Hello Andrey

Andrei Kondrashov was the new general director of TASS. What is known about him?

Last week, July 5, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin appointed the new head of the oldest Russian news agency TASS with his order. The post went to the journalist and former Vesti host at Russia-1 Andrei Kondrashov. To the posts of General Director Kondrashov was replaced by Sergey Mikhailov, who headed the news agency since 2012.

The New Gazeta Europe tells the story of the new head of TASS.

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There is little known about the biography and personal life of Andrei Kondrashov from open sources. The appointment of a journalist for the post of head of TASS found him only a few days after the 50th anniversary. Kondrashov was born on June 30, 1973 in Alma-Ata.

In Moscow, he graduated from the now closed non-state university of the International Independent Ecological and Political University (MNEPU) in the direction of journalism.

Kondrashov is married to a woman named Irina, who is also known about. The only daughter of Kondrashova 21-year-old Anna is studying at VGIK. From open data it follows that, according to the results of entrance exams in 2020, she took first place among all applicants and went to the budget.

The beginning of a career

According to Kondrashov himself, in journalism he from the first year and shot his first report for Vesti in the days of the August coup. The young man then prepared the material about how residents of the city of Almaty reacted to the attempt to coup.

“It was an adventure. RTR, as the main junk of freedom, then made a bet not on professionalism, but on a fresh look, which was probably the reason that soon, in violation of the Labor, I was invited to the state of Vesti, closing my eyes to age. The profession entered, as in ice water. With "goosebumps", but without fear. Thought gave birth to a search, and the search was polished by a thought, ”36-year-old Kondrashov recalled then in an interview with the journalist portal.

In the 90s, Kondrashov worked as a reporter in hot spots. His “first war” was the Ossetian-Ingush conflict of 1992. After the journalist lit up events in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the Balkans.

In various positions in the state of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), the holding, which includes Russia-1, Russia-24 television channels and others, Kondrashov worked for more than 30 years. During this time, he went from a special correspondent to a TV presenter of news programs, and then to the media manager.

Apologist of the Russian world

For a long career path, Kondrashov managed to try himself in different genres and achieved a significant one: he shot more than ten documentaries and interviewed the vast circle of people - from Alexander Lukashenko to Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Kondrashov himself called a conversation with the latter one of the most difficult in his work.

Despite the solid experience, Kondrashov is difficult to call a particularly famous person on the background of such characters as Vladimir Solovyov, Dmitry Kiselev or even Sergey Briellev.

At the same time, the journalist always remained a comfortable and loyal figure for the leadership of VGTRK.

“Andrei [Kondrashova] I remember in an interview with Solzhenitsyn, in which he did not ask a single sensible question about the attitude to modern Russian reality. For example, how Solzhenitsyn looks at the appearance of political prisoners in his homeland ... But Kondrashov did not ask this question. Now such faceless people are pleased to the authorities, ”so in 2008, Vladimir Kara-Murza, the eldest, journalist and father of the Kara-Murzy Jr., serving a 25-year term on charges of“ Gosizmen, ”about the career of Kondrashov.

Even then, Kara-Murza Sr. called “News of the Week”, the program that Kondrashov led about a year, “propaganda product” and “shameful sight”.

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In the VGTRK team, Kondrashov had a reputation “Speaks”, recalls his former colleague Farid Kurbangaleev, who sometimes took the air “Vesti” paired with a TV presenter. “Maybe, by virtue of character, some personal qualities were not that some very zealous in work,” Kurbangaleeva recalls in a conversation from the New Evrop. “The chief editor often had to make great efforts in order to collect the issue, and Kondrashov was connected at the last moment.”

“He was clearly in his favorites by Oleg Borisovich [Dobrodeev]. I think that not least and by virtue of my views. Kondrashov absolutely believes what he says, he is an absolute apologist for the Russian world, ”says Kurbangaleeva.

The filmography of Kondrashova confirms the journalist’s words about the devotion of the host of “Russia-1” of state ideology. In 2015, a year after the annexation of Crimea, Kondrashov shot a documentary about the peninsula and events in Ukraine. The picture was called "Crimea. The path to homeland. "

According to Kurbangaleeva, Kondrashov had no doubt about the belonging of Crimea even before the annexation. “It was, maybe, 2012 or 2013. Our correspondent then made a report from the Simferopol zoo, some kind of “bow”, the pleasant news against the background of everything else, ”says Kurbangaleeva. “When I was preparing an eyeliner for this report, I accidentally wrote a terrible phrase that this zoo is one of the best in our country.”

For her oversight, the journalist was reprimanded from the authorities. Kondrashov, on the story, reacted more loyal.

“He laughed then and said: we will take Crimea anyway,”

- recalls Kurbangaleeva. The journalist admits that Kondrashov can say a little about the personal qualities of Kondrashov, because she did not communicate with him either at work or even moreover beyond its borders.

In 2014, Ukraine imposed sanctions against 49 Russian propagandists who were closed to the country. Kondrashov was among them.

Putin-scenarist

After many years, the host of the “Vesti”, the main news product “Russia-1”, in 2016 Kondrashov also became the head of the television program, retaining his time on the air.

In 2018, Kondrashov worked as a press secretary of the election headquarters of candidate Putin. Then a journalist’s film about Putin with the same name was released. The picture is a series of interviews with people close to the president. Among them are ex-prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, Secretary of the Council of People's Commissars Nikolai Patrushev, ex-chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder and former Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi.

After the release of the film, Kondrashov spoke with tenderness and reverence about the head of state. “It would be good on the whole planet if everyone, like Putin, knew where to lead their people,” said Kondrashov. - I dream of making another film with [his] participation. He is the most talented director. All the easiest films that I was lucky were shot were with his participation. Because it was he who wrote the script, answering questions. ”

The year of re-election Putin for the next period-2018-turned out to be truly successful for Kondrashov. Perhaps not without reason. "Vladimir Putin really liked him",

-Then the source close to the Kremlin told the Russian Service of the BBC.

In April, the journalist was appointed First Deputy General Director of VGTRK, along with Anton Zlatopol, who was previously the only first deputy of the permanent Dobrodeev. Kondrashov was instructed to oversee the information direction of the holding.

After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, sanctions against Kondrashov began to impose Western countries. So, in October 2022, restrictions against a journalist introduced Canada for “disseminating misinformation”. In the summer of 2023, the EU followed the example of Canada, introducing Kondrashov into the 11th package of sanctions.

“As one of the key leaders [VGTRK], Andrei Kondrashov is direct responsibility for the actions of this media corporation. As the First Deputy General Director, responsible for the information and political broadcasting, he has a direct impact on how the VGTRK informs people about the aggressive war of Russia against Ukraine, ”the EU position in relation to the journalist beloved by the president of Russia sounds .

Kondrashov did not answer the request of the editorial office.