Vladimir Solovyov was born on October 20, 1963 in Moscow. From 1980 to 1986 he was a student at the Institute of Steel and Alloys in Moscow, the faculty of Physics and Chemistry. According to his statements, he applied to be a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Since August 2010, he has worked on the television and radio stations of the VGTRK Trust. Currently, he moderates on the television station “Russia-1” the programs “Поединок” and “Воскресный вечер”. In 2012, by the decree of Vladimir Putin, he was included in the Public Television Council.
On November 21, 2007, at a pre-election meeting in Lujniki, Solovyov spoke in support of Vladimir Putin and described him as a “strong, intelligent, talented leader”, who loves his country. In September 2013, Putin decorated Solovyov with the Order of Honor for his contribution to the development of Russian culture and art, television and for many years of creative activity. Later, in 2014 he was awarded the medal “For the liberation of Crimea and Sevastopol” for his personal contribution to “the return of Crimea to the Russian Federation”.
Solovyov’s position in relation to Crimea has changed over the years:
A person trying to start a war between Russia and Ukraine is a criminal. In Ukraine are people who are close to us by spirit, blood, history. We don’t have to shout “Sevastopol is ours!” We don’t have to shout “Crimea is ours!”
Vladimir Solovyov, 2008
Why do you need Crimea? .. Hrushchev ceded the region absolutely legitimate. Do you want to fight with Ukraine? How many lives in Ukraine and Russia are you ready to play to capture the region, which has long been tatar territory? Residents of the region are against.
We approached this day as close as we could. Crimea and Sevastopol are again part of Russia. Historical justice has triumphed!
Vladimir Solovyov, 2013Vladimir Solovyov, March 18, 2014
In 2007, in an interview for Vzglyad, Soloviev criticized Russian non-systemic opposition politicians. Vladimir Pozner believes that Solovyov is doing a great disservice to the Russian journalistic domain. He said he have a bad attitude towards him and “will not shake hands at a possible meeting.”
Solovyov is one of the most well-known propagandists of modern Russian television and one of the most fierce supporters of the Kremlin’s propaganda. As a host of the shows “Поединок” and “Воскресный вечер”, Solovyov is regularly criticized for not objectively moderating his shows, openly demonstrating his support for the guests he sympathizes. Solovyov is known for his irreconcilable “anti-Western” position and supporter of the “heavy party line”, as well as for his harsh comments against opponents. For example, in 2012, Solovyov called Navalny a “nationalist misery”.
On July 22, 2019, the “Anti-corruption Fund” Aleksey Navalny published a investigate on the residence permit in Italy owned by Vladimir Solovyov. The pro-Kremlin journalist owns a villa near Lake Como in Italy. Solovyov has three apartments in Moscow and a house in the suburbs. The total cost of real estate held by Solovyov amounts to one billion rubles.
On September 6, 2019 In the program “Полный контакт” on the radio station Vesti FM, Vladimir Solovyov criticized harshly and in an extremely rude way the journalist Yuri Dudy for a documentary about the terrorist attack in Beslan. Soloviev called his colleague “degenerate” and “insignificant misery” after the premiere of the documentary.
Relevant news:
1. https://navalny.com/p/5565/
2. https://news.rambler.ru/community/42785136-nichtozhnaya-mraz-za-chto-solovev-nabrosilsya-na-dudya/
3. https://lenta.ru/news/2017/10/19/zalilsya_soloviev/
4.https://tvrain.ru/news/solovev_otvetil_na_rassledovanie_navalnogo_v_efire_rossii_1-446434/