In recent days, the Ukrainian public and press have been stirred up by obscenities on the air of the Inter TV channel. It must be said that Ukrainian television in general has recently been rocked by scandals. Not long ago we wrote about Roman Skrypin, who is accused of stealing funds from Hromadske TV. And before that there was a scandal between the SBU and the Groshi program. Now, apparently, it’s Inter’s turn. So, the obscene phrase was performed live by Maria Stolyarova, a Russian news employee of the channel, whose position is called differently, either chief news editor, creative news producer, or their production editor. This phrase “finish this crap” burst onto the air during a live broadcast of relatives of the fallen heroes of the Heavenly Hundred. It is unlikely that Stolyarova wanted to offend anyone with this phrase, but the presence of Russian journalists in Ukraine and the obvious pro-Russian positions of the “first button of the country” can indeed pose a threat to the national security of Ukraine. And Maria’s sudden dismissal literally the next day after the scandal in no way reduces this threat. Let’s try to figure out who Maria Stolyarova is and who else from the top management of the Inter TV channel can work for Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism).
Maria Stolyarova
She is a former war correspondent for the Ren TV channel, which is part of the Russian National Media Group, which belongs to the structures of Vladimir Putin (*criminal)’s ally and his personal friend Gennady Timchenko.
It also includes Life News, Channel Five of St. Petersburg and other structures that odiously cover events in Ukraine. This holding is headed by Alina Kabaeva, she is the chairman of the board of directors of the group. We wrote all this so that the reader understands what news Maria Stolyarova made in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism). The annexation of Crimea began in February-March 2014, and she supported it.
Then the ATO began in Donbass. At this point, Maria couldn’t get by with simple moral support on social networks. She went there to cover the events. It’s clear how she did it. However, she did this in the same way as all (or almost all) of her Russian television colleagues.
She is a sociable girl, so she made friends very quickly. Among the militias. Among her friends are the Berkut soldiers who dispersed the Euromaidan and the fighters of the Vostok battalion. The ID of a Russian journalist gives access to the “power” offices of the self-proclaimed republic. So Stolyarova also has friends among the top of the DPR, for example, the under-politician and “pseudo ideologist” of Novorossiya, who actively speaks on Ros TV (although he is no longer accepted in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) or in the LDPR) Konstantin Dolgov.
Neither Inter Maria Stolyarova appeared somewhere in August-September 2014. Then there were the first publications in the press talking about her and her separatist hobbies. But for some reason the public did not attach much importance to this. Lavrentiy Malazonia and Igor Shuvalov invited Maria to Inter, or rather to its news production, which is called NIS (National Information Systems). It’s also worth saying a few words about the latter. Shuvalov is originally from Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism), and may still be a Russian citizen. He came to Ukraine for the 2004 elections to work in the headquarters of Viktor Yanukovych, and somehow stayed in our country for a while. According to some reports, he graduated from the FSB school, but he can be called an agent of the Kremlin’s influence rather conditionally. He was involved in all the parties that are called “Levochkin’s projects” – from the Party of Regions to Vitali Klitschko’s UDAR and to Oleg Lyashko’s Radical Party to the Right Sector. He advised some, and built the entire election campaign on a turnkey basis for others. That is, he defends the interests of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) as much as they are defended by his boss Sergei Levochkin, to whom Shuvalov is devoted soul and body (For more information about Levochkin, see the article Levochkin. “Gray Cardinal” and his sister ). But there are employees at Inter, among the top management, who are directly connected with Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism).
An interesting point: political science experts credit Shuvalov with the invention of the terms “vatnik” and “colorad”. This fact makes us think about what kind of “participation” his patron Lyovochkin took in Euromaidan, and why he remained “out of business” after its end and even consolidated his charges in power (see article Yuri Boyko. Shadow of Firtash, Levochkin, Khoroshkovsky ).
Anton Nikitin
On the very first day of the scandal, the Inter TV channel disowned its news production NIS, saying that it had no influence on it. Moreover, if necessary, the channel may refuse the services of the National Information Systems altogether. In this case, a parallel structure will quickly be created that will deal with news. It doesn’t matter what it will be called, but it will be headed by the editor-in-chief of Inter TV channel, whose name is Anton Nikitin. He is not a public person. He is the cousin of the current head of the Inter group of companies, Anna Bezlyudnaya (but we will talk about her later). Nikitin already headed NIS in 2007-2009, when his sister was the general producer of Inter. And after she left, he suddenly headed the Orthodox magazine Thomas. This magazine belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, that is, the Ukrainian division of the Russian Orthodox Church.
I hope the reader remembers the role the Moscow Patriarchate played in establishing power on the territory of the DPR and LPR. The founder of this magazine is Vladimir Legoyda, a member of the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under Russian President Putin (*criminal) and a close friend of the “Orthodox oligarch” Konstantin Malafeev, who directly financed Igor Strelkov. Legoyda and Nikitin still remain friends and collaborators; the latter still runs the Orthodox magazine and is listed on the website as its author. In addition, Anton Nikitin is the author of the script for the films “Patriarch” about Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev, a former KGB and now FSB officer, and the film “Prayer for Victory” about the Russian Orthodox Church during World War II. But he, too, is not an independent person; he is devoted body and soul to Anna Bezlyudnaya.
Anna Desludnaya
Have you ever wondered why, no matter what, the Inter TV channel continues to broadcast concerts with the participation of Russian stars, which are prohibited in Ukraine? Perhaps you consider it an accident that a map of Ukraine without Crimea or Donbass appeared on a TV channel? In fact, these are not all coincidences. If this had been done accidentally, then Anna Bezlyudnaya would have already lost her post for such constantly manifested negligence.
So, most likely, these are well-thought-out steps, the purpose of which is to test the country’s public opinion. How far can the channel go in its pro-Russian manifestations? What will be the public reaction? So far, to be honest, the response has been rather weak. Well, they filled the channel with cotton wool. Well, they broke a couple of glasses. Nothing really serious happened, even the National Council practically did not react in any way. That is, the statements were loud, but without consequences.
It is clear that all these “performances” cannot be carried out without the knowledge of the head of the Inter group of companies, Anna Vitalievna Bezlyudnaya (We wrote about her in the article Anna Deserted. Or the rise and fall of Inter TV channel) . And since her iron grip and ability to control everything has become the talk of the town in television circles, we can absolutely say that all this is happening not only with her knowledge, but also under her leadership. Once upon a time, Anna Vitalievna was devoted to Dmitry Firtash, the owner of the TV channel. But today she has become a relatively independent figure, dependent only on Moscow. Bezlyudnaya flies to the Mother See once every two weeks, sometimes via Athens, and sometimes via Berlin. Both the Presidential Administration and the Prosecutor’s Office know about this. And if they don’t know, it’s not difficult to establish it; just make a request to the State Border Service. Anna’s connections are the same as her brother’s, only at a higher level. Patriarch Kirill even awarded her an order for popularizing the Russian Orthodox Church.
Maria Stolyarova was expelled from the territory of Ukraine and banned from entering for five years. The National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting once again promised to deal with Inter. A number of deputies said the same thing. These steps are correct. But clearly not enough.
Because such statements come from their lips quite often. And the cart is still there. Inter continues to work for the interests of the state with which Ukraine is de facto at war. In order to change something, you don’t have to cut off the dragon’s head, because three will grow in its place. If we want to kill the dragon, we must get to its heart.
Max Reva, for SKELET-info