The biography of Vladislav Listyev cannot be called simple. From early childhood, he had to learn the bitterness of failure and loss. He easily created a television empire, and for many years remained unhappy in his personal life, had problems with alcohol and even once decided to commit suicide. Most people in our country remember Vlad as a talented journalist, funny and ironic. TV viewers remember him because they still love him.
Childhood and youth
Vladislav was born on May 10, 1956 in a metropolitan working class family. From an early age, the boy was engaged in athletics, studied at a sports school. The teenager earned the title of candidate for master of sports and won the victory in the junior championship in running for a kilometer distance. The coaches had high hopes and predicted a place for him on the Olympic team. But dreams of big sport remained unfulfilled.
The tragedy that befell the young man in the 10th grade for a long time deprived him of peace and peace of mind. Father Nikolai Ivanovich, in order to avoid trouble at work, committed suicide. Mother Zoya Vasilievna drowned her grief in a bottle, and soon brought another man into the house, who was only 10 years older than Vlad. After a while, Vladislav continued his sports activities, but already as a coach of the Spartak Society.
Journalism
Listyev's military service took place in the legendary Taman division near Moscow. And upon returning home, he decided to get a higher education. He made his choice in favor of journalism. At that time, this field of activity was under the control of the state, but this did not bother the young man. The Moscow State University student dreamed of becoming a TV journalist. Listyev, a successful graduate, was offered an internship in Cuba, but he decided to stay and chose the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. He served as an editor and got acquainted with Soviet journalism from the inside. Then he realized that a real journalist must be honest and reliable. The authors of programs should have their own view of the problem, and the ability to share it with the audience.
Vladislav was able to implement his ideas in the "Look" program in 1987. The program began to air on Channel One with the support of the Youth Edition. Vlad and his friends saw themselves as pioneers of independent journalism in the USSR. The presenters discussed topics previously "closed" for television. Conversations about foreign policy, religion, sex were replaced by numbers of foreign stage. Friday editions of the program collected unprecedented ratings. They say that during the broadcasts, the streets of cities were emptied, and the crime rate decreased. Vzglyad became a cult Soviet TV show, and four like-minded journalists organized the ViD TV company, which began to prepare programs for Channel One, and then for ORT. Today the company logo is familiar to every TV fan.
Soon the first author's programs of Listyev appeared. The most famous and popular of them was the "Field of Miracles" program, Vlad became its first host. But natural modesty and a desire to create led to the fact that soon in this place he was replaced by Leonid Yakubovich. More than 25 years have passed, and the program is still popular and loved by the audience. Every evening, Listyev's twenty-minute program "Rush Hour" went on the air, in which he discussed topical issues of politics, sports, and culture with an invited guest. The audience fell in love with the musical program "Guess the Melody" with Valdis Pelsh and "Silver Ball" with Vitaly Wulf.
Vladislav's dream was to create the Russian Public Television. In January 1995 he was appointed director of ORT. He was in high spirits, proudly told what changes awaited Ostankino. This project was supposed to become special in the post-Soviet space, it was assumed that the new television would be based on highly artistic journalism and regardless of the government. Today we can say with confidence that for Vladislav Listyev the word "freedom" was not an empty phrase, his new project was supposed to become popular, free from political propaganda. The range of programs was planned for the widest - for all ages and for every taste. But Listyev's plans came true without him …
Doom
The unexpected death of the journalist shocked the whole country. This happened on March 1, 1995, exactly one month before the start of ORT. The killer was waiting for Vlad at the entrance of his house. The killer fired two shots, took the weapon with him and did not even touch Listyev's bag, which contained a significant amount of money. Everything pointed to the contract nature of the murder. In the dashing 90s, this was the usual way to get rid of an unwanted competitor or rival.
Listyev's death caused a wide public outcry. For what could they have killed a talented young journalist, the favorite of millions? The General Director of ORT and the President of ViD Company has made an impetuous business career. But his decisions did not always find support among the company's shareholders. The decision to impose a moratorium on advertising was especially negative. And although the CEO called this measure temporary and linked it to the quality of the proposed television product, the advertising magnates were not ready to incur millions in losses.
Among the suspects, the names of Lisovsky and Berezovsky, who were ORT shareholders and were engaged in the advertising business, were named. The Prosecutor General's Office opened a case, and the collection of materials took several years. But in the end, the perpetrators of the crime were never named.
Personal life
There were three marriages in the fate of the journalist. Listyev created his first family after leaving school while working as a coach at Spartak. He knew his chosen one Elena from a sports boarding school. On the wedding day, Vlad's mother-in-law warned Vlad that her daughter had a difficult character, and she was not mistaken. The marriage broke up two years later. He met his second wife Tatyana when he was studying at Moscow State University, during the Olympics in Moscow she worked as a translator.
Vlad loved children very much, dreamed of them. But as if an evil fate pursued him in this matter. In a marriage with Elena, their first-born died immediately after birth, then their daughter Valeria was born. After the divorce, her father did not take part in her upbringing. Their joint child with Tatiana, through the fault of doctors, became disabled in infancy and died at the age of six. Even the second son, who was born a year later, could not return Vladislav's peace of mind. Listyev began to drink, spending time in noisy companies for several days he did not show up at work. One day he decided to commit suicide and all his problems at once.
The artist, designer Albina, whom he met in 1991, saved him. This great love helped him to endure. The third wife supported all of Vlad's endeavors, she left her job and devoted herself entirely to her husband. Together they were until his death.
Today, the work of the famous father is continued by his son Alexander, and with his work he contributes to the development of modern Russian television. He has come a long way from administrator to executive director of many well-known projects on Channel One.
