Vladislav Listyev
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Vladislav Listyev (May 10, 1956 - March 1, 1995) was a Russian journalist and head of the ORT TV Channel (First Channel in Russia, now government-controlled).
Vlad Listyev was arguably the most popular journalist and TV anchor in Russia (and remains well-remembered years after his death), and was a key force in bringing the voice of democracy to Russian Television. Listyev first appeared on television as the host of a highly successful TV show "Vzglyad" ("The View") in late 1980s. Following the success of Vzglyad, Listyev and his colleagues founded a TV company VID (Vzglyad i Drugiye - The View and Others) that would produce programming for the First Channel of Central Television, the main TV channel in Soviet Union (later called Ostankino and ORT). In VID, Listyev started a number of new TV projects -- "Pole Chudes" ("A Field Of Wonders", the Russian version of "Wheel of Fortune"), "Tema" ("Theme"), and "Chas Pik" ("Rush Hour"). In 1995, Listyev moved from VID to ORT, where he was appointed the director of the channel. One of Listyev's very first moves as the director was removing all the middlemen in the lucrative advertising business and consolidating the advertising sales in the hands of the channel, thereby boosting the profits.
Shortly after his appointment, on the evening of March 1st, 1995, Listyev was shot and killed on the stairs of his apartment building. Despite numerous promises, neither the gunmen, nor those who ordered the killing, were found, leading to suspicions that the murder was in actuality a political assassination.
The killing caused an enormous public outcry -- in an unprecedented move, the ORT TV Channel shut down for the whole day on March 2nd, displaying only the picture of Listyev and the words "Vlad Listyev Has Been Killed." Listyev's coffin was followed by thousands of people, and even the ailing Boris Yeltsin was forced to make a statement.
There has been much speculation as to the reasons behind Listyev's murder, and two possible causes have been isolated as the most likely: financial and political. When Listyev put the middlemen advertising agencies out of business, he deprived many corrupt businessmen of a source for enormous profits. From the political standpoint, Listyev enjoyed an enormous popularity rating among Russian citizens and could potentially influence the political mood of the whole country.
External links
- ORT TV - First Channel (http://www.ortv.ru/)
- TV company VID (http://www.vid.ru/)