Savik Schuster
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Savik Shuster (; ; born Ševelis Šusteris; November 22, 1952) is a journalist and television anchor. He presented ''The Freedom By Savik Shuster'', and starting in 2005, ''
The Freedom of Speech (ICTV) The Freedom of Speech is one of the first socio-political talk shows in Ukrainian television history, providing a platform for open public discourse. It has become a central venue for political debate and civic engagement, regularly featuring ...
'', on ICTV. Since December 2015, he produces and leads political talk shows on his independent 3S.tv, after he has been cancelled from several
tycoon A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
-owned channels. In December 2016, 3S.tv announced it had ceased its activities, and on 1 March 2017, the channel stopped broadcasting. According to an official statement, the reason was that the business was no longer viable due to several litigations and corresponding financial constraints.Show on MAST year. Schuster in search of "purse"
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
(3 March 2017)
All court cases were subsequently closed. In 2019, Shuster came back to Ukraine as the anchor of ''Svoboda slova Savika Shustera'' on the Ukraina television channel. From 2001 to 2004, Shuster presented talk shows on the Russian channel
NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...
.Our faces – Savik Shuster
,
Ukraina Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the north; Poland and Slovakia to the west; Hungary, Romania and M ...
Shuster holds Canadian and Italian citizenships.


Biography

Born in Vilnius (then former part of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
now the capital of
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
) Shuster left the Soviet Union 1971, his parents (his father was a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
coach) emigrated from their native Vilnius via
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
to Canada. A distant uncle, who was vice president of the oil company
Shell Canada Shell Canada Limited () is the principal Canadian subsidiary of British energy major Shell plc and one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies. Exploration and production of oil, natural gas and sulphur is a major part of its business, as ...
, intervened with
Soviet Prime Minister The Premier of the Soviet Union () was the head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). From 1923 to 1946, the name of the office was Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and from 1946 to 1991 its name was Ch ...
Alexei Kosygin Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin (–18 December 1980) was a Soviet people, Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1980 and, alongside General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, was one of its most ...
on their behalf. In 1973 Shuster began a Bachelors at
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, graduating in 1976 with a
medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...
. He then moved to
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
in Italy to continue his studies. There, he began writing for a local newspaper. In 1980 Shuster worked for three months with a French humanitarian organization that was working on the side of the anti-Soviet
mujahedin ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...
in Afghanistan, there he met ''
Newsweek magazine ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev ...
s Asia editor and was offered a chance to write a few articles for them. Shortly after Shuster started to write for French newspaper ''
Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
'' and the Italian magazine ''
Frigidaire Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and Commercial area, commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux, a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. History ...
''. Addition: Savik Shuster studied at the Moscow Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry since 1972. group NHS-72-4 He stopped his studies in 1973, and emigrated to Canada with his parents after.


Career in Russia

From 1988 (when he didn't speak Russian often) to 2001, Shuster worked for
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
. From 1996 to 2001 he was the head of their Moscow office. In 1998 he began presenting a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
show on NTV. Radio Liberty fired him over a perceived conflict of interest during Gazprom's takeover of NTV from
Vladimir Gusinsky Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky (, ; born 6 October 1952) is a Russian media tycoon. He founded the Media-Most holding company that included the NTV free-to-air channel, the newspaper ''Segodnya'', and a number of magazines. Early life a ...
's Media-MOST in April 2001. Radio Liberty said that, by continuing with his (Football) program at NTV, Shuster had violated its professional code and policy over conflicts of interests. Weeks after
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
's takeover, Shuster began anchoring NTV's "Hero of the Day" interview show and then "Svoboda Slova" (Freedom of Speech). Until 2004, he was the host of several talkshows on the NTV channel.Savik Shuster: I'm the only thing to remain after the "orange revolution”
,
Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' (, ) is an independent Russian newspaper. It is known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs, the Chechen wars, corruption among the ruling elite, and increasing authoritarianism i ...
(February 2, 2008)
Allegedly Shuster's and his employer NTV's coverage of the
Moscow hostage crisis The Moscow theater hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege, was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater in Moscow by Chechen terrorists on 23 October 2002, resulting in the taking of 912 hostages. The attackers, led by Movs ...
infuriated (then)
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
in 2002.It's All About Freedom of Speech for Shuster
The St. Petersburg Times (December 10, 2002)
In 2004 his show "Freedom of Speech" was awarded a "
TEFI TEFI () is an annual award given in the Russian television industry, presented by the Russian Academy of Television. It has been awarded since 1994. TEFI is presented in various sectors (up to 50 nominations in 2008), such as television shows ...
" by the Russian Academy of Television. Shuster's last Russian show was cancelled by
NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...
because "the audience was too old". According to Shuster, this was not the real reason the station closed his talkshow: "the truth was the
Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
could no longer afford an open,
live show Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
". According to Shuster, in the
Soviet era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...
"in Kiev it was a dream to get to Moscow, but now Putin's politics is killing a lot of creativity, and Moscow is becoming less attractive for
Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
".


Career in Ukraine

Since 2005 Shuster has been working in Ukraine. According to Shuster, at first he had no plans to work in Ukraine but changed his mind shortly after a 2005 visit to a friend, Russian politician
Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; (9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist, liberalism in Russia, liberal politician, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Early in his political career, he was involved in the introduction of reform ...
, in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
a few months after Ukrainians "
Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution () was a series of protests that led to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the ...
" (Nemtsov was an adviser to
Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...
Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...
at the time). "I decided to go and make some fun of him, I planned to say to him, 'Boris, you finally found a place in politics, but it is in the wrong country.' But when I came into his office, I saw he was in a very good mood, and I said, 'Boris, maybe I, too, should go to Ukraine.'" A few months later, he lived in the Ukrainian capital, studied Ukrainian and worked in Ukraine as a broadcaster. From May 2005 Savik hosted ''The Freedom of Speech'' on ICTV. In mid-2007, Shuster left ICTV for
INTER Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, ...
, where he hosted "''Freedom by Savik Shuster.''" However, this move caused a
copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
battle between ICTV and INTER, over the alleged theft of the format of ''The Freedom of Speech''. Following the announcement of the copyright lawsuit, one Ukrainian journalist wrote:
"''What is the difference between "Freedom" on INTER and "Freedom of Speech" on ICTV?'' ''-'' ''The ICTV studio has air conditioning."''
In August 2008 the production-studio "Savik Shuster Studios" was created, and in 2008 TV-channel "Ukraina" made a three-year contract with this studio for broadcasting the social-political talk show "Shuster Live". In July 2009 Shuster broke ties with the production company, which was renamed to ''Istil Studios''. According to Shuster, in 2008, "When our program is on the air, it is watched on every third TV set in the country". "Ukraina" saw a sudden boost in popularity ratings after the start of Shuster's political talk show in September 2008. In September 2009 Shuster claimed "unknown people" tried to sabotage the airing of his program "Shuster Live". May 21, 2010 deputy head of the Administration of Ukraine
Hanna Herman Hanna Mykolaivna Herman () (born 24 April 1959; Lviv region,imperial complex that 'everything coming from Moscow is good, everything Ukrainian is bad'".Herman wants anchorman Savik Shuster replaced by Ukrainian
Z I K Z, or z, is the twenty-sixth and last letter of the Latin alphabet. It is used in the modern English alphabet, in the alphabets of other Western European languages, and in others worldwide. Its usual names in English are ''zed'' (), which ...
(May 21, 2010)
In January 2011 all Shuster programs moved to
Pershyi Natsionalnyi Pershyi (, ; meaning First) is the Ukraine, Ukrainian public television channel, operated by the Suspilne Ukraine, Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine. It is the only Ukrainian TV channel covering over 97% of Ukraine's territory. Its programs ...
. Meanwhile, the number of viewers of his show had dropped from 1 million in 2006 to 600,000 people in 2011. Since February 2013 "Shuster Live" was again aired on Inter TV.Live updates of the protests (Pro-government channel blocks talk show with opposition leaders; Nov. 29, 9:30 p.m.)
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...
(29 November 2013)
But it moved back to Pershyi Natsionalnyi in March 2014 and was aired on that channel till 2015. It moved to
1+1 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
. But that channel cancelled the show and starting in December 2015 the show was aired on Shuster's own independent 3S.tv. In December 2016 3S.tv went bankrupt and on 1 March 2017 the channel stopped broadcasting. Shuster was for years absent from TV, until in September 2020 returned with the comeback episode of his talk show, "Freedom of Speech", on Ukraina TV. The episode of "Freedom of Speech" of 25 February 2022 was not broadcast due to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. Since then, the program has no longer been aired.Plays in silence? Where did Savik Schuster go
(8 June 2022)
Where Savik Schuster went after the outbreak of war and where he celebrated New Year
24 Kanal Channel 24 () is a Ukrainian 24/7 TV channel. Originally called News Channel 24, it is the part of the Lux Television and Radio Company, a media conglomerate in Ukraine. Channel 24 programming covers politics, the economy, sports and celebrities. ...
(27 January 2023)


Language of presenting

Shuster presents his (Ukrainian) programs in Russian. According to him, he "was allowed to do it because he was not ethnic Russian and everyone understood the language. But at first, on Ukrainian TV, Russian-speaking TV host was a phenomenon. Now the issue of the language is not a burning issue, there were other problems".


Political views

Shuster considered himself to be a liberal. In a 2008 interview with
Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' (, ) is an independent Russian newspaper. It is known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs, the Chechen wars, corruption among the ruling elite, and increasing authoritarianism i ...
Shuster said he would be interested in hosting debates between presidential contenders in Russia.
"However, I'm afraid I wouldn't be invited as they need exactly those who play up, and that's a kind of
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
. This allowed Putin to refuse participation in the debates at all. Here n Ukrainesuch a thing is just impossible. Those who refuse taking part in debates, they lose at once. When I had the live air on NTV, United Russia tried to boycott it realizing their public competitiveness is not high and actually they don't have many arguments. Then, though, they began to visit it again, as they had to. And now, with the absence of the live air, they all became 'masters'".
The Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.–based non-partisan defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which i ...
considers Shuster "a
Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...
sympathizer".Eurasia Daily Monitor, The Jamestown Foundation – October 1, 2009 – Volume 6, Issue 180
The Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.–based non-partisan defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which i ...
(October 1, 2009 )
In a 2009 interview with the
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
Shuster does not believe a revival of Russian democracy will happen: "If there is a political transformation in Russia, it will not be towards democracy. They have lost the foundation for a democratic transformation. They have decided to build power by looking for supporters among the intolerant. I think a fascist dictatorship is more likely than Nemtsov or
Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the ...
or Kasyanov coming to power".Russia's free media find a haven in Ukraine
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
(July 11, 2009)


Family

Shuster is currently married to Olga Nevskaya (second wife).Савік Шустер готовий померти в один день зі своїм продюсером?
Табло ID ''Tablo ID'' (, literally ''Tablo ID'') is a Ukrainian celebrity illustrated news website, paying significant attention to the public life of Ukrainian politicians and statesmen. Tablo ID is a part of the ''Ukrainska Pravda'' group. Published in ...
(March 4, 2009)
Ольга Невская: «В ночь после знакомства Шустер читал мне книгу по истории»
Shuster Live (March 20, 2009)
His first wife was
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
. She and his family continued to live in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
(
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
) during his career in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
.


References


External links

* *
"Become a leader"Sergiy Grabovsky on The Freedom Of Speech project of Savik Shuster (In Ukrainian)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuster, Savik 1952 births Ukrainian journalists Journalists from Vilnius Living people Russian television personalities Ukrainian television personalities Ukrainian people of Lithuanian descent Lithuanian Jews Soviet emigrants to Canada Inter (TV channel) people ICTV (Ukraine) people Ukraine (TV channel) people UA:First people McGill University alumni Ukrainian television presenters Ukrainian YouTubers Honored Journalists of Ukraine