Dmitry Peskov is one of the brightest and most interesting politicians of our time, press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, so it is absolutely natural to have an increased interest in his biography and personal life.
Biography
Dmitry Peskov was born in Moscow in 1967. Father, Sergei Nikolaevich, a famous Russian diplomat, was in the diplomatic service in various countries of the Arab world. Dmitry Peskov has made a brilliant career: from an embassy assistant to a presidential press secretary, while remaining a charming, lively person with a wonderful, subtle sense of humor.
https://youtu.be/L9nhDOqgRw4
Childhood and family
There is little information about this period in the biography and personal life of Dmitry Peskov. It is known that he spent his childhood abroad; he studied at embassy schools, where he made his first successes. From a young age, his father prepared his son for a future career as a diplomat.
Since 1989, after graduating from the Institute of Asian and African Countries, Dmitry Peskov has been in diplomatic work and public service.
Dmitry Peskov without a mustache
Career
Dmitry Sergeevich’s first career successes are associated with his work in the system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, first of the USSR, and then of Russia. Since he has already become a public figure, there is much more information and photos about this stage of Dmitry Peskov’s biography and personal life.
Since 1996, Dmitry Peskov has held the position of First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Turkey.
The year 1999 was a turning point in the fate of Dmitry Peskov. It was he who accompanied B. Yeltsin everywhere during his visit to the OSCE Summit, provided simultaneous translation from Turkish, advised on all issues, and appeared nearby in television reports and in official photographs. Peskov’s professional level impressed the then President so much that he invited him to work in Moscow.
Dmitry Peskov and Vladimir Putin Positions held by Dmitry Peskov at the beginning of the 2000s:
- Head of the Media Relations Department of the Press Service of the Presidential Administration.
- Deputy, First Deputy Head of the Press Service of the President of Russia.
- Deputy Press Secretary of the President.
As deputy press secretary, Peskov received a wide range of responsibilities and powers – from interaction with foreign media to preparing the President’s “direct lines”. Since 2004, it has been Peskov who has been making public the President’s position on one or another issue in the country’s socio-political life. This time can be considered the beginning of Dmitry Peskov’s biography as a press secretary.
Dmitry Peskov on a “direct line” with the President In 2006, Peskov oversaw a contract with the US PR company Ketchum. The company's activities were aimed at creating a positive image of Russia in the world, and the amounts of the contracts were not disclosed.
From 2008 to 2012, Dmitry Peskov held the position of press secretary of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
Since 2009, Dmitry Peskov has been taking part in the work of the Council for the Development of National Cinema. It must be said that activities in this field are beginning to bear fruit. This is evidenced by the latest high-profile premieres of Russian cinema - “The Time of the First” and other significant projects.
Since 2012, Dmitry Peskov has been the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation with the rank of Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration.
Dmitry Peskov - deputy. Head of the Presidential Administration Dmitry Peskov, in addition to performing the duties of press secretary, oversees other important areas of work in the Kremlin: public relations, investment attractiveness of Russia and others.
All these years, Dmitry Peskov remains a media person, and information about changes in his biography and personal life, wife, children and other details appears in the media with enviable regularity.
Political Views
Of course, by holding such a position, Dmitry Peskov, first of all, expresses the official position of the Kremlin on various aspects of political life.
Dmitry Peskov is an experienced media fighter, no stranger to information wars. So, in 2006, he categorically denied the Kremlin’s involvement in the “polonium case.” He said that those who claim the participation of Russian intelligence services in the murder of FSB defector Litvinenko are pursuing one goal: to revive the Cold War, to “re-spin the flywheel of anti-Russian hysteria.” After ten years, one can be surprised at his insight: the facts only confirm the correctness of his words.
Dmitry Peskov - Deputy Press Secretary of the President In 2013, after the strange death of the oligarch, Peskov announced that the Kremlin had a personal letter from Berezovsky to Vladimir Putin, in which the disgraced politician and businessman asked for forgiveness for his mistakes and asked permission to return to Russia. According to various evidence, such a letter actually exists, but to date it has not been published.
Starting from 2012, Dmitry Peskov has taken a sharply negative position towards protests. His extremely harsh statements regarding how riot police should deal with protesters, made in a private conversation with opposition politician Ilya Ponomarev, are known. To Peskov’s credit, he did not retract his statements, he only expressed surprise at the unmanly act of Ponomarev, who published the contents of a private conversation.
Dmitry Peskov In 2016, Peskov found himself at the center of a discussion about the revival of censorship in Russia, started by actor and director Konstantin Raikin. Dmitry Peskov expressed agreement with the inadmissibility of censorship, but voiced a special position on the concept of “state order”.
From his point of view, in cases where films, performances, art exhibitions, and so on are financed from the state budget, the state has the right to demand that certain criteria be fulfilled by music ministers.
Dmitry Peskov
Dmitry Peskov voices the President’s position on the most pressing issues of modern Russia: the military operation in Syria, the situation in the DPR and LPR and other hot topics.
Personal life
In 1990, important changes took place in the biography and personal life of Dmitry Peskov - his first wife, Anastasia, the granddaughter of the legendary commander Budyonny, entered his life. In the same year, the couple had a son, Nikolai. The marriage, however, turned out to be fragile and broke up by mutual consent.
A new turn in his biography and personal life happened four years later - Dmitry Peskov married a second time, and at first it seemed that the union with his new wife Ekaterina was for life.
Dmitry with his wife Ekaterina However, Dmitry Peskov's second marriage lasted only eighteen years. During this time, three children were born in the family: Elizabeth, Mick and Denis. In 2012, when Peskov’s passion for Tatyana Nvka became impossible to hide, the couple divorced.
Today, Peskov’s ex-wife Ekaterina lives in Paris, and daughter Elizaveta has become widely known thanks to her activity on social networks. She often flies from Paris to Russia and has already tried to express herself on the political stage with varying degrees of success.
Dmitry Peskov with his daughter Elizaveta Dmitry Peskov’s relationship with Tatyana Navka began eight years ago. In 2014, a daughter, Nadezhda, was born, but the official wedding took place only a year later, in Sochi, after which the couple spent their honeymoon in Sardinia.
The scandal was caused by Dmitry Peskov's wristwatch seen in wedding photos. On the Internet you can find various versions regarding the brand of these watches and their cost - up to six hundred thousand dollars, which is many times higher than Peskov’s officially declared income.
According to the version voiced by Peskov, the watch is a wedding gift from the bride, and this has nothing to do with the anti-corruption fight.
Wedding of Dmitry Peskov and Tatyana Navka Dmitry Peskov is always in full view of the whole country. However, there are many noteworthy facts associated with the personality of Dmitry Peskov that are not so widely known:
- According to Elizaveta Peskova, she remembers such difficult times for the family, when both dad and mom had to earn extra money as a private driver.
- In addition to traditional English, Peskov speaks Turkish and Arabic.
- Peskov is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Federation.
Dmitry Peskov is a chronic asthmatic. - Peskov sings and dances well.
Dmitry dances with his wife Tatyana Dmitry Peskov now
And today, journalists and Internet users continue to hunt for all the changes in the biography and personal life of Dmitry Peskov and even his children, publishing photos of their wives with different comments. He remains one of the country's main public figures.
Peskov remains at the forefront of the country's political life. In a recent long interview on the federal television channel, Peskov said that he always tells the truth. According to him, the President's greatest dislike is incompetence and distortion of facts, and this will coincide with his views on life. Now Peskov is actively involved in the election race.
Dmitry Peskov spoke out against postponing negotiations on Donbass and noted that there is no reasonable alternative to the Minsk negotiations. He expressed categorical disagreement with the law on reintegration adopted by the Rada of Ukraine. He emphasized that in this case, Russia is not one of the parties to the conflict.
Dmitry Peskov - comments for the press Dmitry Peskov commented on the recent attacks by teenagers on schools in Perm and Ulan-Ude, calling not to make hasty conclusions until the investigation is completed. At the same time, he noted that the Internet environment in which teenagers and young people are immersed can bring with it evil. On the other hand, he noted that Internet freedom must be preserved.
Dmitry Peskov said that no decisions were made to increase personal income tax, and all rumors on this matter are just rumors.
Dmitry Peskov said that the President is considering possible countermeasures in response to new US sanctions. In general, Peskov calls on the United States and European countries to reconsider their position on sanctions, insisting that the policy of confrontation has never benefited anyone, and it is necessary to agree on controversial issues.
Dmitry Peskov with Vladimir Putin As you can see, Dmitry Peskov’s life takes place at a crazy pace. Almost every day you have to speak out on one topic or another, answer questions to which there simply cannot be simple, unambiguous answers.
Dmitry Peskov is a new type of politician. He is charming, and professional actors can envy his masculine charisma. He is amazingly educated, has instant reactions and amazing flexibility of thinking. Able to “save face” even in the most difficult situations.
Dmitry Peskov knows how to combine a tough, principled position with the ability to conduct a dialogue with the opposition. He masters the art of reasonable compromise.
Dmitry Peskov It is no coincidence that experts and analysts agree that Dmitry Peskov has not yet reached the peak of his political career, and they predict a great future for him. It is possible that the scope of his activity will be more related to foreign policy activities. Peskov himself has not yet revealed his career plans for the near future.
On the other hand, Peskov is not a “cracker”; he continues to remain a living person. He is a father of many children and a loving husband. Now love, harmony and mutual understanding reign in his family.
https://youtu.be/8bmLoN3w2G8
TASS DOSSIER. October 17, 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation - Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.
Dmitry Sergeevich Peskov was born on October 17, 1967 in Moscow in the family of a Soviet and Russian diplomat, Russian Ambassador to Pakistan and Oman Sergei Peskov (1948-2014).
In 1989 he graduated from the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov, specializing in “historian-orientalist”, “referent-translator”.
From 1989 to 2000 he worked in the system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the USSR, then the Russian Federation.
In 1990-1994. He held the positions of duty assistant, attaché, and third secretary of the Russian Embassy in Turkey.
From 1994 to 1996 he worked in the central office of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In 1996-2000 - second, then first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Turkey. In November 1999, during the Istanbul OSCE Summit, he was a translator from Turkish for Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Federation in 1991-1999. After the summit, he was invited to work in the Administration of the Head of State by the head of the Office of the Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation, Alexei Gromov.
From 2000 to 2008 he worked in the Administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2000-2004 - Head of the Media Relations Department, then Deputy, First Deputy Head of the Office of the Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation, Deputy Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Alexei Gromov.
From April 9, 2004 to April 25, 2008 - First Deputy Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation. Oversaw the coordination of the presidential press service with executive authorities, interaction with foreign media, as well as the work of journalists at large-scale events with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation (direct lines, etc.).
In 2008-2012 worked in the Russian Government Office, headed by Vladimir Putin. From April 25, 2008 to May 2012, he was the press secretary of the Prime Minister and at the same time held the position of deputy head of the Russian Government Staff.
In February 2008, he was elected chairman of the board of directors of the Interstate Television and Radio Company "Mir" (established in 1992 with the aim of covering political, economic and humanitarian cooperation between the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States).
After Vladimir Putin was re-elected as President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov returned to work in the Administration of the Head of State. From May 22, 2012 to present V. - Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation - Press Secretary of the Head of State Vladimir Putin.
Chairman of the Media Council of the Russian Geographical Society (since 2010).
The total amount of declared annual income for 2016 was 12 million 813 thousand rubles, spouses - 120 million 815 thousand rubles. (she also has an apartment in the USA with an area of 126 sq. m.).
Acting State Advisor of the Russian Federation, 1st class (2005).
Awarded the Orders of Friendship (2003) and Honor (2007). He has two letters of gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation (2004, 2007) and letters of gratitude from the Government of the Russian Federation (2009).
Speaks English, Turkish and Arabic.
Married for the third time since 2015. His wife is Russian figure skater Tatyana Navka (born 1975). Dmitry Peskov's first wife was Anastasia Budyonnaya (granddaughter of Soviet Marshal Semyon Budyonny), the second was Ekaterina Peskova (born 1976; Solotsinskaya). Has three sons and two daughters. Sons - Nikolai (born 1990), Mick and Denis; daughters - Elizaveta (born 1998) and Nadezhda (born 2014).
(1967) diplomat, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation
Dmitry Peskov is a rather extraordinary person. Diplomatic education and the ability to find a common language with different people helped him make a fairly successful career. Today his personal life, activities and biography arouse public interest and are perhaps the most discussed topics in the media and on the pages of online publications.
Beginning of diplomatic activity
Dmitry's father was one of the famous career Soviet diplomats. The beginning of the biography of Dmitry Peskov, who currently holds the position of Putin’s press secretary, is also connected with diplomatic activities. After graduating from ISAA, he worked for some time in his specialty at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. Until 1995, Dmitry Sergeevich Peskov managed to work as a duty assistant and attaché. A little later, the young diplomat was sent to the Turkish Embassy, representing there first the USSR and then the Russian Federation. Over the next six years, he managed to significantly advance his career. Initially, he was appointed to the post of second secretary of the Russian embassy in Turkey, and after a while he received an offer to take the place of first secretary.
Appointment as press secretary of the President of Russia
At the beginning of 2000, with the appointment of V.V. Putin to the post of President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov received the position of head of the department responsible for public relations and the media, and now he himself and his activities are beginning to be actively discussed in the press. A little later, he becomes deputy head of Putin’s press service, and also plays the role of translator during his meetings with representatives of the Turkish authorities.
In 2004, Dmitry Sergeevich Peskov became the first deputy of A. Gromov, who at that time served as press secretary of the Russian president. His main responsibilities in his new position were coordinating information work and establishing close cooperation with the executive branch. In addition, after some time, the range of priority tasks began to include the preparation of various information projects, the organization and conduct of well-known direct lines where it was possible to ask questions directly to the president. At this time, Dmitry Peskov receives the right to express an opinion on behalf of the first person of the state.
Further career
By 2008, by decree of the current President V.V. Putin, the person holding the position of press secretary not only voices the official position of the authorities and organizes informing the public through printed newspapers, magazines and online publications, but is also the deputy first person in the government apparatus. The newly created position will be immediately offered to Dmitry Sergeevich Peskov.
Next year, a Council for the Development of Domestic Cinematography will be created in Russia. The main purpose of its creation was designated as support and distribution of domestic film products. Dmitry Peskov becomes one of the council members.
In 2012, the presidential press service received additional powers. Now she had the legal right to manage all information activities of government bodies, and was also involved in creating a positive image of the country and attracting investors. This is one of the significant moments in the biography of Peskov, who is to this day Putin’s press secretary.
Comments and statements
From the moment Peskov became Putin’s press secretary and received the authority to voice official opinions, interest in his biography, comments and statements about certain events has increased significantly.
He had to endure the first fairly serious information confrontation in 2006. We are talking about the death of A. Litvinenko, who was poisoned with a radioactive substance. Immediately after the cause of death was established, hints appeared in Western newspapers that the country's top leadership was behind the death of the former officer. Dmitry Sergeevich Peskov had to carry out a huge amount of work in order to refute these suspicions as much as possible.
Peskov’s next significant statement in the role of Putin’s press secretary, which influenced his biography, is his assessment of the events of April 2007. The actions of police officers and special forces were assessed by him as attempts to ensure law and order, and all clashes, according to the press secretary, were caused by deliberate provocations on the part of the protesters.
In the same year, Putin’s press secretary announced that there would be no third term in the president’s biography.
Peskov is known for very harsh statements not only about protests, but also towards the protesters themselves. One of his most categorical expressions was his assessment of the “March of Millions” protest action, which took place in 2012. During the protest, there were several fairly serious clashes between protesters and law enforcement officials. Speaking in defense of police officers, the press secretary expressed the opinion that for the injuries received by law enforcement officers, the livers of the protesters should have been “smeared on the asphalt.”
The opinion expressed in a conversation with one of the deputies immediately appeared on the Internet, causing a rather mixed reaction from the public. Probably, Dmitry Peskov did not expect that all his remarks and comments would now be actively discussed in the press and on the Internet.
Subsequently, he also condemned various protests, but became more careful in his statements.
Personal life
There are few high-ranking Russian officials who would arouse such interest as Dmitry Peskov does. His professional activities and personal life are actively discussed in the media. Several high-profile scandals are also associated with the personality of the press secretary.
Officially, Peskov registered his relationship three times. The first time his wife was the granddaughter of the famous military man of Soviet times, Budyonny. The marriage broke up after some time, but during their life together the couple had a son.
Peskov’s second official companion for quite a long period of his life was Ekaterina Solotsinskaya. During the next marriage, three children appeared in the family. Dmitry and his wife Ekaterina raised a daughter and two sons.
In 2011, Dmitry Peskov and his personal life again attracted attention. At this time, rumors about the acquaintance of the press secretary and the famous Olympic champion Tatyana Navka are actively discussed in various publications and on the Internet.
Ekaterina Peskova
Rumors about a romance between Peskov and Navka were soon confirmed. The couple was seen together at some social events. The ex-wife also confirmed the existence of a serious relationship between the couple. It was reported that Catherine is determined to divorce, although in an interview with journalists she reported that the reason for the breakup was not so much her husband’s betrayal as the distance from each other. The divorce was registered in 2012.
Today Ekaterina Peskova lives in Paris and is engaged in charitable activities. In one of her conversations with journalists, she said that she and Dmitry parted peacefully and now maintain warm, friendly relations. The woman deliberately avoids provocative questions about her ex-husband and his personal life.
Dmitry Peskov and Tatyana Navka
After Dmitry Peskov divorced, he and Tatyana Navka officially admitted that there really was a fairly long and serious relationship between them. Many expected an official announcement about the next marriage. However, no messages in this regard have appeared. In August 2014, new information appeared about the personal side of Dmitry Peskov’s life. It became known that Navka gave birth to a daughter from him. Some media outlets suggested that Dmitry and Tatyana got married in secret. All rumors and omissions were dispelled at the end of 2014.
Wedding
The first information about the couple's possible engagement appeared on the pages of print and online publications at the end of 2014. And after some time it became known that Navka was marrying Peskov. The approximate date for the wedding was one of the days at the end of the summer of 2015. Not long ago it became known that Dmitry and Tatyana officially registered their relationship on August 1. The celebration took place in one of the most expensive hotels in Sochi. Among the guests one could meet famous officials, athletes and cultural figures.
The joint photos show that Dmitry is much older than Tatyana, and many people asked the question: how old are Navka and Peskov and is there a big difference between them? In fact, the age difference is not that big. The skater turned 40 in April 2015, and her husband will be 48 at the end of this year.
The clock story
Photos taken during the wedding celebration caused another scandal. The news of the wedding of Dmitry Peskov and Tatyana Navka faded into the background after data appeared on the Internet about the estimated cost of the watch on the groom’s hand. According to some reports, for such an acquisition you need to pay a little less than 40 million rubles. The statement by Tatiana's current wife that the expensive item was a wedding gift is probably not entirely true. After all, the couple got married at the end of summer, and photos with an expensive watch on the press secretary’s hand appeared several months before.
Russian politics is a non-public and extremely closed thing. But this policy also has a public face - the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. What is hidden behind this face, why Peskov was entrusted to play this role and how he differs from his predecessors - The New Times looked into it.
On the coffee table in front of the soft sofa are the magazines GEO, “Around the World” and a large glossy album “Arctic” with polar bears on the cover. On the secretary's computer screen there is a night Kremlin in lights. A huge bronze head looks into space from the chest of drawers - a bust of the fighter for the independence of Latin America, the national hero of Venezuela Sebastian Francisco de Miranda y Rodriguez, donated by one of his Venezuelan friends. This is the reception room of what is called “Peskov’s apparatus” - the press secretary of Vladimir Putin: an office of a dozen offices located on the third floor of building No. 10/4 on Staraya Square, where the administration of the President of the Russian Federation is located.
Finally, Peskov himself appears - without a jacket, in a white shirt with a touching notebook check - and invites him into the office, where it immediately becomes clear: the bronze head is just flowers. Peskov’s office, by the standards of our bureaucratic Byzantium, is rather small - 20–25 meters at most; it could become an illustration for JK Rowling’s book “Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them.” In one corner of the room there is a massive figure of a winged animal (presumably a griffin), in the other on a cabinet there is a large bronze beetle with expressive eyes (presumably a scarab), in the middle of a conference table for seven people there is an impressive figurine of an archer, on the bookcase there are figurines of eastern gods ( Shiva, Buddha, etc.). True, the New Times correspondent never found an image of Vladimir Putin in his office - but perhaps it was lost among the many fancy paintings and black-and-white photographs hung on the walls. “The photographs show Jerusalem in 1947,” Peskov kindly explained. Where did he get all these exotic things? “Well, we travel a lot, and sometimes friends bring us,” he replied.
The conversation took an hour. Dmitry Peskov smiled a lot, was intelligent, joked a little, looked relaxed and at ease. And nothing in him resembled the man who said after the events on Bolotnaya Square on May 6, 2012, that the livers of protesters should be smeared on the asphalt.
“In fact, I said it wrong then, Ilya Ponomarev (a deputy from A Just Russia - The New Times) conveyed my phrase incorrectly,” Peskov frowned. - It was during Vladimir Putin’s speech in the State Duma that Ponomarev came up to me and asked a question about the actions of the police on May 6. I replied that we need to smear the livers of those who rush at the riot police. I didn’t mean all the protesters.”
Peskov speaks of Gromov (right) as “a wise leader who always helped and gave freedom to initiative.” Moscow, Red Square, May 2011
Turks instead of Arabs
Dmitry Peskov was born in Moscow on October 17, 1967. His father Sergei Peskov worked in organizations responsible for promoting communism in third world countries and serving as a roof for the KGB: first in the Committee of Solidarity with Asian and African Countries, then in the Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Peskov Sr. worked in Arab countries - Egypt, Libya, the United Arab Emirates. “I had to change a lot of schools. I studied abroad for some time, then returned and lived with my grandmothers,” recalls Peskov. He graduated from high school at Moscow English special school No. 1243. The grandson of the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin Jr., and the daughter of Lukoil vice-president Leonid Fedun later studied at the same school.
After graduating from school in 1983, Peskov decided to follow in his father’s footsteps: “He has been involved in the Arab world all his life, and I did not see myself outside of it.” However, he did not enter the Institute of Asian and African Countries (ISAA), which his father also graduated from at one time. He was not very lucky a year later either: Peskov did not get the required number of points to have the right to choose the language and country of study. As a result, he was assigned to a Turkish group, and not to an Arab one, as he had dreamed of. And this was almost a tragedy for him.
After ISAA, he wanted to work in the Moscow representative office of one of the Turkish newspapers: “But my father, having learned that I wanted to work for a foreign media outlet, looked at me very harshly. As a result, I was invited to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” My father was already working there at that time.
It is known that ISAA has always been a source of personnel for the Soviet intelligence services. First of all, the First Main Directorate of the KGB (foreign intelligence) selected its employees here. Did they try to recruit Peskov? He smiles: “Never. Maybe I wasn’t fit for health reasons.” It turns out that even in his first year he was drafted into the army (at that time deferments for students were canceled for a short time), but he did not serve even a year: he fell ill with pneumonia and was discharged with the wording “Fit in wartime.”
After graduation, Peskov wanted to work in the Moscow representative office of one of the Turkish newspapers: “But my father, having learned that I wanted to work for a foreign media outlet, looked at me very harshly.”
A year before the collapse of the USSR, Peskov found himself in the Soviet embassy in Ankara: his first position was as an assistant, then as an attache, then as the third secretary of the embassy. How did the embassy survive August 1991? It was not as tragic as it was in East Germany, where his future boss, KGB Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Putin, ended his career, but there was little pleasure either: “Nobody understood - are we still an embassy of the USSR or just Russia?” In 1994, Peskov returned to Moscow to leave again for Ankara in 1996 - until 1999. What did you do for two years between Turkish business trips? Peskov himself claims that he worked in the central office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But there is another version. Former GRU officer and intelligence historian Boris Volodarsky in his book “KGB Poison Factory: From Lenin to Litvinenko” suggested that during this period Dmitry Peskov could have graduated from the Academy of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). “Afterwards he took the post of first secretary of the embassy in Turkey - this is a typical position for an Socialist Revolutionary Socialist Party member,” Volodarsky told The New Times. “But that’s just my guess.” Volodarsky also said that several years ago, while in Vienna, he personally saw Peskov, and his style of behavior also reminded him of an SVR employee: “They are very confident in themselves and feel their strength, because the state stands behind them. And they lie calmly and cheerfully - that’s how it works.”
Dmitry Peskov salts tomatoes at his friends' dacha. October 2013
The Kremlin after the Foreign Ministry
How did Peskov end up working in the presidential administration? On this score, The New Times correspondent heard three versions. They all start the same way: in November 1999, the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) summit was held in Istanbul, where Russian President Boris Yeltsin came. Peskov, as the first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Ankara, participated in the preparations for the visit. Together with Yeltsin, the then head of the press service of the presidential administration, Alexei Gromov, also a former Soviet intelligence officer, came to Turkey. Gromov is seven years older than Peskov, worked under the roof of the Foreign Ministry - in the 80s in Czechoslovakia, in the first half of the 90s - at the Russian Embassy in Slovakia. Gromov is said to have been brought into the Kremlin administration by Sergei Yastrzhembsky, who was Boris Yeltsin’s press secretary for two years. So - this is an introductory one, then the testimonies of the interlocutors diverge.
The first story, the most laconic, belongs to Peskov himself: “Before the president’s visit, a large preparatory group arrived - employees of the administration and security service. I was assigned to Alexei Gromov. After this visit, I was invited to work in the administration.”
The second story - a heroic one - was told by Peskov’s friend Oleg Mitvol, former deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor and ex-prefect of the Northern Administrative District of Moscow: “Dmitry Sergeevich acted as a translator for Boris Yeltsin during that summit. And he did everything possible to prevent the Turkish president from understanding what state and mood Boris Nikolayevich was in - in fact, the president said one thing, and Peskov translated something else in order to save the negotiations. Of course, after that he was noticed and invited to the administration.”
Finally, version three. An active diplomat working in one of the Eastern European countries told The New Times on condition of anonymity:
“I heard some things about Peskov from my colleagues, but I can judge some things based on established diplomatic traditions. So, any embassy dreams of getting a visit from the president or prime minister. And when Yeltsin arrived in Ankara, Peskov apparently worked very closely with the delegation from the administration. In our language, this means fulfilling all the whims of the guests: baskets of whiskey and cognac in the rooms, stores with crystal and fur coats, chic restaurants and nightclubs... And then you had to make friends with someone from the delegation - and for Peskov, such a person, apparently, became Gromov. Many of us are trying to break into the administration using this scheme.”
Be that as it may, Peskov was going to join Yeltsin’s administration, but ended up with Putin: he was supposed to return to Russia immediately after the New Year, 2000, but on December 31, 1999, the first president of Russia resigned.
In 2000, when Vladimir Putin took over the presidency, Alexei Gromov became his press secretary. Peskov received the position of head of the media relations department of the Press Service Directorate, and then became Gromov’s deputy. During Putin's first two terms, he voiced the position of the head of state for foreign media, organized press conferences and direct lines for the president.
In 2006, on the eve of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, it became known that the Russian government had hired the American PR company Ketchum to improve the country's image abroad. The conclusion of contracts was supervised by Peskov. “Then an anti-Russian campaign began in foreign media. In addition, the information landscape began to change rapidly with the advent of social networks and online media. We needed modern technologies that would be understandable to Western analysts, readers and journalists to convey our positions. It was decided to use the services of information consultants, as all countries do,” explains Peskov.
In April 2012, a book by English journalist Angus Roxborough, who until 2009 worked at Ketchum and advised Putin’s press service, was published in Russia. In the book, Roxborough said that PR people from Ketchum organized press conferences for members of the Russian government abroad, prepared draft public appearances for ministers and the president, did press reviews and drew up short-term PR strategies. They also trained the presidential press service to work with Western media.
The New Times contacted Angus Roxborough, who answered the magazine's questions in writing about working with Dmitry Peskov. “I think Gromov understood that Peskov - with his brilliant English and courteous manners - was much better suited to working with foreign journalists than himself. Nevertheless, Peskov invariably emphasized his subordination to Gromov,” says Roxborough. He personally conducted several trainings with Peskov: he explained what to say and how to behave correctly in front of a television camera. “First of all, I needed to work on Peskov’s habit of expressing himself too verbosely. Soon he began to express his thoughts more succinctly, concentrating on getting the main message out at the beginning of the answer to the question. I emphasized that we need to try to predict journalists’ questions and prepare answers in advance. It seems to me that he has reeled it all in.”
Comparing Peskov to foreign press secretaries, Roxborough noted that Peskov "could never understand how to inform journalists 'off the record'" and missed the chance to establish close relationships with Western journalists who could theoretically provide a more positive reflection of Putin's policies in MASS MEDIA. “To do this, one would have to decide to let journalists in on some real secrets. Secrets that, for example, could explain why Putin made some controversial decisions, says Roxborough. “But Peskov doesn’t do this, and as a result we never have the slightest idea of what’s going on inside the Russian leadership.”
Dmitry Peskov with his daughter Lisa at a social event. Moscow, October 2013
Rain Man"
Dmitry Peskov became Vladimir Putin's press secretary after the second president of Russia became prime minister in May 2008, entrusting the Kremlin to Dmitry Medvedev. Gromov decided that he would be more comfortable in the Kremlin, and did not follow Putin to the White House (which, as they say, caused Putin’s displeasure).
Why did Putin choose Peskov?
“Gromov is one of the figures in Putin’s vertical,” says a source in the presidential administration. And he lists: “access to the body” was achieved through Gromov (“and this used to be one of the financial flows,” explains the source), he was actively involved in the media business, personally supervised some projects (for example, the creation of the Russia Today TV channel) and tried to form an internal information politics, partly getting into the field of the then deputy head of the Kremlin administration Vladislav Surkov. Representatives of the country's main media attended meetings with Gromov - “and still do,” interlocutors of The New Times add.
“That is, Gromov is such a serious, big man under Putin,” sums up a source in the administration. - And every word he said was worth a lot. Now we are in the era of press secretaries. Look, the main newsmakers are the mouthpiece of the Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, and Dmitry Peskov, who almost daily comments on everything: from serious issues in the field of domestic and foreign policy to rumors about the personal life of the president. This didn’t happen under Gromov.”
Political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky also agrees that Gromov and Peskov are a reflection of the change in style of Putin himself. In his opinion, at first Putin, the elected president largely thanks to television channels, was afraid to openly play with the media: that’s why he had the monolithic, impenetrable Gromov with him. “But when Putin made sure that journalists are people who look into his mouth and write any crap he tells them, another era began,” says Belkovsky. - She corresponds to the light and cottony Peskov, who is not afraid to come to the Dozhd TV channel and honestly say that the plot with the extraction of amphorae from the bottom of the Black Sea was staged. And the roof of the Kremlin did not collapse because of this.”
Well, besides, Gromov, unlike Peskov, allows himself to play independently: he is on friendly terms with billionaire Alisher Usmanov; Gromov’s most important partner in the media business is also considered to be the recently appointed (not without Gromov’s participation) general director of Gazprom-Media, Mikhail Lesin, whose first step was the expansion of the media empire of the members of the Ozero cooperative, the Kovalchuk brothers (see The New Times No. 40 of 2.12. 2013)
Peskov, on the other hand, is much more modest, which Putin is said to appreciate.
The editor-in-chief of the Russia Today TV channel, Margarita Simonyan, who was part of the Kremlin pool from 2002 to 2005, told The New Times that, according to her observations, the work of the press service under Peskov has not changed much - many of those who were and are still working there under Gromov. Except that the press secretary himself is now a more public figure.
Journalists from the current presidential pool, who spoke on condition of anonymity, note that Gromov behaved with reporters as a high-ranking official behaved with clerks. Some newcomers from among foreign correspondents often mistook him for a minister and were terribly surprised when they were informed that this was in fact the press secretary of the first person. The “Pulovites” speak much more warmly about Peskov: Peskov is more liberal, and behaves more simply, and understands that journalists need to convey something to their editorial offices - he comes up and tells. He “humanized” Putin: information became available to journalists about some aspects of the president’s personal life - his hobbies, love of animals, sports interests. “Gromov didn’t like that,” the Kremlin pool journalist concluded the story.
Son plays the piano, father gets on the nerves of journalists, 2012.
"No show-off"
In a conversation with a correspondent of The New Times, Dmitry Peskov paused twice - in the sense of not rushing to answer. The first question asked about his personal political views and how they have changed over time. After thinking, Peskov said that he was not a member of the Communist Party, he sympathized with Gorbachev during perestroika, but the collapse of the USSR was “absolutely unacceptable” for him. He refused to talk about Yeltsin. He admitted his sympathies for the LDPR, but did not confirm the words of Vladimir Zhirinovsky that Peskov was a member of his party. But he didn’t deny it either.
The second awkward moment arose when a correspondent for The New Times asked Peskov about his family. He answered: he has three children - a 16-year-old daughter and two sons, one 10, the other 4.5 years old.
But he flatly refused to talk about his wife. He said that, like Putin, he does not want to disclose the details of his personal life. By the way, lately, as the “Pulovites” have noticed, Peskov has not been wearing a wedding ring, although he used to wear one.
However, something is known about his wife. Ekaterina Solotsinskaya (they met in Turkey) is also the daughter of a diplomat, Vladimir Solotsinsky - he was the Russian Ambassador to Macedonia until 2010. (By the way, Peskov’s father, Sergei Peskov, is still in the diplomatic service - ambassador to Oman.)
The Peskovs have several apartments. Two are registered to the wife (56 and 57 sq. m.), one - 140 sq. m. m - for a wife and two children. Another one - 111.7 sq. m - belongs to Peskov himself. It's funny, but in 2012, Vladimir Putin's press secretary earned more than his patron - 6.36 million rubles against Putin's 5.8 million. Peskov's wife received 4.8 million in the same year. According to SPARK-Interfax, Ekaterina Solotsinskaya has shares in the companies “Kale” (hairdressers and beauty salons) and “Mincom” (specialized trade in watches and jewelry). By the way, her partner in the second business is Oleg Mitvol’s wife Lyudmila.
“Peskov, with his brilliant English and courteous manners, was much more suited to working with foreign journalists than Gromov.”
According to the declaration, the Peskov family has only one car - a Mercedes Benz G500 (worth approximately 5.4 million rubles). But Peskov’s acquaintances say that he himself, as a rule, uses a company car.
Oleg Mitvol, who has been friends with Peskov for about ten years, understandably speaks of him in superlatives: “He has no show-offs. And he is a true friend: when I was fired from the civil service, not all of my friends supported me, but he not only called, but also came.” However, there is no doubt that Peskov knows perfectly well the rules of the game of the corporation to which he himself belongs. “It is clear that Putin would not keep a stranger so close to him,” noted a source on Old Square.
Peskov lives according to Vladimir Putin’s schedule, accompanying the president at all public events and on all trips. He sleeps little - about five hours. Goes to the gym three times a week. The last book I read was “Unholy Saints” by Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), who is considered Putin’s confessor. He enjoys going to cinemas, but rarely - he mostly watches films on his iPad on planes. “The last thing I watched was some kind of American trash about ghouls,” Peskov smiles.
But close work with Vladimir Putin is not in vain. “Peskov is an excellent press secretary in the sense that when he speaks, you feel like you are really hearing Putin’s thoughts,” says Angus Roxborough. - The negative side of this is that he sometimes starts to sound as rude and cruel as Putin. When he started talking about smearing the livers of demonstrators on the asphalt (I have no doubt that this was an off-the-record statement), I wanted to say: Dmitry, leave the dubious black humor to your boss, your job is to clean up after him, not add dirt "
Photos: provided by the press service of the presidential administration, Oleg Mitvol, Valery Levitin/RIA Novosti, Alexander Miridonov/Kommersant, from the VKontakte page
We are already accustomed to the fact that some news is told to us by Putin’s press secretary (or the Investigative Committee), and we don’t even think about the essence of this profession. What kind of education do you need to get to become a press secretary, what responsibilities does a person have to perform in this position? We will tell you in detail about the profession and its famous representatives.
Profession: press secretary
In the most general sense, a spokesperson is a person who represents a company or official in the media. For Russia, this is a very young profession; it appeared only in the 90s of the 20th century, when the country switched to a market economic model. In Western countries, the profession has existed since the 40s of the last century, when marketing communications and the mass media system began to take shape. A representative of this profession combines journalistic and advertising principles and is an intermediary between the public and the company represented. He manages the image and information field of the organization in which he works. Representatives in the media are needed by every company that is working to create its image, as well as by people in public professions: show business stars, politicians, top managers.
Functions of a press secretary
In many companies, managers have a hard time understanding what a press secretary should do. They are trying to place a variety of responsibilities and functions on his shoulders: from solving marketing problems to organizing events. A press secretary is a person who performs various functions related to the formation of the image of a company or person. In this case, all functions can be combined into three large groups:
- conductor of the line of behavior and socially significant position of a company or individual;
- mediation in the interaction of journalists, the public and the company, the press secretary, by providing certain information, creates a communication field around the company, manages its perception by target groups;
- protection and correction of negative ideas and stereotypes about the company, leveling out negative events and erroneous actions of the manager.
Responsibilities
As part of their functions, the press secretary has to perform very different responsibilities. Each company may, depending on its specifics, assign a different amount of job tasks to an employee. Since the press secretary is a person involved in establishing contacts with the media, the first large group of his responsibilities lies in this area. He must provide materials for journalistic publications, write press releases about events in the company, prepare and proofread interviews, and respond to requests from newspapers and television channels.
This specialist monitors publications about the company and submits reports to his boss on the current image in the press. Also on his shoulders lie the functions of organizing the leader’s speeches, preparing press conferences, and interviews. Often in small companies, this specialist fills the website with news and maintains accounts on social networks. He is also responsible for the image of the company and its leader, prepares articles that form a positive image of the organization, and conducts image conferences. The press secretary organizes the participation of the manager in significant events, prepares the texts of his speeches, and helps answer questions. Usually he also has to do photography and participate in the preparation of promotional materials.
Qualities of a press secretary
Since a press secretary is a profession that requires constant contact with a large number of people, his main quality is communication skills. He must also be able to write and speak well. Oratory skills are the most important requirement for people in this specialty. The traditional set of qualities required for a good press secretary also includes responsibility, initiative, and punctuality. He must be an attentive and reserved person, because to some extent the entire organization is judged by him. And, of course, such a specialist must be professionally trained and well educated.
Where do they train to be a press secretary?
A press secretary is a profession that requires a variety of skills and abilities, so people with several types of education can be successful in it. Firstly, this is a special education in the field of “Advertising and Public Relations”. Some universities in their programs focus on training PR specialists and produce high-quality press secretaries. Secondly, there are a lot of journalists involved in the profession. Since the responsibilities of a press secretary include a large amount of work with texts, it is not surprising that it is representatives of the writing fraternity who become successful in this path.
For the same reason, philologists who can write texts of any type often enter the profession. As is often the case in advertising, press secretaries come from people with very different backgrounds. Thus, there are many specialists in international relations, lawyers and economists.
Notable press secretaries
All public organizations and many famous people have media relations specialists. We are already accustomed to the fact that news is broadcast with reference to the statements of press secretaries, and their faces constantly appear on television screens. The most famous specialist in this field, of course, is the press secretary of the President of Russia. In addition to him, the general public is well known to the representative of the Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin, the head of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Moscow, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova, and the media representative of the Rosneft company Mikhail Leontyev.
This list alone allows you to see how different functions and powers can be vested in people of this profession: from a simple statement of the company’s position to an independent media figure with his own ideas and sphere of authority.
Representative of the country's first person: responsibilities
Most often we hear statements from the Presidential Representative, who is one of the main newsmakers in the country. The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation has a large number of responsibilities. It is he who is entrusted with the rights to voice the position of the country’s leader on various issues. Also, of course, the employee prepares press conferences and speeches of the President. We can see that the press secretary accompanies the head of state at all official events, helping him, if necessary, answer questions. He is responsible for ensuring that the President is aware of everything that is happening in the world and in the country.
The press secretary prepares special selections of publications from the media and makes digests of the most important things. Of course, he himself cannot write all the press releases; an entire service works under his leadership. But no news can see the light of day until it is approved by the press secretary. He bears great responsibility for the image of the head of state, and he is responsible for every word that the President utters publicly. This specialist prepares texts for speeches by the leader of the country, and they must be absolutely organic for the speaker.
Press secretaries of the President of the Russian Federation: career and personality
Over the 25-year history of the existence of this profession in Russia, we have seen several professionals next to the country's leaders. Not all of them were well remembered by the public, but some were very bright independent figures. Thus, Boris Yeltsin’s former press secretary Sergei Yastrzhembsky spoke very prominently in the media and did not leave journalism after finishing his career in the Kremlin. It is also worth remembering Presidential Aide Dmitry Medvedev, who, upon completion of her service in this capacity, became a successful official in the Presidential Administration.
Less well-known, but no less significant, were the media relations specialists under the country’s leader: Andrei Grachev, Alexey Yakushkin, Sergei Medvedev. Each of them, after finishing working with the head of state, made a good career in various fields: from business to journalism and diplomacy.
Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov
Who is now the intermediary between the country's first person and the media? Today's press secretary of Putin, whose biography is the object of observation by journalists, Dmitry Peskov, came to the profession from diplomacy. He is an orientalist by education and knows several languages. Once he had the opportunity to translate speeches for B. Yeltsin at a meeting with the Turkish government. After V. Putin’s appointment as head of the country in 2000, Dmitry Peskov became the new press secretary. Later, he ceded this position to A. Gromov for some time, becoming his deputy. Over the course of 16 years, Peskov has grown into an independent figure with his own image. In fact, he is the Deputy Head of the Cabinet of Ministers and Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation.