Journalist and director Alexey Pimanov. Biography

Alexey Pimanov, a journalist, director, producer, TV presenter of the Man and the Law program, head of the Krasnaya Zvezda media holding and former senator of the Federation Council, died on April 23 at the age of 65. About his career, work and personal life — in the material of Izvestia.

Childhood and youth

Pimanov was born in Moscow on February 9, 1962. The father left the family early, the mother raised two sons alone. Since the age of six, Pimanov has been involved in football and hockey, played for the youth teams of Lokomotiv, and received the rank of candidate for Master of sports. After school, he wanted to enter the Faculty of History, but the teacher advised him to choose a more practical specialty. Pimanov graduated from a technical college with a degree in automation and telemechanics, then entered the Moscow Electrotechnical Institute of Communications (MEIS).

He was drafted into the army in his third year. Pimanov served at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. He retired from the reserve in 1986, returned to the institute by correspondence and got a job at Ostankino.

Career in television

Pimanov started out as a video engineer at Ostankino. He was offered to become a presenter of sports programs, but he refused — then he was more interested in the technical side. Later, he worked as a cameraman, shot commercials and music videos, including for singer Olga Kormukhina.

The future TV presenter graduated from MEIS in 1989 with a degree in broadcasting and radio communications engineering and at the same time entered the Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State University. In the same year, he joined the editorial board of the socio-political programs of the Central Television, became the host of the program "Steps". A year later, he was appointed a special correspondent of the VITON Shopping Center. In 1992, he received a diploma in journalism and soon presented the author's program "Behind the Kremlin Wall", where he talked about little-known pages of the country's history.

In 1993, Pimanov became the head of the documentary television studio Resonance and joined the Interim Presidential Council on Freedom of Speech. In the mid-1990s, he took over the production of the program "Man and the Law." Pimanov founded the RTS company (later Ostankino), updated the format of the program, expanding the topic from domestic crimes to investigations in the field of economics, culture and politics, and became its host himself. In 2014, Pimanov became the head of the Krasnaya Zvezda media holding

Movies and TV series

As a director and screenwriter, Pimanov has created more than 100 documentaries, including "The Unknown Blockade", "Special Purpose Garage", "Vlasik's Diaries", and the Kremlin-9 cycle. In 2006, his 12-episode military detective "Alexander Garden" was released on Channel One, which gained popularity. Later, he shot sequels — "Three Days in Odessa" and "The Hunt for Beria."

In addition, in 2011, the premiere of the 12-episode film "Zhukov" starring Alexander Baluyev took place. In 2017, Pimanov presented the drama "Crimea", which won the main prize of the International War Film Forum, but also received mixed reviews in the press. In 2018, his war drama "Indestructible" about the feat of Soviet tankers was released.

Among Pimanov's other famous works is the TV series "The Legend of Ferrari" about the intelligence officer Olga Revzina.

Public and political activities

In 2010, Pimanov was a deputy of the Supreme Khural of Tyva from United Russia. From 2011 to 2013, he was a member of the Federation Council from the Republic of Tyva, and was a member of the Defense and Security Committee. He was a trusted representative of the All-Russian Popular Front.

Personal life

Pimanov is married for the third time. At the age of 18, he married Valeria Arkhipova, and their sons Denis and Artyom were born in this marriage. Both sons work in television.

His second wife is Valentina Zhukova, a journalist and former editor—in-chief of the Field of Miracles program. Their romance happened in 1992 while working together on the project "Behind the Kremlin Wall." Pimanov adopted Valentina's daughter Daria.

His third wife is actress Olga Pogodina. They met in 2007 on the set of the film "Three Days in Odessa", where Pogodin was confirmed for the main role after 18 trials. They got married in December 2013.