Man of the law: TV presenter Alexey Pimanov has died

Alexey Pimanov, a talented journalist, director, media manager and TV presenter who left a vivid mark in the history of Russian television and beyond, has died. His multifaceted nature allowed him to achieve success in almost all areas of creativity: for a quarter of a century he hosted the popular TV program "Man and the Law", was the first Russian director to make a film about the Russian fate of Crimea, conducted investigative journalism, wrote scripts for TV series that instantly won the audience's love, was engaged in lawmaking, exposed corrupt officials, led the media holding of the Ministry of Defense. The Red Star, whose main task, as Pimanov himself once said in an interview with Izvestia, saw the upbringing of Russian boys by real men. Since childhood, he has been interested in the history of Russia — and all his life he has fought to make this history proud. Izvestia tells about the brightest pages of Alexey Pimanov's biography.

The story of the TV camera

Alexey Pimanov was born on February 9, 1962 in Moscow. Life was not easy for the family: Alexey was left without a father at an early age, and his mother raised her two sons alone. It was only later, as an adult, that Pimanov realized what it cost her, and more than once he spoke with pride about his mother.

As Pimanov later said in an interview, he remembered the program "Man and the Law" as a child — it was often watched in the house. However, he never imagined that he would one day become its host. At that time, he had completely different hobbies: the future TV presenter was professionally involved in football — he even played for the second team of Lokomotiv at one time — and was seriously interested in history, dreaming of making it his profession. Strangely enough, the young man was dissuaded from this step by a school history teacher, persuading him to choose a more reliable and profitable profession. Having become accustomed to responsibility for his loved ones since his youth, Alexey listened to the advice and entered the Moscow Institute of Communications, now the Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics, majoring in radio communications and broadcasting engineering.

From the third year of the institute, Pimanov was drafted into the army. He happened to serve at the famous Baikonur cosmodrome: the future engineer provided communications during the preparation for rocket launches. After returning to his studies, he simultaneously went to work in Ostankino: first as an engineer for remote cameras, then as a videographer. However, Pimanov did not stay in technical work for long. Technical literacy and deep knowledge in various humanitarian fields, the energy and drive of a real TV personality, organizational skills, the ability to look into the distance and see the future — all this did not go unnoticed on television in the late 1980s, where the stars flashed instantly.

In 1989, after receiving his diploma, Pimanov joined the Directorate of Socio-Political Programs of the Central Television. He started as the host of the popular youth program "Steps", remembered by the audience for his confidence and naturalness in communicating with any audience. And a couple of years later, in 1992, Alexey Pimanov released his own series of documentary programs "Behind the Kremlin Wall" on TV screens, which combined several of his interests that remained with the TV presenter for life: history, politics and the fight against corruption.

The Big Man of the small screen

Television, with its constant drive, requiring a natural instinct and the strongest analytical abilities that allow you to instantly identify the main thing from the endless news stream, turned out to be Alexey Pimanov's native environment. In 1996, he took over the post of General Director of the Ostankino television company and the position of presenter of the Man and the Law program. Forgotten since Soviet times, the program, as the journalist later said, was already close to the line of oblivion, but Pimanov and her team managed to restore its former authority — and multiply it. The uncompromising position of the team has repeatedly irritated the antiheroes of the next issue. As Pimanov later admitted, he was threatened more than once, hinting that if he did not behave more quietly, he might have problems. But the journalist had one answer to any threats: the law came first.

But even this was not enough for Pimanov. His creative energy required an outlet: already in the 1990s, he actively produced sports programs, and since the early 2000s, he has been closely involved in the production of TV series, working as a director, producer and screenwriter. He led the Russian Cinema project, founded his own TV company, ODA-film, and managed to work productively with colleagues. For the NMG media holding, he was a close friend and reliable partner who, together with the holding's specialists, worked on such popular TV series as SMERSH, Rooks, and Operation Neman. His deep knowledge of Russian history and his inexhaustible desire to see Russia as a great country ruled by law helped him to always remain at the forefront of his audience's interest.

It is not surprising that Alexey Pimanov made the film "Crimea" in 2017, the first film depicting very recent historical events. He painted the clash of good and evil, the past and the future with clear, vivid strokes, feeling the instinct of a historian, the experience of a publicist and the soul of a patriot, realizing and telling about the difficult, but the only true way of the peninsula to the Russian harbor.

The decision maker

In 2009, Alexey Pimanov became a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, where he worked in the Commission for Public Control over the Activities and Reform of Law Enforcement Agencies and the Judicial system, and in 2011 he took up the post of senator. However, television was still the main business of his life.

In October 2013, in an interview with Izvestia https://iz.ru/news/559556 Alexey Pimanov spoke about his new appointment: he became president of the Krasnaya Zvezda media holding company of the Ministry of Defense. According to Pimanov, when he received the offer, he was fully aware of its complexity and scale, but accepted it without hesitation. "If, as a professional, I can build a strong and powerful media holding, I will be proud of it, because it will work for the country, for the education of boys who should grow up to be real men," Pimanov said in an interview. "Real men" — that is, people who know how to make decisions on their own, he explained. And, undoubtedly, his own life and career could be a better illustration of this explanation.

He always talked about his plans with great enthusiasm. Already being the head of the Krasnaya Zvezda media holding, he indignantly told Izvestia that the Zvezda radio station, which managed to make an impressive leap in popularity over the year, entering the top three most popular FM stations in the evening hours, did not have its own frequency in St. Petersburg at that time. "St. Petersburg doesn't hear Zvezda, but it does hear the Voice of America. Is this normal? Complete nonsense!" he said, promising to do everything to change the situation.

After becoming the head of a large media holding, he continued to host the Man and the Law program, collaborated with friendly TV channels and developed his own production projects. He seemed to have mastered the secret of perpetual motion, generously sharing his energy with his colleagues. It seemed like it would always be there.

But on April 23, his heart suddenly broke down. His death came as a shock to his colleagues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolences to Alexey Pimanov's family and friends. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also expressed his condolences on behalf of the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and on his own behalf.

The leaders and journalists of the National Media Group are deeply grieving with Alexey Pimanov's family and friends.

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