On April 13, Ksenia Sobchak was released interview TV presenter Anton Krasovsky. He is defined as someone who has moved from a liberal to a conservative environment. He was a well-known journalist for his glossy publications, but then became an aggressive warmonger – he was fired from RT for calling for the “drowning” and “burning” of Ukrainian children. Krasovsky is an openly gay man and founder of a fund to help people living with HIV. Now it is supports ban LGBT in Russia.
Krasovsky is 50 years old. He was born in the Moscow region, and as a teenager lived for four years in Ukraine, where his father worked at the Rivne nuclear power plant.
In the mid-1990s, Krasovsky became a correspondent for the Book News program on NTV, and in the 2000s he hosted the talk show NTVshniki. He also collaborated with glossy publications – Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and GQ.
In the 2000s, Krasovsky twice headed the electoral headquarters of candidates for the presidency of Russia: in 2011 – the headquarters of businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, in 2018 – the headquarters of journalist Ksenia Sobchak. Also in 2018, Krasovsky ran for election as mayor of Moscow, but was denied registration.
Krasovsky — Openly gay with HIV positive condition. In 2016, he established the AIDS Foundation. A center to help people with HIV. He currently serves as president of the foundation.
Since 2019, Krasovsky has cooperated with the main Russian state propaganda mouthpiece, the RT television channel. In 2020, he headed RT’s Russian-language broadcasting directorate, and in 2022 he supported Russian aggression against Ukraine.
At the end of the same year, Krasovsky was fired from RT because he called on air to “drown” and “burn” children in Ukraine. The Investigative Committee conducted a preliminary examination in relation to this statement, but did not initiate a criminal case.
Later, Krasovsky, in collaboration with Z advocate Igor Kholmogov, launched the “Portfolio” media. Because of his support for Russian aggression against Ukraine, he is subject to sanctions from Western countries.
In 2022, 15 of Krasovsky’s acquaintances told Meduza that he was using drugs. A former employee of the AIDS Center, infectious diseases doctor Nikolai Lonchenkov, believes that Krasovsky was addicted to drugs.
During an interview with Ksenia Sobchak, she suspected that Krasovsky was drunk (he denied it). Sobchak warned Krasovsky that she would not allow him to drink during their conversation.
Sobchak recorded the interview with Krasovsky partly in his apartment, against a backdrop of icons and a portrait of Vladimir Putin, and partly in the paddy wagon in which they rode in central Moscow. They discussed their common past (Sobchak and Krasovsky had known each other for many years), his dismissal from RT, and his attitude towards the war and towards former friends with anti-war views. Here are the most notable quotes from Krasovsky:
- About supporting the war. “I consider Ukraine my country. My homeland is the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, my homeland is the Russian Empire, and I consider Ukraine part of it. <…> When you choose a side, you must not forget that there is pain and suffering on the other side. This other side is also mine. <…> I used to think that our death and our lives were more important than theirs. “And I feel insulted that I thought that.”
- About the cost of war. “If the question is ‘Should we take Kiev?’ Of course we should. Warsaw needs it. <…> But there is a question, “Can we?” I don’t think so. Our Russian world costs many lives. Would I like that? [украинская] Did the land become part of the Russian Empire again? Yes. <…> But that won’t happen now. If I had to choose “millions of lives or Kiev,” I would choose millions of lives.
- About the call to “drown” Ukrainian children. “I phrased it incorrectly, but its meaning was very simple. If a Russian soldier was marching through Berlin and someone shot him in the back, what do we do with this Hitler Youth? That’s what I said. I was on alert. And I sincerely apologized… for setting him up.” [главного редактора RT] Margarita [Симоньян] And many people.”
- About longing for those who have passed away. “I feel bad about other things. Because I can’t connect with the people I loved and are loved by [и которые уехали из России из-за антивоенной позиции]. I feel bad because these people act like assholes too. <…> I will say more, I am uncomfortable with the fact that I cannot communicate with people who openly support the Ukrainian army.
- About the return of those who left. “I think our Russian victory should be generous. <…> I have the same right to this land as the people who left. <…> The court of the victors will decide whether they helped the Ukrainian forces or not, if it is punitive. I would like him to be generous <…> “I will do everything so that everyone who wants can come back here.”
- About fear. “Direct conversation time is over. I’m peeing.” [боюсь] Often, I don’t understand why. <…> Why don’t you pee this? [тюрьмы]. If they can take you now, why can’t they piss on you? There are no landing rules. <…> I turned into a Soviet man. “I just pee on everything.”
- About death. “At first I wanted to be buried on the high bank of the Volga under a stone. Now I would like at least some people to come to my funeral. <…> Until at least someone comes along, at least someone says something, at least someone drinks 50 grams of you with some kind of remorse.”
Krasovsky’s statements in conjunction with his own letter and behavior During the interview, suspicions were raised that he was in an unstable emotional state. This is what the comments below Sobchak’s video, which received the largest number of likes, were dedicated to. The comment, which was liked more than five thousand times, said: “Based on recent interviews, Ksenia is writing a thesis in the field of psychiatry.”
Krasovsky’s interview also sparked a lot of reactions on Facebook. It was one of the most prominent fast Journalist and LGBT activist with an anti-war stance Rinat Davlitgeldiyev. In the past it is He saidHe had a close relationship with Krasovsky, but they stopped communicating because of his “conversion.” In an interview, Sobchak Krasovsky mentioned Davlitgeldiyev as one of those people whom he misses.
In his post, Davletgeldiyev admitted that he also missed Krasovsky and thanked him: “It seems to me that I rarely said thank you. But I will never forget how you got me out of the worst asses. I will never forget how you saved my life. <…> We are, of course, on different sides of the barricades. But who would I be if I pretended these years never happened? <…> And that, now just get me right. If suddenly you are alive, of course, I will fly to your funeral and I will bring flowers to the oak tree overlooking the river, and I also know that if you are the first, you are at my funeral and we will certainly talk about everything else someday.
Journalist Andrei Loshak, who came to the comments, condemned Davlitgeldiyev’s post. “Of course, it’s nice to talk about the funeral, but you’re not coming anywhere unless, God forbid, something happens. They’ll put you there and you won’t even come out of the airport. Well, to Krasovsky [шенгенскую визу] I won’t see for the rest of my life. That life no longer exists and cannot exist. And your friend Krasovsky is one of those who destroyed it with his own hands, and built hell in its place, in which he is now tormented. books Bad man.
Some other commentators have already condemned Loschak. “Krasovsky personally… helped me in very difficult charitable cases… Should I forget about this and throw dirt on him?! I have no illusions about him and never had any, we did not communicate for a long time, but I will not hide the fact that he helped and I did not ask for any public gratitude for this. And Rinat [Давлетгильдеев] I wrote about how I felt. At the very least one should take a calmer approach to one’s personal memory and feelings. He replied Journalist Loshako Arina Borodina.
In other posts and comments covering Krasovsky’s interview, the question of whether he deserved sympathy was also discussed. A writer, literary critic, playwright, media director, as well as an actor and Sobchak’s ex-husband spoke on this topic.
The current husband of the journalist, director Konstantin Bogomolov, who in recent years has maintained a pro-government position: he criticizes the West, describes the Russian invasion of Ukraine “Jill’s luck” and “Heroic story”. Bogomolov used the discussion about Krasovsky to criticize representatives of the “Russian liberal intelligentsia.”
“Krasovsky, sometimes out of tune, sometimes showing off a little, brings out the melody. And they listen with fascination. They condemn, despise, spit, even sympathize, even forgive, but most importantly, they listen, listening to the tones of decadence, repentance, pride, humiliation, self-flagellation, tears, etc., so dear to the heart of every Russian intellectual.” <…> It’s nice to be convinced that “we are not him.” Get rid of the despised “insignificance”! Or give alms in the form of two sympathetic lines. The Russian liberal intellectual has no other rallying point. This is the pinnacle of his strength, courage, moral purity, and civil status. Mice. “And Ksenia’s work is wonderful,” Bogomolov wrote.