Wjatscheslaw Pichowschek
Date of Birth: 13.09.1966
Place of Birth. Education. Born in the city of Talne in the Cherkassy region. In 1990, he graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. During his studies, he interned at the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University (1988), at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Leipzig (1989), and at the University of Connecticut (1996).
Career. In political journalism since 1988. Pichowschek is considered an innovator of Ukrainian political talk shows.
Since 1995, he has been the author and host of the political talk show 'Fifth Corner' on the 1+1 channel.
In March 1998, he was one of the authors and hosts of the political show '5x5', which was dedicated to the parliamentary elections.
Since 1998, he has been hosting the live show 'Vote', which became a continuation and logical follow-up to the show '5x5'.
From 1999 to January 2005, he was the author and host of the programs 'Epicenter' and 'Epicenter-Debates'. During this time, Pichowschek was also the editor-in-chief of the 'Television News Service' (TCH) of the 1+1 channel.
From January 2005 to June 2006, he was co-host of the show 'Come In' (his partner was journalist Olga Gerasymyuk, who is now a member of the Ukrainian parliament for the Our Ukraine - People's Defense bloc).
From September 2006 to June 2008, he hosted the show 'Epicenter'.
In February 2009, he was dismissed from the 1+1 TV channel.
From May 2009 to December 2013, he was an author at 'Lb.ua'.
Since 2016, he has been a member of the Reasonable Power party and a columnist for 'The Economist' website.
Since 2017, he has been hosting his own shows 'Chronicles of the Day', 'Chronicles of the Week', 'Epicenter' (after a 10-year hiatus under the title 'Epicenter of Ukrainian Politics') and 'Fifth Corner' (revived as 'Fifth Corner. Development') on the NewsOne channel. The show on the channels NewsOne, ZIK, and 112 Ukraine was blocked on February 2, 2021, by order of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy upon the decision of the National Security and Defense Council due to the anti-European activities of its owners, Viktor Medvedchuk and Taras Kozak.
Awards. Honored Journalist of Ukraine. In 1999, he was awarded the 'Prometheus Prestige' prize when 'Epicenter' was named the best television program of the year.
Views and Evaluations. Wjatscheslaw Pichowschek is a well-known and popular journalist with a controversial reputation. He is praised for his skills as an analyst and host but criticized for his political engagement. In particular, during the 'orange revolution', media experts and ordinary viewers accused him of presenting events in a biased manner, distorting facts, and making other serious journalistic mistakes.
At the same time, the journalist openly admits that it was a mistake to go to the Maidan in 2004. He does not hide the fact that he was part of the team of President Leonid Kuchma, whose task was to defeat Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the presidential elections. Two years later, Wjatscheslaw Pichowschek said in an interview with 'Glavred': 'Perhaps I made a mistake by going until the end, yes, I admit that... To not disappoint my friends, my partners, I should have gone until the end.'
On Income. In 2003-2004, at the peak of his career and popularity, Wjatscheslaw Pichowschek, as some media reported, was perhaps the highest-paid journalist in Ukraine, with earnings measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
His personal car collection includes several renowned 'four-wheeled' - a couple of 'Mercedes', 'Toyota Land Cruiser'... He does not drive himself but uses the services of a driver. Collecting wines, some of which are worth several thousand euros per bottle, is considered the journalist's hobby. For this, he even built a special wine cellar.
About his financial status, he says: 'I do not consider myself rich. And I know very well that I am not the richest among journalists...'
12.09.2022