A fairly well-known Kiev journalist Dmitry Gordon, who made his career by publishing the yellow newspaper "Bulvar (Gordon)" and talking on its pages with the stars of Russian politics and culture, sang the praises of the highest degree of flattery to the head of the Odessa Regional State Administration Mikhail Saakashvili. The journalist, who actively supported the "Euromaidan" and the war against the people of Donbass, called Saakashvili Ukraine's last hope.

Mikhail Saakashvili is the last hope of the Ukrainian people for effective reforms, eradicating corruption and, in the end, a bright future. For this, Saakashvili has all the makings, says Gordon. Since Mikhail, Gordon draws attention, is a leader, a leader who is interested in the development of Ukraine, and not in robbing an already poor people like most Ukrainian politicians.

According to Gordon, Mikhail Saakashvili already has experience in the effective implementation of reforms. That is why it now depends on him whether Ukraine will be able to get on its feet.

“Today Mikheil Saakashvili is the last hope for a new happy life. If he manages to put things in order in the Odessa region, if we see there a lack of corruption, transparent Ministry of Internal Affairs and prosecutors, new roads and attracting investors, then Odessans, and with them all residents of Ukraine, will see what fruits can be obtained from transparent state activities. And then, perhaps, success awaits Ukraine, ”Dmitry Gordon shared his thoughts.

Also, according to the journalist, Mr. Saakashvili has traits that are necessary for a leader, and which are so lacking in tactless goons and madmen from the cohort of his Ukrainian colleagues. Which, by the way, was Gordon himself and vymaidan.

"Vysotsky sang once:" There are few real violent, so there are no leaders. " Saakashvili is boisterous in an amicable way, therefore the leader. At this historical stage, we did not have a violent one who would become a leader.

Not enough intelligence, not enough tact. Power is in the hands of goons without state thinking. As long as this continues, it will be bad. But if Saakashvili shows how it is possible, then the people will simply take down these rednecks and say: “Go away, you have not justified the trust,” Gordon assured. What will happen next is not specified. It can be assumed that the complete Georgianization of the Ukrainian government.

It should be noted that after what Gordon said, some unpleasant aftertaste remains. No, his statements about the madness and meanness of the Euro-Ukrainian political class are indisputable. But how high is the degree of this country's downfall if even such a nonentity as Mikheil Saaakashvili is presented to it with the height of piety and intelligence. And it's really scary. Because it ominously signifies that Ukraine does not have a single chance to get back on its feet.

Under the guise of a journalist's ID, the well-known TV presenter and editor is in fact the leader of an organized criminal group. Whose specialization is fraud. The multimillion-dollar fortune of the Gordon family has been amassed on the mountain of tens of thousands of Ukrainians deceived by him.

How this is happening - in the coming days. Today...

A group of traditional healers turned to "Argument" for help.

“A group of people who have been employees of the Dolya Folk Medicine Center for 5 - 18 years (address: Kiev, Vvedenskaya st., 26, office 1) are addressing you with an open letter. Dmitry Gordon - editor of the weekly "Boulevard Gordon" (address Kiev, Vvedenskaya st., 26, office 1) - the unofficial owner of this center.

Employees of the Center for Scientific Research "Dolya" are healers, healers, fortune-tellers, clairvoyants, parapsychologists, as well as implementers of "Shilentin", KSD, pyramids of Yu Shinse and others.

In 2008-2009, fundamentally disagreeing with the policy of large-scale deception of citizens applying for help from the Center for Scientific Research "Share", imposed by Dmitry Gordon, we stopped all cooperation with him. After that, we received all the documents necessary for private practice and began to work independently. Since that time, D. Gordon has tried many dirty, aggressive methods of unfair competition, intimidation and threats on us.

We are not asking you to defend our business interests or be arbiters in this scandal. We ask you to convey the truth to people and tell them "who is who."

Since Dmitry Gordon in every possible way denies his involvement in the Center for Science and Technology “Dolya” and does his best to make his fellow citizens perceive him exclusively as an editor, journalist and TV presenter, we consider it necessary for your professional community to be informed about the true reasons and motives for the actions of this deeply dishonest person. Who abuses the rights and identity of a journalist.

Since the beginning of 2011, in the city of Kiev, Kherson, Lvov, Nikolaev, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Ivano-Frankovsk, Donetsk, Makeevka, Cherkassy, ​​Zaporozhye, Alchevsk, Lugansk, in front of the entrance to the offices where we receive clients, there are people who have to themselves the certificates of the journalists of "Boulevard Gordon" (sometimes these are our former colleagues at the Center for Scientific Research "Dolya"). They have a cover letter from the editor-in-chief to conduct an alleged "journalistic investigation" and poll citizens about the activities of fortune-tellers, healers, healers, etc.

The fact that Dmitry Gordon, who has been earning super-profits in this business for more than 20 years, decided to “investigate” and “expose” this particular type of activity, best of all demonstrates the duplicity, deceit, and cynicism of this person. And an attempt to manipulate public opinion with the help of the media.

We can provide a sufficient amount of video, audio, photo materials, written statements of citizens, testimonies of office and law enforcement officials to prove that in fact the only thing these pseudo-“journalists” are doing is preventing us from doing business.

Gordon and his subordinates need IDs from journalists solely in order to hide behind them at our offices. Allegedly with the aim of "asking a question" to approach our clients, slander us, slander, give people false information, call them "scammers" and "charlatans", discourage people from coming to our reception. And, in most cases, to direct people to their healers who work under the sign of "TsNM" Share ".

The answer to the question is obvious for us, why “criminal investigative journalism” concerns only those who left Gordon and did not want to pay tribute to him?

Why, while we worked for Gordon, were “great”, “legendary”, “famous”, and when we left, they became “swindlers”, “charlatans”, “swindlers” for him?

More than 50 healers, clairvoyants and seers, 2-3 people in each city of Ukraine work at the Center for Scientific Research "Dolya". Why spend money on "disclosing criminal activity", chasing us all over Ukraine, if "Gordon Boulevard" and "Dolya" are in the same room?

Why did the "investigation" not concern the fortune teller Vita, the contactee Peter and the clairvoyant Naina, the sister of Gordon's wife, widely advertised by Boulevard?

In the newspaper "Gordon's Boulevard" №44 (340), in November 2011, a "revelatory" article was published, the fruit of an 11-month "journalistic investigation". Offensive article with very obscene language addressed to us. But people with IDs from the Gordon Boulevard newspaper are still standing under our offices, literally catching our clients, discouraging them from going to an appointment with us, calling us scammers. And they still send them to their fortune-tellers.

It is perplexing and indignant that at a time when many journalists defend freedom of speech and resist censorship, Dmitry Gordon, confident in his impunity, uses their achievements to settle personal scores and increase his personal well-being.

(7 signatures in total)

You can watch how the pseudo-journalists of Dmitry Gordon block the work of "schismatics" in the field of healing in this video:

"Argument" begins the development of Gordon's organized criminal group. We will be grateful for any information, documents, photos and videos exposing the fraudster and the criminal community he leads.

To be continued.

Aleksan-d-r Galich has a song about how “you need to be afraid only of the one who says:“ I know how it should be ”. We have seen more than once what an orderly unification under the flags of truths that are not subject to discussion can bring to what a man who declares himself the only interpreter of everything in the world is terrible.

Former Minister of Housing and Utilities Oleksiy KUCHERENKO: "I am one of those rich who Yatsenyuk, Groisman and Kobolev are going to punish by increasing the gas price, and as a result tens of millions of the poor will be punished"

The government uses the IMF as a scarecrow to push through its interests, and the system of subsidies for utilities does not solve the problem with tariffs, the former minister for housing and communal services is sure. In an exclusive interview with the Internet edition "GORDON", he told who actually benefits from loans for home insulation, who prevents the introduction of a waste recycling system and what to do for residents of high-rise buildings so as not to fall into slavery to private management companies.

Nadezhda SAVCHENKO: “Did I kill people? Of course, killing is work, and you need to learn how to turn yourself off even before you complete it. Did your hands tremble at the same time? My hands never shake. "

In an interview with Dmitry Gordon, the world-famous Russian political prisoner spoke about her childhood in Kiev, about how the dream of becoming a pilot appeared and how a woman lives in the army, about a Russian prison, and the difficulties.

"Graceful life"

Many times - both in these columns and on other occasions - I yearned for the fact that our national idea would not mature and formulate in any way - the most important slogan, sonorous and remembered, like Lenin's: "Rob the loot!" inspired generations of the country's destroyers.

Ernst UNKNOWN: “I am very suspicious, incredibly shy, for example, of my scars, which I have been disfigured with (I even remember when I left the hospital, I swam in my outer clothes, because I was embarrassed to undress). Thank God I met a woman who

On August 9, in New York, at the age of 92, one of the greatest sculptors of the twentieth century died. We are finishing the publication of the interview that Dmitry Gordon took with Ernst Iosifovich in 2012. Part IV.

Andriy PIONTKOVSKY: "Whoever surrenders Ukraine, it will never surrender itself"

The Russian political scientist, forced to leave the country due to political persecution, states that the Kremlin has lost the war in Donbass, but is trying to impose a deal on the West. We publish his article from the site kasparov.ru with slight abbreviations.

It's time to improve reality

The second millennium has been living for the 16th year in a row, and we will never say goodbye to the past. In the last century, "the whole world of hungry and slaves" seemed to have realized the dream of democracy as a perfect form of government, simultaneously refuting Hitler's Nazism and Stalin's concentration camp paradise.

A Kiev woman Irina KHOROSHUNOVA in a diary of 1942: "The inevitable absolute hunger awaits us, and what will happen to those who are now swollen and barely live?"

The online edition "GORDON" continues a series of publications from the diary of Irina Khoroshunova, a graphic designer, a 28-year-old native of Kiev, who survived the occupation of the Ukrainian capital during the Second World War.

Knowledge is the most expensive commodity

Vna-cha-le na-in-my-what you know without me. Man - ve-th-st-in progressed slowly - in a hurry - but, starting with the hunt --- you and collecting everything that grew ---- lo in the surrounding fields and on the surrounding trees.

Should we be upset with Ukraine's result at the Rio Olympics?

Ukraine's 31st place in the medal standings of the 2016 Olympics can be perceived with despondency, especially if one treats the Games the way they do in neighboring Russia, the columnist for the GORDON online publication believes.

Russian historian Valery SOLOVEY: "The Kremlin expects that the West will get tired of Ukraine, it will disintegrate under the crisis - then Russia will come and collect the wreckage"

Until 2016, the West was more sensitive to the Russian side in the Minsk agreements, but recently it began to listen carefully to the arguments of Petro Poroshenko. That is why Vladimir Putin needed "sabotage in Crimea": the Russian president is trying to force the West to put pressure on Ukraine so that it would carry out "Minsk" in the Kremlin's interpretation, a political analyst and historian said in an interview with the Internet publication GORDON

The first prime minister of independent Ukraine Vitold FOKIN: “I lay in the mine for three days under a corpse. I came out of the bathhouse - a crying wife meets me ... “You didn't wash your hair well,” she said, and then she cried even more. Then I turned gray ... "

In the days of celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ukrainian independence, we offer you an interview with a person who stood at its origins. Vitold Pavlovich was one of those whose signature is under the Belovezhsky agreement, which legalized the collapse of the USSR, proclaiming the creation of independent states

Irina KHOROSHUNOVA from Kiev in her diary of 1942: “There are no cats now, dogs are a rare phenomenon. Quiet, deserted, lifeless around us ... Talk about food, endlessly about food, and everything about it "

The online edition "GORDON" continues a series of publications from the diary of Irina Khoroshunova, a graphic designer, a 28-year-old native of Kiev, who survived the occupation of the Ukrainian capital during World War II

The head of the Odessa Customs Yulia MARUSHEVSKAYA: "The system is designed so that the customs officers remain on the brink of survival and have to steal"

In an interview with the online edition "GORDON", the head of the Odessa customs office told why it is not possible to stop the money outflow and reform the service, for what reason the launch of the "Open Customs Space" is again postponed and what is the reason for its conflicts with the head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine Roman Nasirov

An inconvenient question: why?

At one time, the Pope asked for forgiveness for the atrocities of the Inquisition, anti-Semitism, collaboration with the Nazis and other crimes of the Catholic Church, committed over the centuries under the sanctions of the Vatican.

Dmitry BYKOV: “It's ridiculous to dream in a dying regime that a lily will rise from rot. Decay and perish. Both you and I deserve it "

Bad pennies

In our family, like the rest of Soviet people, there was never any confidence that at any moment they would not take away everything “acquired by overwork,” as one of the heroes of a popular comedy said.

The Woman Who Carries, or Kim Jong Sawch

In his next essay for The Observer, dedicated to Nadezhda Savchenko, the artist Sergei Poyarkov decided to apologize to her for his excessive politeness

The bowstring is strong, and our arrows are swift

I have two boomerangs. Real, hunting, hardwood, with pointed edges. I brought them from Australia, where I was at the same time taught to throw these weapons, but in vain - it turned out that European brains find it difficult to comprehend the secrets of hunting with a boomerang, available to any Australian aborigine.

Modeling career, nude photography and accusations of plagiarism. The story of Melania Trump, who could become the first lady of the United States

She is 46 years old, an immigrant from Yugoslavia and a nude model in photo shoots. Melania takes an example from Jacqueline Kennedy, is engaged in charity work and dreams that her husband would stop following Twitter.

Head of the National Police of Ukraine Khatia DEKANOIDZE: "Who will work honestly in the police if there is no paper, gasoline and little pay?"

In an interview with the Internet edition "GORDON", Dekanoidze told why the crime rate is growing, what prevents the early implementation of reforms in law enforcement structures and the fight against organized crime, what innovations await Ukrainians in the near future, denied rumors about her resignation and explained why she would not challenge decision of the Georgian authorities to revoke citizenship

Dmitry BYKOV: "For the fact that he stands on a pedestal - With the exception of Putin, empty - We have not stopped paying the whole country: I - with a pen, and now - with a pole"

The famous poet and publicist dedicated his new poem to the Russian jumper Elena Isinbayeva, who, after the removal of all Russian athletes from the Rio Olympics, bitterly asked if athletes would have to change their citizenship for the opportunity to compete ...

Not our Erdogan at all

Ukrainians are surprised at what is happening in Turkey because they know little about this country, says the columnist for the Internet edition "GORDON" Yevhen Kuzmenko. In his new column, the author explains why it was not worth recording Turkish President Recep Erdogan as a loyal allies of Ukraine, and then bewildered at the very first reports of a thaw in his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Middle finger of People's Deputy Balitsky, or What to do with boors in power?

What happens if a British MP shows a journalist the middle finger? Columnist of the Internet edition "GORDON" Yevgeny Kuzmenko discusses the consequences of such a step for a Western politician and suggests applying the same approach to People's Deputy Yevgeny Balitsky and his associates

Dmitry BYKOV: "The world is not in itself, and even more so, and this" opa "was crowned with a cocktail of urine, meldonium and the all-Moscow flood"

The soul is obliged to glow

We do not know anything about how it happens that people come from nowhere into this world, and then disappear from it, as it were, into nowhere. Today, the body remains the most complex device, much more perfect than any modern computer.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Canada Andriy SHEVCHENKO: "We will be gladly received in Canada and around the world without visas, when we are a rich, successful country of wealthy people, whose passport is respected and where the law works"

In an interview with the online publication GORDON, the former TV journalist and MP spoke about the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Kiev, why Canadians are not enthusiastic about the idea of ​​investing in the Ukrainian economy, although they ardently support their historical homeland, and why it is impossible in the near future introduction of a visa-free regime with Canada

Common sense is stronger than bigotry

A friend of mine likes to repeat that he is a fan of the Ukrainian idea - this is how he himself defines his beliefs. This man is being realized tirelessly, as they say, God grant him not only inspiration, but also thoughtfulness.

Otar KUSHANASHVILI: “It's a shame that, with all the abundance of merits, Gorbachev will remain in history as an accomplice of“ polite men ”

Otar Kushanashvili, a Russian journalist of Georgian origin, discusses why Crimea reveals the most certain in a person.

Singer Tatiana NEDELSKAYA: “I don’t give my diary to be read by anyone, even my husband - this is my sex!”

The Ukrainian singer spoke about her upcoming trip to the USA to the AOF International Film Festival, the peculiarities of Slavic lyrics, about work on a new Ukrainian-language album, why she does not hide her house from prying eyes and what she writes about in her diary

I want to live at home. I want to live well

Omnipotence does not exist. On the one hand, a leader like Barack Obama was elected in democratic elections, received a mandate from his own people and could do whatever he wanted. But no! The same people constantly remind that uncontrolled power does not exist in a democratic society.

Dmitry BYKOV: “In Russia, with its feudal system and the collapse of complex systems, you can be a hero, only a hero, no one else”

We bring to your attention a poem by a famous Russian poet and publicist, written for Novaya Gazeta

Are "horde" and "glad" consonant?

In the ancient shem of the sources of the entire Slavic history that have come down to us - "By-weight of Bygone Years" - there are many sub-counts, whole pages are inserted into the list, obviously composed later.

Head of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration Gennady MOSKAL: "To those who wanted to settle scores with me, I said:" Hurry, because you may not be in time - there are many who want to kill me. " However, whoever threatens me, it does not end with anything -

In an interview with the online edition "GORDON" Moskal told why he is in conflict with the head of the fiscal service Roman Nasirov, why he publishes compromising evidence on Viktor Yushchenko, for which he criticizes volunteers and the reform of power structures, and also why Ukraine is losing the battle for Crimea

Whoever eats a lady dances her

Acquaintances complained to me that bureaucratic decisions prevented some of them from completing the film, someone was deprived of money to publish a book, someone underfunded the newspaper. This is despite the fact that today 60 percent of the population does not buy books at all, and four out of 10 people do not read any printed matter.

Hello I'm your aunt!

The well-known Ukrainian artist Sergei Poyarkov, in an article for the Observer, assesses the public appearances of Nadezhda Savchenko after she returned to Ukraine.

The head of the Donetsk regional military-civil administration Pavel ZHEBRIVSKY: "I want to tell the OSCE: to eat vodka with terrorists is one thing, but to ensure the safety of people in elections is another"

In an interview with the Internet publication GORDON, the Ukrainian politician told why he considers it impossible to hold elections in Donbass, how much money is going to be spent on the restoration of the region, how Donetsk oligarchs are helping the region, what will happen to unprofitable mines and Russian-speaking schools

Former head of the Luhansk military-civil administration Georgy TUKA: “Russia has a scenario according to which“ LPR ”and“ DPR ”will apply to the State Duma for recognition, it will agree, and a large-scale war will begin”

In an interview with the Internet publication GORDON, an Euromaidan activist and volunteer, and now the Deputy Minister for the Temporarily Occupied Territories, spoke about the consequences of a rash policy in Donbass and why the Luhansk region is integrating into Ukraine faster than Donetsk

Captured by self-hypnosis

In the process of teaching, I had to listen to students who very convincingly and in detail proved that in fact they knew everything - they simply could not say. The first time I sat with such a student in my office and patiently listened to his reflections, but, alas, I soon found out that the point was not the ability to present, but ignorance.

Dmitry BYKOV: "And you forbid us the lyrics, when you get bored - then we will switch to facial expressions, we will switch to gesture!"

A well-known poet, writer and publicist composed a poem especially for Novaya Gazeta, in which he discusses the intricacies of the relationship between the people and the authorities

Homeland and state

Reasoning about lofty matters is a common thing for you and me, another unifying sign. I have never heard that Americans, for example, talk so much or speak ill of their homeland, the meaning of its existence and its leaders, as post-Soviet citizens.

Kiev City Council Secretary Volodymyr PROKOPIV: "I can't find normal people in the office - professionals don't want to go because of low salaries"

Singer Kristina V, an American of Ukrainian descent: “The diaspora has long awaited Ukrainian reforms, correct decisions and the end of the war in the east, but instead - Panama Gate, squabble for chairs, mutual responsibility ...”

An aspiring artist from New York told Gordon Boulevard why she decided to pursue a career in Ukraine and what Ukrainians should borrow from the Americans

Secretary of the Kyiv City Council Volodymyr PROKOPIV: "I can't find normal people in the office - professionals, because of low salaries, don't go away"

In an interview with the online edition "GORDON", the secretary of the Kyiv City Council told how the people of Kiev help the authorities to solve city problems, explained when investors will start investing in capital projects and which areas they are more attracted to, what will happen to Kyivenergo, as well as what tasks does the city administration set for itself for the next three years

Grinder era

Recently, talking with a well-known parliamentary figure, we at the same time mentioned the zeros of the criminal authority - many topics today are difficult to discuss without talking about corruption, organized crime and other details of life that have become commonplace.

The best

From resentment to redemption: how to prevent Facebook politics from ruining your sleep and appetite?

The columnist for the Internet publication "GORDON" has prepared four rules of healthy surfing, following which you can become a real Internet guru: save face in disputes, learn to distinguish real users from paid bots and avoid a "hangover" after watching a friend feed.

Former KGB intelligence officer, Putin's classmate Yuri SHVETS: "If it turns out that the Kremlin has poisoned Hillary Clinton, this is, in fact, a war between the United States and Russia"

US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton interrupted her election campaign indefinitely due to illness. The origins of the Democratic candidate's sudden malaise can lead to the Kremlin, especially Russian President Vladimir Putin understands very well that if Clinton wins, “Vove Khan”, a former Soviet intelligence agent and now an American financial analyst said in an interview with the Internet publication GORDON.

Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature Svetlana ALEKSIEVICH: "From death, the daughter of a Soviet officer, the abbess of the convent in Ivano-Frankivsk saved me from death"

The famous Belarusian writer spoke about her Ukrainian roots, about how her famous cycle “Voices of Utopia” was created, about each person's canine attachment to their time and how she lives after receiving the main literary prize in the world.

The head of the Alexander Litvinenko Foundation, publicist Alexander GOLDFARB: "Politicians and the US military say directly:" We would give Ukraine weapons, but where are the guarantees that they will not be sold to the left? "

The West's love for Ukraine is primarily due to the actions of Russia. But now the future of Ukraine depends on itself, because those who are against providing the country with lethal weapons have an objective logic: they are afraid that American military aid will be stolen, a public figure who has lived for more than 35 years said in an interview with the GORDON online publication in the USA.

Acting Deputy Head of the National Bank of Ukraine Yekaterina ROZHKOVA: “We have experienced the peak of inflation - it was a terrible time. Reforms are now needed "

In an interview with the online edition "GORDON", the Ukrainian financier told why in 2014 the hryvnia sharply depreciated, what are the reasons for the collapse of the banking system of Ukraine, why no one has been punished for driving to bankruptcy so far, and what the NBU is doing to ensure that clients are maximally protected.

Former classmate of Vladimir Putin, American financial analyst Yuri SHVETS: "Hillary will grip Vova's soft underbelly with an iron grip, and 86 percent of Russians will longfully remember how well they lived under Obama."

The Kremlin’s efforts to get Donald Trump to become the president of the United States will lead to the victory of Hillary Clinton, which the Utin fears to death. Hillary will not flirt with him and will hardly forget how Vova rummaged through her “dirty emails,” a former Soviet intelligence agent, Putin's classmate at the Andropov Institute for Foreign Intelligence, and now an American financial analyst, said in an interview with the GORDON online publication.

In an interview with the Internet publication GORDON, Khrushchev's great-granddaughter, a senior researcher at the Institute of World Politics, told how the current elections in the United States differ from all previous ones, why there is a high probability of Hillary Clinton's victory and how it is beneficial for Ukraine, how Vladimir Putin is building a new global coalition of autocrats and why he would rather play on a military site in Ukraine, and not in neighboring Belarus and Moldova

“I am interested in articles - research on modern journalism, what kind of profession it is and its role in society, and especially: what the reader needs more - the opuses of novelist journalists (more lines and "rehash") or realist journalists (more fresh facts). "

Such a request is made by Kordah on Forum "2000".

We answer the question of a member of the forum using the example of the work of the popular weekly "Gordon's Boulevard".

"Without retouching and gloss" - this is the title of a new book by Dmitry Gordon. It contains interviews with famous people in the post-Soviet space, with whom the author met throughout 2007.

Thus, under the same cover were artists Elina Bystritskaya, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Roman Kartsev, Nonna Mordyukova and Vyacheslav Tikhonov, theater director Yuri Lyubimov, disgraced oligarch Boris Berezovsky, former chief of security for President Yeltsin General Alexander Korzhakov, extremist writer Eduard Limonov, famous athlete figure skater Irina Rodnina and the wife of the former first secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine Rada Shcherbitskaya.

It is interesting that this book is 27th in Dmitry Gordon's track record! The number, I must say, is rather large, and if we take into account that the weekly secular chronicle “Bulvar” founded by him in 1995 is still one of the most popular newspapers in Ukraine, then it should be admitted that Gordon is by no means a phenomenon in the Ukrainian media space. not accidental. That it is - seriously and for a long time. And therefore, in our opinion, the need has ripened to talk about the essence of such a phenomenon of modern Ukrainian culture as Dmitry Gordon and his "Boulevard".

High quality reading material

Let's start with the opinion of the famous Soviet actress Elina Bystritskaya, included in the foreword of Gordon's new book.

“I’m always laconic in praises,” says Elina Avraamovna, “so I’ll say briefly: Dmitry turned out to be a decent person and a very talented, outstanding journalist, and above all I value in him the fact that a society imprisoned on the poisoned needle of low-standard humor and“ Domov- 2 ", he tries to return to true values."

But a reasonable question immediately arises: what does the “Boulevard” - the main brainchild of Dmitry Gordon - have to do with “genuine values”? Can "tabloid" values ​​be considered genuine? And what is it all about - "boulevard", "boulevard", "boulevard"?

From the dictionary of the Russian language by S. Ozhegov, one can learn that in a figurative sense the word "tabloid" means "designed for philistine, philistine tastes"; that "boulevardism" is "anti-artistic works designed for vulgar, philistine tastes." Let us also recall that in Soviet times this phenomenon was successfully fought in order to exclude its penetration into art, literature, and the media. All these areas were then under the vigilant control of ideology. But the situation changed when the tough ideological regime was replaced by market relations. They came not only to the economy, but also to art, literature, the media, where the desire for commercial success came to the fore. It was then that the "Boulevard" appeared.

Dmitry Gordon was a pioneer in the Ukrainian media market. Particular attention is drawn to the choice of the name. The fact is that "Boulevard" was naturally associated with "pulp fiction" and further - with the tabloids. I do not think that anyone consciously sought to establish themselves in such a status, but here it is in plain text - "Boulevard"! Boulevardism, yellowness - I don't want to get my hands dirty!

But here's the paradox: the level of this "boulevard" was much higher than the overwhelming majority of other media outlets of the then Ukrainian media market. And first of all for the reason that the materials published in "Bulvar" were interesting to read. This effect was achieved due to the fact that Dmitry Gordon abandoned the principle of partisanship, choosing as the only reference point the pursuit of the natural truth of life. Of course, not in full, but in the one in which it opens up to him. And the result was not long in coming: "Bulvar" instantly became the most popular newspaper in Ukraine.

In the preface to Gordon's new book, the infamous Limonov asserts the following: “People - I understood that! - they are looking for the truth, and it is most often unsightly, if not disgusting. When journalists smile and speak well of everyone, when they write what others like, this, in my opinion, is not journalism, but show business, although if I was ordered to sing someone for a decent reward, I would not refuse: everyone needs money. "

At the same time, just one desire to cut the truth-womb will not go far. We also need a professional level. And in this regard, we must pay tribute to the editor-in-chief of "Boulevard". Not all, of course, the materials of his newspaper were equal, but the best examples he convincingly proved: and "pulp fiction" can be of high quality. Therefore, the meaning of the word "boulevard" can be freed from the negative figurative meaning and returned to the original one: "A boulevard is a wide alley on a city street, usually in the middle of it."

This begs a parallel with authors working in genres designed for mass consumption. Often they are denied access to fine literature, or even to literature as such. But Boris Akunin clearly showed that in the entertainment genre it is possible to create masterpieces filled with deep meaning, giving food to both the mind and the heart. Such, for example, as the trilogy about Pelagia. And the most widely read Russian detectives - Marinina and Dontsova - gained their popularity not for a great life. It's all about talent and professionalism. The same can rightfully be said about the "Boulevard" by Dmitry Gordon.

The word spoken throughout the country

However, no matter how much we beat around the bush, it would be the height of hypocrisy to talk about "Gordon Boulevard" and shyly keep silent about its main energy source. What is this source?

In an interview with the famous theater director Roman Viktyuk, included in the book "Uncut" (2007), there is a very revealing episode. Gordon asks: "What kind of story happened on the air of ORT when Pugacheva called you there?"

Roman Viktyuk replies: “It was a morning program on Channel One about the yellow press: as Alla thinks,“ Gordon's Boulevard ”is the yellow press ... You wrote something about Kirkorov then - I don't remember what. Probably some kind of truth ... In short, there is a program, the presenter asks what I have in common with Gordon Boulevard, and I defend our newspaper, explain why it is the best (or mass - whoever wants it, so it and classifies, but this country really needs it). Then a bell rings, and I hear a familiar voice: "Alla Pugacheva is addressing you!" Then he pulled himself together: “You are not a housewife. The tone is not good. Why can't you hear what I'm talking about? " She again has something of her own, and I could not resist. “Silence! - barked. - Listen to me!" Has fallen silent. Everything I wanted, I told her, and then they show me that the time has already ended. I see the red lights on the cameras have gone out, and I'm happy to say ... No, I can't repeat that, because you won't publish anyway. In general, I said: "Old ..." - and with the letter P, that is, a manurka, but in a different sense. Dima, by mistake (the sound and image were not turned off) all this went on the air! What started! The channel leaders came running with champagne and cognac, hugging me, kissing me ... "

What is the first thing that attracts attention in this hilarious episode? The fact that the general delight was caused not by the very meaning of what was happening, not by the question due to which the described verbal skirmish arose - but just one word, which inadvertently escaped from Viktyuk and sounded loudly throughout the country! So, this word also denotes the source of energy that we talked about above.

Note that at present, a rather ambiguous situation has developed around this topic. On the one hand, a taboo remains, coming both from Soviet aesthetics and morality, and from Christianity, according to which everything that belongs to the sphere of the bodily bottom is initially sinful. On the other hand, as director Lyubimov asserts in the preface to Gordon's book: "there are no brakes" - "everything, including pornography and swearing on stage, on the air, on the pages of newspapers and magazines, is allowed." In total, according to the master, "harsh times have now come for culture, but further, I suspect, it will be even more difficult."

What is the complexity of the situation? And the fact that in connection with the persisting taboos on the erotic topic, the latter is a very muddy indefinite space in which anyone can fish any kind of fish. This topic is left at the mercy of superficial specific publications, but in "serious" ones openly - in plain text - it is not accepted to speak on this topic.

And in this regard, Gordon's Boulevard occupies a largely unique position. Not being, by definition, an erotic publication - it is a "weekly gossip column" - at the same time it is permeated through and through with eroticism. Not ostentatious - glossy, glamorous - eroticism, which is an end in itself, as in the case of "Playboy", "Penthouse" and others like them, but life eroticism, inseparable from other aspects of life.

The paramount importance of Eros

In the book "Without retouching and gloss" one of the most profound is the interview with the outstanding actor Armen Dzhigarkhanyan - a truly wise man. “There was such a great Armenian painter Martiros Saryan,” says Armen-jan, “who did not evaluate:“ Good ”,“ Bad ”- he said:“ And so it is possible ”.., just everything that happens has an infinite number of options ".

And here is another thought of Armen Borisovich, which is very useful in our particular situation: “At one time, one of the good Western directors was asked what he thinks about Soviet cinema, and he replied:“ This is the most immoral cinema ”. Our people were amazed: “How? Why? We are realists, we are all in quilted jackets ... ", and he explained:" You close your eyes to natural things, and this is immoral. "

In essence, this is nothing more than a concrete manifestation of one of the basic laws of the theory of knowledge: "every representation or idea at its maximum contains its negation." The same law is expressed by Hegel as follows: "Every idea, continued to infinity, becomes its own opposite." In our case, we are talking about the fact that the suppression of the erotic moment for allegedly moral reasons turns such morality into immorality. Because eroticism is the basis of life, and to ignore it at the mental (conscious) level means turning away from the great variety of problems arising on erotic grounds, driving them into the deep subconscious, which is fraught with further complications.

I think that it is for this reason - that is, given the paramount importance of this moment in life - that Dmitry Gordon pays so much attention to eroticism. In conversations with his eminent interlocutors, he somehow pays tribute to Eros. “What do you feel now, at the ninety-first year of life,” he asks Yuri Lyubimov, “when eighteen-year-old girls in short skirts pass by? - A burst of cheerfulness! - the master answers. - It's nice to look at the girls, especially if they don't have too much, otherwise they will put on jeans, which, just look, will fall from their hips ... "

The same question to Armen Dzhigarkhanyan: "When a girl in a short, tight-fitting skirt, barely covering her beautiful long legs, passes by, does something in her heart respond?"

But in one of the last issues of "Boulevard" in the material dedicated to the actress Natalia Buzko, there is a very amusing photo. This is a shot from Kira Muratova's film "Two in One", in which another master, Bogdan Stupka, takes off Natalia's panties, exposing her main charm for everyone to see. It is absolutely unambiguous that this particular frame was chosen for a reason - after all, Natalia is not captured in such an attractive form on all those available in the editorial office! It's just that Dmitry Gordon, consciously or subconsciously, demonstrates to us the source that fills him with vital energy.

And not only him. In the “Dictionary of Symbols” by H. E. Kerlot we read: “Along with the mandorla, Yoni has an entrance through a gate, or a zone of interpenetration, where two circles intersect. In order to guarantee recovery, the Hindus construct the image of the Yoni of gold and pass through it. "

And here is what the famous poet of the second half of the twentieth century Joseph Brodsky wrote in the poem "The End of a Beautiful Era":

Live in an era of accomplishments, having an exalted disposition,
unfortunately difficult. Lifting her dress up to the beauty,
you see what you were looking for, not new wondrous divas.
And it's not that Lobachevsky is firmly watched here,
but the widened world must be narrowing somewhere, and here -
here is the end of perspective.

But we, having in mind the highest symbolic meaning, are forced to note that in this case the Nobel laureate does not find him solely because of his own emasculation. And his inherent mental hypertrophy, which, for example, did not suffer at all the French artist of the 19th century. Gustave Courbet, creating the painting "The Origin of the World", brilliant in its simplicity.

And if we go even lower - the symbol, as you know, manifests itself at all levels - then it would be appropriate to recall Pierre de Bourdeuil, the French author of the 16th-17th centuries, better known as Brunt. In his famous book "Gallant Ladies" we read: "... For the first time he did this at the suggestion of one noble lady, the king's favorite, who, watching the prince pleasing his girlfriend, asked him if he had ever seen that part of her body, which gives him the highest pleasure. The prince replied in the negative. “Well, then you don’t understand anything,” she exclaimed, “and you don’t really know what you love; your pleasure is by no means complete: you must also see what you enjoy! " The prince decided to follow her advice, but the lady was ashamed and closed her legs; then the second, coming up from behind, knocked her over on the bed and held her tightly until the prince saw everything properly and kissed her as much as he could, for he found this organ both beautiful and desirable; and since then I have not done without this joy ”.

Three directions in eroticism

And here's a question for you, as they say, to fill in: is there anything obscene in the above passage from Brantom? In my opinion, absolutely nothing. And I think that Dmitry Gordon will completely agree with me.

We present all these quotes with a twofold purpose. First, to showcase the depth and tradition that Gordon's Boulevard is based on.

Secondly, in this way we bring the thought to one of the main unresolved issues of the difficult situation in our culture, about which Lyubimov spoke.

As already noted, the whole point is that in connection with the removal of eroticism to the margins of the cultural space, everything in this issue is confused, piled up in one heap, in which the devil himself will break his head. Therefore, a lot of conflicts arise, in which it is impossible to understand without clear criteria.

For example, the well-known Russian writer Vladimir Sorokin was accused of pornography with the use of some kind of sanctions. Prosecutors defend him, they say, moral foundations, while defenders - freedom of expression. But does Sorokin have anything to do with pornography? For comparison, let's take a classic example of it - films that run around the clock on the Hasler porn channel - and what then: does this product have anything in common with the works of Sorokin? Nothing, because pornography has a purely utilitarian applied character, is intended for mass consumption and, as a rule, contains an image of completely natural acts. Sorokin is sophisticated in the image of something especially twisted, perverted.

To understand this issue, it is necessary to distinguish between three directions based on eroticism, but completely different in nature.

1) Erotica, and it can be both sublime and very obscene (for example, Barkov). The determining factor here is perfect naturalness in essence (healthy eroticism) and conformity to artistic requirements in form.

2) Utilitarian pornography.

3) Perversion, whose nature is in the desire to destroy the harmonious laws on which life is based, in the denial of spiritual hierarchy (i.e., the law of synarchy), in an attempt to turn the organized cosmos into meaningless chaos.

If we proceed from this, it becomes clear that the same Sorokin has nothing to do not only with eroticism, but also with ordinary pornography. At its core, Sorokin is a pervert, and he can only be understood by comprehending the perversions that underlie his work. The same applies to his famous predecessor, whom they are now trying to elevate to the classics - the Marquis de Sade. But if this is a classic, then a classic of what? That's right, the classic of perversion.

Among other things, this perversion lies in the complete denial of morality. And here we are faced with a mirror image of the law of dialectics already cited by us: if morality, which completely denies eroticism, turns into immoral hypocrisy, then eroticism, which completely denies morality, turns into anti-erotic perversion.

Morality is, of course, essential. But it should be built not on rejection of eroticism as such, but on rejection, firstly, perversion and, secondly, vulgarity. And if the second often strikes the mass culture, the first is much more inherent not in "boulevardism", but in what is commonly called "elitist".

Here and "Gordon's Boulevard", undoubtedly, is inherent in healthy eroticism. It may, of course, slip through its pages and something suspicious, but this something in no way affects the main thing - the mental health of Dmitry Gordon. Surely it was this moment that inspired the phrase of Elina Bystritskaya, quoted above.

Gallery of psychological portraits

The desire for true values ​​can be traced in Dmitry in almost all the conversations that made up his last book. Every now and then the attention is drawn to the deep and burning moments. There is no way to mention each of them - for this you need to quote the entire book - therefore, we will dwell only on what directly continues our thoughts.

Reflecting on the low quality of today's television, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan says: “Unfortunately, people simply have no choice. If instead of this lewdness they become more often, relatively speaking, to read Pushkin's poems - yes, for the first three days they will turn off the TV, but then they will begin to penetrate.

That is, you need to pull up the audience, and not go down to it?

Necessarily - this is almost as necessary as checking the tonsils ... "

Roman Kartsev discusses the same subject: “In general, such things in which there is a sharpness, though some, are not welcome. Now humor is in everyday use, below the belt, and not only men, but also women allow it, and the public, unfortunately, goes for it ... By the way, it's not only in humor that impudence is going on with a bang - you've seen Sobchak in TV shows ?

I just wanted to ask you: "What do you think of this girl?"

Oh, this is horror, wild vulgarity ... What is she doing!

Despite the fact that she is not stupid, educated ...

And young people take it for granted, which makes the problem even more aggravated. "Fool-2", which Sobchak leads, is a real gadyushnik! ... When Ksyusha was fourteen or fifteen years old and no one knew her yet, Anatoly Alexandrovich was pricked: they say, what is happening with his daughter? He just sighed: "It didn't work out." God is her judge, in a word, but her father was a unique person - an intellectual of the highest standard, wise and whatever you want ... "

Quite unexpectedly, the aforementioned hero of perestroika surfaced in a conversation with General Korzhakov: “- Why did Sobchak die - he wasn’t by chance ...?

Maybe it was an indirect murder, if they were brought to death on purpose: knowing that he was weak in heart and not indifferent to the female sex. How much does he need: they gave Viagra - and enough. This means for enhancing potency is contraindicated in the heart.

There were rumors that Anatoly Alexandrovich died on a lady ...

What rumors - the whole Kaliningrad knows about it! "

Here, again, one can hear accusations of boulevardism, yellowness, digging in someone else's underwear, etc., but I completely disagree with that. The fact is that the discussed figures are public people, and if they are also politicians, on whose actions and decisions the fate of cities and entire states depended, then the line between the public and the personal is completely erased here, and information about their private life automatically becomes historical material. And in this regard, the importance of the books of Dmitry Gordon is growing immeasurably.

Yuri Lyubimov spoke about this. At first, he did not want to give the go-ahead for the publication of his interview - they say, he already has his own "Notes of an old bouncer." But then he changed his mind: “I softened when I looked at the list of Dmitry Ilyich's heroes - they are all famous people ... Time will tell - great or not, but it is by them that descendants will judge our era. After all, not everyone, I thought, can write a memoir - so how can they not help them to explain themselves with their great-grandchildren? "

So, let's move on to comprehending another facet of Dmitry Gordon's works, namely his numerous interviews, of which there are already 27 books - the achievements are truly colossal! After all, this is nothing more than a chronicle of the era, the memoirs of many, collected together. On the other hand, this is a gallery of psychological portraits, and here the level of skill of Gordon as a journalist comes to the fore. It is good to study the subject, the biography of the guest, choose the right questions, make the interlocutor talk, and capture the result in the optimal form, first on a computer monitor, and then on the pages of a book - Dmitry Gordon brought this whole process almost to perfection.

I say "almost" because not all interviews are of equal value, which, however, depends not only on the journalist, but also on his interlocutor. Elina Bystritskaya, for example, speaks frankly about the conflict with the directors.

Why did Igor Ilyinsky dislike you? - Dmitry Gordon asks. - Let's go further: why, after the appointment of Maly Boris Ravenskikh as the chief director, did you have a conflict? - In "Unfinished Story" you starred with the master of Soviet cinema Sergei Bondarchuk - what black cat ran between you?

And the artist gives a psychologically sound answer to each question, which does not give any reason to doubt her frankness.

Was Bondarchuk a boor?

I think yes. I cannot repeat the word he uttered, but this man humiliated me very much.

But as for Yuri Lyubimov, the conversation with him about his grandiose conflict with the cast of the Taganka Theater frankly disappointed. Instead of a detailed and comprehensive analysis, taking into account the positions of different parties, we only learn that Nikolai Gubenko is a bad person, Lenya Filatov is a bad person, all the actors involved in the production of "Children of Bitch" are bad. The only good one is Lyubimov himself. But this does not happen ...

The main nerve of the book

But really the best "without retouching and gloss", in my opinion, were Alexander Korzhakov (in the "Chronicle of the era" nomination) and Boris Berezovsky (in the "Psychological portrait" nomination).

When Korzhakov's book "Boris Yeltsin: From Dawn to Dusk" was published in 1997, it was immediately compared with the famous "Memoirs" of the Duke de Saint-Simon, which tells about many aspects of life, including unsightly ones, at the court of Louis XIV. The former chief of his guard told about the customs at the court of "Tsar Boris", prefaced by his memoirs with an epigraph from another Frenchman - Talleyrand: "Whole nations would be horrified if they knew what small people rule over them." - I must say that this aphorism does not apply to us, citizens of Ukraine: for 18 years now, small people have ruled here, but we still have not come to horror. So we'd better read what General Korzhakov told the journalist Gordon there.

Let's start with the so-called “era of stagnation”: “What impression did Brezhnev make on you? “The most remarkable thing is that of all that elite, he was the most humane. Leonid Ilyich treated the people who surrounded him, regardless of whether it was an officer, an employee who stands at the gate, a hairdresser, a cook or a waitress, and was always surprisingly friendly. ”

From stagnation, let's move on to the characters of perestroika, in particular to the unforgettable Raisa Maksimovna: “Is it true that she did not hesitate to slap her husband on the cheeks while guarding? - Yes - once it happened in my presence (even before working with Yeltsin), and to watch her anger was, to put it mildly, unpleasant. Gorbachev came home, drank somewhere (there was a slight smell of smell), and she mahanula him: a family scandal broke out. She constantly made sure that Mikhail Sergeevich did not drink ... Yeltsin never had this, and he would not have allowed it. If Naina had thought to educate him, she would have immediately gotten in the eye, as she sometimes did. "

And here is what the general told about the notorious shooting of the White House in 1993: “... it depended on you how events would turn on the decisive night from October 3 to 4 ... - You, journalists, like the opposition, love to excite people words about the shooting of the White House, but the shooting is the second part of the action, response to what happened the day before. First, the outrageous crowd defeated the mayor's office, crushed posts in the White House itself, beat the police, and then staged a massacre at the Ostankino television center. There, by the way, one and a half hundred people died, and during the storming of the White House - only ten, so it is not worth, as they say, to blame from a sore head on a healthy one. "

And here is what Korzhakov says about Putin: “Do you like Putin as president of Russia? - Be that as it may, he is incomparably better than Yeltsin, incomparable! In any case, in foreign policy. As for the internal, everything is more complicated here: on television we see one thing, but in life a little bit different. " But the political opponent of Korzhakov, another Yeltsin’s nominee Boris Berezovsky, as you know, does not favor the current president of Russia. In an interview with Gordon, Boris Abramovich states that "Mr. Putin is not a friend of democracy ..." - And he adds with regret that "After all, in 2000, Putin was still a hope for the West ..."

The confrontation in absentia between two ex-participants in Russian politics - Korzhakov and Berezovsky - is perhaps the main nerve of the book. So Berezovsky looks at the storming of the White House differently, democratically: "There is an absolute, deep misunderstanding of how the new life is arranged: these homo sovieticus did not believe that with the help of the" box "you can achieve more than with the help of cannons and cannon fodder." ... With the help of the "box", that is, by launching the democratic mechanism for manipulating consciousness, is a very valuable recognition.

And finally, a speech, from which, well, it is simply impossible not to be delighted: “You have to understand that democracy is not a mechanism, but mental changes, and although Russians have made a colossal breakthrough, this is only the first step, which is called: we liked to be free ... Indeed, it’s great not to look back at anyone, say whatever you like, safely fly to the Canary Islands, but for this to take place as a political system, as a stable society, you need to take the second step: every day to fight for this freedom ”. - In other words, you are fighting, I fly to the Canary Islands! Truly Boris Berezovsky is the father of Russian democracy!

Here is how much valuable information can be gleaned from only one book by Dmitry Gordon. So what kind of "boulevard" can we talk about? What "philistine, philistine tastes"? I think after the above it becomes obvious that Gordon Boulevard is nothing more than a wide alley on the central street of modern Ukrainian journalism. Walking on which is both fun and useful.

On the eve of the anniversary of his weekly, Dmitry Gordon told FACTS about his meetings with the legendary personalities of our time

There is no person in Ukraine who does not know the newspaper Gordon's Boulevard. Its first release was born exactly 15 years ago. And five years later, in 2000, the popular television program "Visiting Dmitry Gordon" was launched.

"The 95th quarter", Iosif Kobzon, Valery Leontiev, Tamara Gverdtsiteli will perform at the jubilee concert ... "

- I congratulate you, Dmitry, on your double anniversary. How are you going to celebrate?

A big concert at the National Palace "Ukraine", which will take place on November 13 at 19:00, - says chief editor of the weekly "Gordon's Boulevard", famous journalist and writer Dmitry Gordon... - Many stars will come to congratulate us (and, of course, perform) - my friends: Iosif Kobzon, Valery Leontyev, Tamara Gverdtsiteli, Boris Moiseev, Andrey Danilko, 95 Quarter, as well as a number of famous artists, whom we do not name in the playbill. Their appearance at the concert will be a real surprise for those present in the hall. Among the spectators in the hall there will be pop and sports stars, prominent politicians, artists, directors, actors ... I'm just sure that at the sight of some of them the hall will rise, because these are truly legendary people - symbols of the era.

The editorial board of your publication is full of celebrities: Vitaly Korotich, Iosif Kobzon, Evgeny Yevtushenko, Sofia Rotaru, Alexander Rosenbaum, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Oleg Blokhin, Valery Leontyev, Anatoly Kashpirovsky, Roman Viktyuk, Igor Krutoy, Alexander Shvets ...

For the 15th anniversary of Gordon Boulevard, this list has expanded even more. It includes Sergey Bubka, Leonid Zhabotinsky, Nani Bregvadze, Edita Piekha, Boris Nemtsov, Valery Zolotukhin, Gabriel Popov, Mikhail Shemyakin, Nikolai Shmelev and others.

In this sense, your newspaper, in my opinion, is unique. Or maybe there is a similar stellar editorial board in some other publication?

There is no such thing anywhere else - neither in the CIS, nor in the world (smiles).

Are the celebrities you listed on the editorial board formally, or are they really doing something useful for the publication?

They are engaged in reviewing upcoming and already published high-profile materials. At the same time, they get together quite often. By the way, our next meeting will take place literally on the eve of the anniversary celebration - November 12. There will be, I think, 80 percent of the members of the editorial board.

- And you will surely meet at your home according to a long-established tradition?

Indeed, we often meet at my place. But this time we will meet in one of the Kiev restaurants. There is a discussion of the materials accompanied by drinks and snacks. Sometimes the controversy is very hot! Often, and I get nuts. For example, the article by Yulia Pyatetskaya about Solzhenitsyn, published in Gordon Boulevard, caused a very mixed reaction in society. The widow of Alexander Solzhenitsyn sharply criticized the publication on the central Russian channels. Evgeny Yevtushenko also expressed his disagreement with the publication, having published a letter addressed to me on the pages of our weekly.

Often, members of the editorial board help me meet with this or that interlocutor. For example, Roman Viktyuk persuaded Yuri Yakovlev to give me an interview, who in recent years has avoided meeting with journalists. The conversation with the actor turned out to be very interesting. Meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev (on the picture), who also does not give an interview to anyone now, helped to agree on our friend - in the past the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of the USSR Viktor Mironenko.

“My most memorable interview was with the cartoonist Boris Efimov, who at the time of the conversation was 107 years old”

You are one of the few contributing editor-in-chief. Your journalistic fees are probably one of the highest in Ukraine

I receive a high salary, which means that I not only manage the publication, but also write. I write a lot. When interviewing prominent people of our time, I want to leave their story about myself, about my life and about the passing era to future generations - unbiased, unadorned ... This is a kind of eyewitness testimony. Sometimes they are very contradictory, but an intelligent person, reading these revelations, I think, will be able to get a real idea of ​​how our compatriots lived in the middle of the XX - beginning of the XXI century.

At first, interviews are shown on TV, then they can be read in "Gordon Boulevard", then in my books, of which there are already 33.

- Meeting with whom of the famous people became the most memorable for you?

With outstanding cartoonist Boris Efimov (on the picture)... When I met him, he was 107 (!) Years old. He died at 108.

Boris Efimov, who was born in the century before last in Kiev Podol, amazed me with his clear mind and bright memory. He saw Mayakovsky burning in the crematorium, communicating with Stalin, Trotsky. And so he sat in front of me - living history. He joked, read Pushkin's poems ... Meeting him is one of my main journalistic successes. In search of interesting interlocutors, I travel all over the world. I often visit Russia. He flew to Viktor Suvorov and Boris Berezovsky, for example, to London, to the son of Nikita Khrushchev, Sergei Khrushchev, to the United States of America, to Mikhail Shemyakin, to Vilnius, where he made decorations for the Opera House. To create a kind of replica of the era out of these meetings, you have to look for such people everywhere.

- You know, your performance is simply amazing.

Believe it or not, sometimes I do five or six interviews a day! It is possible to transfer to paper only one in two weeks. Conversations, after all, are usually very voluminous. Each interview I, as they say, "lick", five times from beginning to end, scribbling with a red pen. I record over 40 TV interviews a year, about two-thirds of them I publish. This is my work schedule.

- What was the most scandalous interview in your publication over the 15 years of its existence?

Of course, this was an interview taken in a bathhouse by journalists Lada Luzina and Elena Krutogrudova with, unfortunately, the already deceased Nikolai Mozgovoy. Everything was scandalous: pictures with half-naked girls, hard-hitting "compliments" distributed by Nikolai Petrovich to many figures of the Ukrainian stage. After the publication of that publication, Anatoly Moskalenko, rector of the Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv (now also deceased), said that the history of Ukrainian journalism was divided into two stages: before Mozgovoy's interview in Bulvar and after him.

- I remember it was a real bomb!

Yes, such revelations had never appeared in the domestic press before. By the way, it was in 1997

- I wonder how it all ended for you and for Mozgovoy?

For Nikolai Petrovich, it ended in tears - he was erased from life for several years by many leaders and colleagues. He received a refusal to finance the Sea Druziv festival, so he had to spend it on his own money. For this he sold his own apartment and huddled in the office for some time. These were very difficult years for him.

- Lada Luzina is now a famous writer. And how was the fate of Elena Krutogrudova?

Lada is a great fellow, I really like her work. And Lena Krutogrudova married a wonderful person - my friend, now she devotes herself to raising a child.

- After these very shocking journalists left the newspaper, your weekly has noticeably changed its image.

Indeed, this also coincided with the arrival of Vitaly Korotich as head of the editorial board. We settled down a bit (smiles).

- Did other publications try to imitate your newspaper?

There was such a thing, but it is much more difficult to fake intellectual work than even any branded thing.

"Visiting Vanga, despite the ban, I quietly pressed the voice recorder button"

- You probably had to interview in extreme conditions

I had to! For example, the late Vyacheslav Tikhonov ... God, how many people have already left those whom I interviewed - Evgeny Evstigneev, Bulat Okudzhava, Rollan Bykov, Nikolai Olyalin, Nonna Mordyukova, Yuri Bogatikov, Kote Makharadze, Sofiko Chiaureli, Nikolai Amosov. Now here is Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin

“But you managed to record conversations with them.

Managed. You know, I have photographs on my walls where I am with many of those who no longer exist. So sometimes I think ... Time is still relentless. But back to the story of my meeting with Tikhonov.
He was a wonderful person, but ... a little, you know, strange. He flatly refused the TV interview, saying: “You know, Dmitry Ilyich, after all, I should be remembered as a young man. You can’t appear in such an age as mine ”. I made an appointment at my dacha on Nikolina Gora. The winter that year was cold and damp, and I arrived in a light coat, shoes, without a headdress.

I went into the yard. I see: the watchman is sitting at the entrance to the house. Looked closely - Tikhonov. Why did I think I was a watchman? He was wearing boots, some kind of mittens, a fur hat, a sheepskin coat, or rather an old sheepskin coat, very reminiscent of a sheepskin coat. There were almost no teeth. Unbright. I say: "Hello, Vyacheslav Vasilievich." “Oh, hello,” he replies. - Do you mind if we sit right here on the street? I have a mess at home. " And for almost an hour and a half - in the cold, frosty, without feeling my legs, I sat and asked questions.

No less interesting was the story of preparing an interview with his ex-wife, Nonna Mordyukova. She categorically refused to communicate, as she was already in poor condition. Our beautiful actress Raisa Nedashkovskaya helped to arrange a TV interview. Mordyukova agreed to meet on her birthday, saying that, apparently, he was already the last in her life. Before my arrival, the actress was visited by stylist Sergei Zverev. When I entered the apartment, her brothers led her out. Mordyukova's apartment in Krylatskoye in Moscow was tiny. Three cameras were barely squeezed into a room no more than ten meters in area. I looked: the actress was barely breathing, choking - it was bad for her. Nevertheless, the interview turned out to be incomparable! Soon after our meeting, Nonna Viktorovna passed away

- I heard that curiosities happened more than once in your work.

Once he planned to shoot several interviews in his room at the Moscow Ritz Carlton. At seven in the evening I agreed with Sergei Zhigunov, at nine - with the former translator of Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev Sukhodrev. And three more interviews were scheduled for the next day: with writer Mikhail Weller, Vladimir Pozner and Mikhail Gorbachev. I arrived early, and with a photojournalist, my friend Felix Rosenstein, we went to a restaurant. It was half past five. I figured we were in time.

We leave at six o'clock from the restaurant, and at the reception they tell me: "Mr. Posner was looking for you." I think: what is he looking for me? We agreed for six tomorrow! " "Where is he?" - I ask. "Went to your room." And then I begin to understand that he ... mixed up the days. And I have Zhigunov at seven o'clock! What to do? I go up to the room. Posner meets me: "Well, where are you?" "So we agreed for tomorrow!" - I say. “How about tomorrow? We have agreed for today. " I say to my wife who came with me: "Go down the hall, wait for Zhigunov and hold him as long as you can!" And for half an hour she entertained Zhigunov, and then also courageously - also Sukhodrev. Fortunately, we did everything in time, we did everything.

- And what is this story, how did you record some important interview and suddenly discovered that it ... was not recorded?

It was one of my first interviews - I was 17 years old. I went to take it from the famous football player Oleg Protasov at the Dnipro hotel, where he was staying. I borrowed a reel (in Soviet times!) Tape recorder "Vesna" from a friend and recorded our conversation on it. And imagine, I didn't turn on the volume! As a result, nothing was recorded. I almost turned gray in my youth, but I gained resolve and the next day I came to him again, explaining the situation. He ... patiently gave a new interview.

I heard another story. When you interviewed the seer Vanga, she allegedly asked not to record the conversation on a dictaphone, but you still disobeyed her, and then found that nothing ... was recorded.

It wasn't quite like that. The people who brought me to Vanga warned: in no case should you record the conversation or take pictures - Vanga doesn't like this! But I'm a journalist. What will you write then if you don't fix anything? I talked to her for 40 minutes. I put the dictaphone in the patch pocket of my jacket and imperceptibly pressed the button. Everything was recorded perfectly! For several years I let my friends listen to this cassette, and then it ... disappeared. Where, I can’t put my mind to it.

- Which famous person do you dream of interviewing in the near future?

Marina Vladi, Edward Radzinsky, Naina Yeltsina, Sergei Dorenko, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Valentina Tereshkova, Svetlana Alliluyeva, Maya Plisetskaya. As you can see, the list is quite long.

And the last thing. What inspires you the most to be creative?

Interesting companion. When the conversation succeeds, I get fantastic pleasure! After such a meeting, you do not go, but literally fly, this is a real thrill, real happiness - professional and human. Happiness from touching an intelligent person. Happiness that nothing can compare! When you communicate with such an interlocutor, it is as if you are breathing fresh air deeply.