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- 70 years since the birth of Vladislav Listyev: how he changed television and became a symbol of the era
70 years since the birth of Vladislav Listyev: how he changed television and became a symbol of the era
In Russia, May 10 marks the 70th anniversary of the birth of Vladislav Listyev, a journalist who changed the face of Russian television and became a symbol of an entire era. His name is associated with the turning point in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when television turned into a platform for open dialogue. He stood at the origins of the new television culture and remained in the memory of millions of viewers as the man who gave the country live and honest television. Listov not only launched successful projects — "Vzglyad", "Field of Miracles", "Rush Hour", but also set the standards of the profession, which they continue to strive for today. About the life and career of a journalist — in the material of Izvestia.
Childhood, family, and early years
Vladislav Listov was born on May 10, 1956 in Moscow into a family of workers. His father, Nikolai Ivanovich, worked in the electroplating workshop at the Dynamo factory, his mother, Zoya Vasilyevna, was also involved in production: she worked as a copier at the same factory. The childhood of the future journalist cannot be called cloudless: he faced heavy losses early. When Vladislav was a teenager, his father committed suicide. The authorities discovered the shortage, and Listov Sr. decided that he would be blamed for it.
TV presenter Vladislav Nikolaevich Listov during the filming of the 100th program "Field of Miracles" at the First State Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard
After the death of her father, her mother had another man. The stepfather abused alcohol and could not establish a relationship with his stepson. Sport helped the young man to escape from heavy thoughts. Vladislav attended the boarding school named after the Znamensky brothers of the Spartak sports Society in Sokolniki. His main priority was athletics, in which he achieved notable success. Listov became the USSR junior champion in the 1000 m run and fulfilled the standard of a candidate for master of sports. Later, he worked as a physical education instructor at the Spartak Society.
After school, Listov joined the army. He served in the sports company of the 2nd Guards Taman Motorized Rifle Division in the Moscow region, also known as the Taman Guards Division. According to the memoirs of his colleagues, even in the army, Listov did not give up physical exertion. After the formations, he asked for leave from the foreman, put on his sneakers and went running.
TV presenter Vladislav Listov participates in the "Race for Survival". At the competitions held in November 1994, he took second place, losing to the famous sports commentator Georgy Surkov.
However, despite his outstanding achievements, Listov decided not to associate his life with professional sports and chose journalism. In 1977, he entered the Department of International Journalism of the Moscow State University Journalism Faculty. There he studied Spanish, French and Hungarian, which later helped him to navigate the international agenda well.
The beginning of the path in journalism
Vladislav Listyev's first job was the main editorial office of the All-Union Radio propaganda. After graduating from university in 1982, he got a job there as an editor, preparing radio broadcasting programs for foreign countries. His tasks included working with information materials, adapting texts for a foreign audience, and participating in shaping the foreign policy agenda of the broadcast.
In the late 1980s, he moved to Central Television, where he began working in the main editorial office of programs for young people. It was here that he found himself among young journalists who were ready to experiment with format and content. Working in the youth editorial office became an important stage in his professional development and opened the way for him to participate in projects that later changed Russian television.
Vzglyad and the birth of a new television
An important stage in his career as a journalist was the program "Vzglyad", which aired on October 2, 1987 on the First Channel of the Central Television of the USSR. This program was a real breakthrough: it was radically different from anything that had previously been shown on Soviet television, and became one of the symbols of perestroika.
The presenters of the infotainment television program "Vzglyad" Dmitry Zakharov and Vladislav Listov are preparing for the broadcast. November 27, 1987
Andrei Shipilov, the editor of Molodezhka, invited Listyev to become one of the presenters. His colleagues were Alexander Lyubimov and Dmitry Zakharov. Frank discussions of socio-political topics, live communication with the guests in the studio and the inclusion of the audience in the process — all this created the effect of a confidential conversation, which made it possible to win the hearts of millions of viewers.
"We weren't doing anything supernatural—we were just talking about what people were talking about in the kitchens. We removed the barrier between the screen and the viewer, stopped reading texts from a piece of paper and started talking in a living language," Vladislav Listov explained the phenomenon of the transfer.
In 1990, the TV company VIDA was founded on the basis of the program — the abbreviation stood for "View and others". The team of like-minded people assembled by Listyev started small, but quickly became the leading producer of television projects, entertainment programs, talk shows and documentaries in the country.
Central Television presenter Vladislav Listov during the TV game of the capital show "Field of Miracles"
Among them are "Wait for Me", a social project combining the format of a talk show and a missing persons search service, "Field of Miracles" — one of the first and most popular capital shows in Russia, "The Last Hero" - a reality show that opened a new television genre for the domestic audience, as well as programs "Guess the Melody" and "Muzoboz" are cult shows about modern music.
In addition, the VIDA Television Company co-founded the TEFI National Television Award, established by the Russian Academy of Television and designed to celebrate professional achievements in the industry. By creating these projects, Listyev proved himself not only as a charismatic presenter, but also as a brilliant manager. He accurately identified which people his team needed, and knew how to spark them with an idea.
Vladislav Listyev's talent and professional flair were highly appreciated by journalist Evgeny Dodolev, the author of books about his life and work. He emphasized that Liszt was a man who intuitively understood television, felt what the viewer needed, even before it became obvious to everyone else.
Working for ORT and trying to reform
In 1995, Listyev was appointed General Director of Public Russian Television (ORT, now Channel One). In this position, he immediately initiated large-scale reforms. His most high-profile decision was a temporary moratorium on advertising. Thus, he sought to combat the "advertising orgy" — the confusion that prevailed on TV channels, during which huge flows of money went into the pockets of intermediaries, and not into the company's budget.
Russian TV presenter Vladislav Listov during the filming of the TV show "Theme" with the title "CPSU: PROS AND CONS" at the Ostankino television center for Channel One
As TV journalist Sergey Lomakin recalled, Listov sought to take a break and work out a more profitable sales scheme for advertising time in order to "translate all this into a legitimate and effective economic form." Listov himself explained his position by the desire to restore order on television.
"It is impossible to continue working in conditions when money passes by the channel. This is not only a matter of economics, but also of the audience's trust," he noted in an interview.
His decision to impose a moratorium on advertising caused sharp discontent among the influential structures that controlled the financial flows on television. In fact, it was an attempt to restore order in an opaque system of distribution of advertising revenue, which affected the interests of major market players.
Vladislav Listov at the capital show "Field of Miracles" on Central Television
According to the memoirs of colleagues, Listov realized that he was taking a serious risk. During this period, he was repeatedly asked to strengthen security measures, but he refused, not wanting to change his usual lifestyle. As noted by his relatives, he tried to remain calm and continued to work in the same mode, despite the increasing pressure.
Tragic death on March 1, 1995
On the evening of March 1, 1995, Vladislav Listov was returning home after filming the Rush Hour program. The program was aired at 19:00 Moscow time. At 7:30 p.m., the presenter said goodbye to the audience and left the television center. At about 21:00, unidentified men who were waiting for the journalist in the stairwell shot at him in the entrance of his own house on Novokuznetsk Street.
The first bullet hit the forearm, the second — in the head, becoming fatal. The TV presenter had bank cards and a large amount of money with him, which remained untouched, so the investigators immediately ruled out the robbery version.
Stunned by the terrible news, people gathered near the house on Novokuznetsk Street where Vladislav Listov, the General Director of the ORT TV channel, lived. Moscow. March 2, 1995
The news of the murder shocked the whole country. On March 2, all programs except emergency newscasts were canceled on all federal channels. A screen saver with a portrait of Listyev in a funeral frame was broadcast until midnight.
President Boris Yeltsin, arriving at the Ostankino television center, publicly acknowledged that this was a national tragedy, calling the murder of a journalist a serious blow to freedom of speech and reforms in the media sphere. In his emotional speech, Yeltsin said: "I apologize for not saving you either."
Farewell to Vladislav Listyev took place on March 3, 1995 at the Ostankino Concert Studio. The civil memorial service lasted more than eight hours due to the huge number of people who came to pay tribute to the 38-year-old TV presenter. Listyev was buried on March 4 at the Vagankovsky Cemetery in Moscow.
Investigation of the murder of Vladislav Listyev
From the very first years, the investigation considered the version of a contract killing related to the redistribution of the advertising market on television. During the investigation, dozens of possible defendants were considered, from representatives of the advertising business to organized criminal groups operating at that time. But, despite a wide range of checks, it was not possible to identify the customers and perpetrators of the crime.
For more than 30 years since the murder, the case has been repeatedly suspended and resumed. Over the years, the investigation has announced progress in certain areas, but these findings have not led to formal charges. Commercial conflicts in the media industry of the 1990s and the struggle for control over advertising revenue were still among the key versions.
By 2026, the case remains unsolved, but work on it has not been formally discontinued. Periodically, the investigative authorities return to the materials, check new evidence and versions.
In April 2024, former Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov, who headed the department in 1995-2000, said that the investigation into Listyev's murder could theoretically be brought to an end. According to him, one of the key obstacles was the mistakes made due to the dishonesty of individual operational staff and information leaks, as well as the alleged customer's communications. At the same time, Skuratov refused to give a specific name, referring to the observance of the presumption of innocence.
Personal life: three marriages and the search for happiness
Vladislav Listyev's personal life was complicated and full of tragedies. He was married three times. His first wife, Elena Yesina, was his student love. They met at a sports training camp. However, the marriage did not work out: the first child died three days after giving birth, which alienated the spouses. Even the birth of Valeria's daughter did not save the relationship, and the couple divorced.
TV journalist Vladislav Listov gives a monetary reward to the family of the deceased correspondent of the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, Vladimir Zhitarenko
After the breakup, Listov practically did not participate in the upbringing of the child, focusing on work and new television projects that occupied most of his time. It is known that the daughter of a journalist, Valeria, received an education as a speech therapist and chose a professional path unrelated to the media sphere.
The journalist's second wife was the philologist and translator Tatiana Lyalina. They met while working at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. In 1982, the couple had a son, Vladislav. The boy was born seriously ill and died at the age of six. This loss plunged Listyev into severe depression, he began to abuse alcohol. The birth of her second son, Alexander (born in 1983), did not save the situation, and Tatiana left her husband.
Alexander Listov followed in his father's footsteps. He studied at the English School at Cambridge University and at the International University in Moscow with a degree in advertising. After that, he got a job at Ostankino and worked on major television projects, including "The Last Hero", "Big Race", "Minute of Glory", "Star Factory".
Vladislav Listov with his wife Albina Nazimova
For the third time, the journalist married designer Albina Nazimova. The couple got married in 1991. It was Albina, according to the memoirs of friends, who helped him cope with his addiction to alcohol and regain his taste for life. She also created the famous mask for the splash screen of the VIDA television company — the image of the ancient Chinese philosopher Guo Xiang with a three-legged toad on his head. After her husband's death, she married a colleague, Andrei Razbash, who died of a heart attack in 2006. Later, Nazimova moved to Spain, where she designed villas and restaurants.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
