underestimates the rate of speech and increases the emphasis on words, which makes his speech more significant; becomes personal, directly accusing the opponent of lying.

When Drandin is already off balance, trying to shout down opponents, he looks like a moody child. At this point, the rest of the program participants begin to behave like educators who try to calm him down from the standpoint of an "adult".

Employee of a socio-political talk show of one of the central channels

The expert wished to remain anonymous

Opposition speakers are the biggest problem for such talk shows. The leadership wants new faces, but at the same time it is necessary to be absolutely sure that this very "liberal-light" will not say too much. Especially if the program is broadcast live. Of course, there is a stop-list, and it is periodically updated, in particular, because of "tired, too much on the air." You can count these "light liberals" on one hand. They are all fee-based, that is, it is their job to go on TV channels and portray enemies in a channel-safe mode.

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

February 21, 2017 release. 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 introduced as a Ukrainian political scientist.

Leonid Smekhov

The presenter sets in advance the framework in which viewers will perceive the video from 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 clumsily to justify Poroshenko, instead of shifting the focus or even transferring the game to the opponent's field (his favorite speech technique is "the fool himself"). He does this already belatedly, recalling the statements of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a press conference with a colleague from Saudi Arabia.

"Evening with Vladimir Soloviev" on "Russia 1"

May 16, 2017 release. The topic of the show: “Ban on social networks in Ukraine. Medicine in Russia. Cultural Extremism ". Vladimir Soloviev and the guests again oppose the Ukrainian political scientist Vyacheslav Kovtun.

Leonid Smekhov

Soloviev acts in the usual image of a cynical intellectual, enhancing the persuasiveness of his statements by listing names and facts. He responds to Kovtun with manipulative tricks: he glues a label, lowering the authority of the interlocutor; then it appeals to other people - Shoigu, Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky and their supposed reaction; then it turns to direct accusations. In the future, even antics are used against Kovtun in order to devalue his words and seize the initiative. In the end, he is again slaughtered with a series of charges. Under them, he temporarily drowns.

TV show employee

The TV show really played with the themes of Ukraine and Poroshenko. The viewer has long been unnerved by this formulation of the question, because it resembles pouring from empty to empty. When on the TV channel of the Ministry of Defense "Zvezda" foreign policy issues are a priority, this is 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 suggest interesting moves and turns, but from time to time it ends with the cancellation of the topic and the command: "Making Ukraine." If some time ago it was interpreted as "Ukraine-actual", then at the moment the actual is not forged with such frequency. Therefore, the topic, as well as the program, are sucked from the finger.

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

Leonid Smekhov

Korotchenko's statement is a typical sifting of facts: he omits something quite significant, and, on the contrary, brings something to the fore. He gives additional persuasiveness to his statement with a low speech rate, rigid voice delivery, and accentuation. When Bohm 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 is usually the case on such programs.

Here it is worth noting the imbalance of loudness 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 could it be the other way around? The American opinion is secondary here.

TV show employee

With Bohm, just like with Kovtun, the situation is the same as with the fee-paying oppositionists. It's just their job - to go to talk shows and pretend to be enemies (NTV devoted a cycle of programs to foreign stars of Russian television: here it is. Approx. ed.). As for royalties, Bohm, for example, received fifteen thousand rubles for air two years ago. Kovtun was initially paid five, but soon the fee was raised to ten.

"First Studio" on Channel One

None March 29, 2017 release. 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 twentieth century, which means that this interpretation of the events of 1991 can be recognized as the official and main one. Gennady Zyuganov, for obvious reasons, develops this topic, linking the events in Ukraine with it and using recognizable Soviet propaganda clichés: "orange provocateurs", "under far-fetched slogans" and so on. But this does not sound archaic: modern media often use instruments of speech influence from the past.

The image of Navalny is instantly transformed 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 young people who do not understand anything. But, thank God, there are law enforcement agencies that protect the country and prevent it from being destroyed. They, according to the leader of the Communist Party, are smarter than the protesters.

Following Olga Timofeeva (member of the Russian Federation Council Committee on International Affairs. - Approx. ed.) develops the image of an ignorant young Russian who can be drawn into a dangerous game by calling. There is an appeal to the 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 dialogue with acute questions and claims, Sergei Ivanenko (a member of the Yabloko party - Approx. ed.) the presenter neutralizes with the following argument: “You are a democrat? Say that you respect the laws? So respect the laws of our studio. " The presenter says this with a dismissive connotation, which weakens Ivanenko's statement and oratorical image.

TV show employee

Was the choice of the topic influenced by the fact that on the Internet the central channels were criticized 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 gravity of the host Sheinin. It cannot be argued that the management of the programs is constantly offended by the criticism of the Internet and they run to give "our answer to Chamberlain."

The presenter appeals to the words of director Alexander Sokurov, not saying a word about the fact that this phrase was taken, and also not mentioning that Sokurov has repeatedly criticized the actions of the Russian authorities.

Leonid Smekhov

The presenter undertakes to assert that a decision on the correct reaction of society to rallies is formed during his program. And again a statement about the lack of understanding, stupidity of young people: if they go to a rally, it means that there is a wind in their heads.

Look: even such worthy and recognized people as Sokurov were able to involve. He suggests dividing the protesters into those who, under no circumstances, can be touched, and the rest, who can be touched. And now we will prove that everyone should be touched. Here are cute girls on the video. Here they are sitting. But a building in Odessa is on fire. This kind of innuendo is called a sandwich. We take a well-known fact - the girls at the rally, we take another well-known fact - the burned down house of trade unions in Odessa, and between them we put an unknown and unverifiable fact: the statement that the house was burnt down by these girls as well. The trick is usually convincing.

TV show employee

The system of taking phrases out of context, unfortunately, is constantly practiced. Those who make the program realize that the person whose statement was distorted will never come to the program. And if he would not have gone, then his hands are generally untied.

"Time Will Show" on Channel One

July 21, 2017 release. Topic: "Why don't we give birth?" The broadcast about the decline in the birth rate in recent years begins with a discussion of the host's recent vacation in Crimea.

Leonid Smekhov

Sifting the facts again: we talk about one thing, we omit the other. There is a curious moment in the discussion of Crimea: the childhood memories of the hosts about the taste of peaches. First, these memories should cause the same reaction among the target audience of the program - agreement, fond memories, nostalgia, and at the same time a desire to agree with the position of the hosts. And secondly, these memories are presented with an emphasis on the kinesthetic channel of perception: taste, sensations of juice flowing 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 beaches.

Negative questions are minimized, although slightly labeled for plausibility. In general, everyone in Crimea is happy, the region is bursting with fruits, tourists and people happy from joining Russia. A very pleasant picture is being created, from which the transition to a painful topic - a decrease in the birth rate in the country - turns out to be rather mild. We are already talking about a global and serious problem, but the imagination still draws a hand on which peach juice flows.