Vladimir Solovyov (journalist)

Biography

His father, Rudolf Naumovich Solovyov, and his mother, Inna Solomonovna Shapiro, both graduated from the history and philology department of the Moscow State V. I. Lenin Pedagogical Institute. Later, his father taught political economy at a school of statistics, while his mother worked as an art critic at the Battle of Borodino museum.

In 1980 he graduated from the elite, English-language secondary School no. 27 in Moscow, where the children and grandchildren of diplomats and members of the Central Committee of the CPSU used to study, and entered Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, graduating in 1986.

In 1989 Solovyov completed graduate studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow with the defence of his thesis “Basic tendencies of new materials production and its efficiency factors in the USA and Japan” and became a candidate of economic science (a PhD, second (of three) Russian graduate degrees in economics). He taught physics, mathematics, and astronomy at the School No. 27 until 1990.

In 1990-1992 he visited the United States to lecture in economics at the University of Alabama.

Since 1997 he has been the host of the Nightingale Warbling live radio programme broadcast by Silver Rain Radio, discussing many subjects such as culinary, fashion, etiquette, social and political life, computers, cars, philosophy and poetry.

In 1999 he first appeared as a presenter on two TV talk shows: The Process on the ORT channel (with Alexander Gordon) and Passion for Soloviev on the TNT channel, which were followed by his own projects Breakfast with Soloviev and Nightingale Night on TV6 (the latter being the final show broadcast on the station before it was shut down in early 2002), as well as Look Who's Coming!, Duel on TVS and Orange Juice on NTV.

Since 2003 and 2005, respectively, he has been hosting two more programmes on NTV – political talk show On the Stand and weekly news commentary programme Sunday Night in a talk-show format.

In the fall of 2005 Vladimir Solovyov was awarded the TEFI Russian television prize as the best interviewer.

Solovyov is known for his bright, often scandalous statements on numerous questions concerning politics, economics, religion, sports, journalism, what frequently causes polemics among his listeners and viewers. He showed himself as an aggressive polemist, defending his own convictions in sharp form.

He is the author of books Russian Roulette (2005, Exmo Publisher), The Gospel according to Solovyov (2005, Kolibri Publisher), Solovyov against Solovyov (2004, Arbor Publisher).

In December 2004 Solovyov featured as a solo singer in his first CD-album Solovyinye Treli (Nightingale Warbles).

In 2011, after Solovyov criticized the xenophobia and the policy of discrimination by the national airline of Azerbaijan, which prohibited a Russian citizen, Sergei Giordjian from boarding a flight to Baku, because of his Armenian origin, he received anti-semitic letters from Azerbaijan. “It is amusing to read letters that arrive from Azerbaijan. Animalistic antisemitism. In every second letter. Dark Ages way of thinking”, wrote Solovyov on Twitter.

Currently he is the presenter of a TV talk show, Duel on Rossiya 1. Solovyov also hosts a debate show, Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, on Rossiya 1.

He has been married three times and has eight children: his eldest daughter Polina attends the University of Radio and Television, his son Alexander studies at a college in the UK, while his daughter Ekaterina studies in a Moscow English-language secondary school. His youngest son, Mikhail is 5 years old and his daughter Sofia is 3 years old. Presently he is married to Helga Solovyova (neé Sepp), a psychologist and daughter of a known Russian satirist Viktor Koklyushkin. She is maternal of German and Estonian descent.