Veteran Soviet-Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner is set to return to state television more than two years after his long-running program was taken off the air following Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian media reported Wednesday.Pozner, 90, had hosted his weekly interview show Pozner on Channel One since 2008, but it was canceled shortly after the February 2022 invasion.
He laterclaimed Channel One pulled the program in order to make room for war coverage.Although Pozner has not publicly taken a stance on Russias invasion, he has suggested that Western refusal to block Ukraines NATO ambitions played a role in the conflicts escalation.Channel One head Konstantin Ernst announced Monday that the networks fall season lineup would include Pozners new show, Turkish Notebook, as reported by the RBC business news outlet.Pozner said in an interview with Forbes Russia last week that his production team completed an eight-episode documentary series on Turkey, which they submitted for Ernsts approval.Unlike his former interview program, which had featured guests from former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to current Russian Security Council Head Dmitry Medvedev, Pozners new project appears to steer clear of political issues, similar to hislive events across Europe this year, co-hosted by former late-night talk show host Ivan Urgant.In the Forbes interview, Pozner said he had received offers to work abroad if he denounced President Vladimir Putin and spoke out on Russian politics.
He declined, stating that such actions are not journalism, but something else entirely.Pozner gained international recognition during the Cold War for his TV appearances, where he often explained Soviet policies and viewpoints to Western audiences.
During Perestroika, he hostedtelevised discussionsbetween audiences in the Soviet Union and the United States together with American journalistPhil Donahue, who passed away last month.