RTVi presenter Vladimir Lensky: News is dragging like a whirlpool

Vladimir Lensky has been working for RTVi for four years. Photo provided Rtvi.com

Vladimir Lensky ended up in America for a prosaic reason - a business trip. In 1998, he was still a very young journalist, but even then NTV entrusted him with the position of head of the channel’s bureau in the USA. In 2002, the Russian government ensured that the “right” people appeared at the head of what was once the first independent television company in the country. The founders of NTV were expelled. A large group of journalists who were at the origins of NTV left the channel. Vladimir also left with them, but remained in America, from where he transmitted reports for independent Russian media while such media existed. Since 2012, Vladimir Lensky has been on Rtvi. Today he runs a weekly analysis program. "Time Code" and makes detailed reports about New York for the Russian Accent program.

— What brought Vladimir Lensky to television journalism? Vladimir, you probably dreamed of working “on TV” since childhood?

— When I was very little, I really wanted to become a firefighter. This is understandable - the helmets are shining, the cars with flashing lights are honking, and everyone around them is heroes. Later I thought about following in my father’s footsteps. Dad was a doctor and surgeon. And for a very long time it seemed to me that I also wanted to go into medicine. The parents were very happy. I have always been an excellent student, which means that entering medical school probably would not have been difficult.

But then, as luck would have it, in 1984, the film “European History” with Vyacheslav Tikhonov in the title role was released on large Soviet screens. He brilliantly played a television journalist, whose reports on the evening television news change the situation in the city and in the country. There is such a scene, closer to the finale, where Tikhonov’s hero rushes in a blue Mercedes through the streets of some ancient city, followed by a chase. The journalist has documents in his folder exposing the corrupt minister.

This picture had a strong impact on the fragile mind and rich imagination of the Soviet schoolchild. I wanted to become a television journalist and definitely work in the West. You could say I realized my dream. Only I don’t have a Mercedes (laughs. —Auth).

- Well, what about the chases, secret documents?

- You know, this didn’t happen either. I was carried away by the news, it pulled me in like a whirlpool. Indeed, you often become a witness to historical moments. Wars, uprisings, elections, disasters or, say, natural disasters. I had the opportunity to work on many such events: the presidential elections in America, the war in Chechnya. I also covered the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. Nowadays, analytics is more attractive, thanks to which it is possible to look at the situation a little from the outside, and not from the inside. I also like to talk about interesting people and their hobbies. There are so many amazing eccentrics and geniuses living in New York!

-Who struck the most?

— I remember, for example, such an interesting character - a New York shaman. He is, in fact, an American of Greek descent, and studied magic in Africa. I don’t know how he manages this, through suggestion or hypnosis, but he is now helping many city drug addicts get rid of their addiction. This shaman also undertakes to predict the future, but I asked him not to do this for me - I don’t want to spoil the effect of surprise.

Vladimir Lensky with a New York shaman while preparing a report for the Russian Accent program. Photo courtesy Rtvi.com

And one day I met an unusual graffiti artist. He worked for many years at an informal center for freelance artists in an abandoned factory in Queens. All the walls there were painted. Even artists from Europe and Japan came to this factory. So, this guy not only painted very well with spray paints, he also knew every painting on all four floors of the factory. This story is in the past tense because the owners of the building were tired of this amateur performance. All the paintings were painted over with white paint, and the building, it seems, was sold. It will most likely be demolished and a skyscraper built in its place. On the one hand, it’s a pity, on the other, this is New York, it changes and updates all the time (we are talking about the heroes of the “Russian Accent” program, all episodes of which are on the website rtvi.com. - Author).

The hosts of the “Russian Accent” program are Evgeny Maslov, Vladimir Lensky, Elena Meshcheryakova. Photo courtesy Rtvi.com

— Vladimir, you are preparing a weekly political program on Rtvi. “Timecode” is, first of all, the analytics that you so strive for. Tell me, who and how sets the limits of what is acceptable in the program? How do you avoid bias?

— The limits of what is acceptable are set by the editors. We talk on all topics without exception - both political and social. There are things that we try not to allow on air. For example, personal insults or rudeness. You can criticize anything and anyone, the main thing is to confirm your statements with facts or the opinions of recognized experts. We do not seek to shock or shock the audience: we will not show, for example, the bloody or charred bodies of victims in the program, out of respect for the loved ones of the victims and simply out of respect for the feelings of our viewers. Well, as for balance, here, firstly, journalistic ethics comes into play - if you bring one opinion, bring another. Secondly, the editorial staff itself consists of people of various beliefs - from conservatives to liberals, of different nationalities and lifestyles. One of the colleagues will always correct you if there is too much tilt to the right or, say, to the left.

Photo courtesy of Rtvi.com

— Well, what do you like to do outside working hours?

— I really love just walking around New York. I have been living in this city for more than 15 years and I never cease to be amazed. On every walk you will see something special. I like wandering through museums, I love good cinema - both American and European. I really love to travel. And eat, especially in the company of good friends.

— Vladimir, I wonder if among your friends there are more “native” Americans, or are they Russian-speaking, that is, as we say, “ours”?

- Now, for the most part, they are “indigenous”. Previously, there were more Russians, mainly journalists. But they then went their separate ways.

— They say that it is difficult for us, the visitors, to find a common language with the Americans. Both their culture and education are very different from what we are used to.

— Education and culture, of course, are different. But there are things that bring us closer together. All my friends read both Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. I've read both Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald. We watch the same films. We always have something to talk about. It so happens that my American friends are big fans of Russian classical culture, so because of them, I sometimes have to re-read the school curriculum so as not to embarrass myself. And then, a common worldview, political views, and beliefs bring us together very much.

— And what, nothing is lost in the translation?

— It’s lost, probably, but over time it’s less and less. It's not just about knowing the language, but also about understanding the local culture. And when you live in this culture for a long time, it probably gradually becomes yours.

— So in this culture, in this city you feel comfortable?

— Yes, New York has become home. Every time I return here with pleasure, no matter where I come from - from Paris, from Alaska or a Greek island.

Additional information provided by the news editorial RTVi

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