Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's interview for the Tonight. Yuri Nikolayev. 50 Years on Air television programme, Moscow, November 1, 2025
1 November 2025 20:20
1845-01-11-2025
Question: What do the Foreign Minister and presenter Yuri Nikolayev have in common?
Sergey Lavrov: To put it immodestly, we are both good people. We share a similar outlook on life. We have many mutual friends. Why assume diplomats cannot share interests with those from the world of arts? This has always been the case. One needs only look to the Soviet era for numerous instances of personnel forging friendships with artists, singers, poets, and television hosts.
It is invariably a pleasure to converse with Yuri Nikolayev. I recall when we knew him only through his television persona. Subsequently, a chance encounter led to our personal acquaintance, and we have maintained regular contact since.
Question: He hosted the Morning Mail show for 16 years and the Morning Star show for 12 years - through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. On screen, he led entertainment programmes. In your view, how crucial was it that these programmes retained their positive tone even during the country's most challenging periods?
Sergey Lavrov: Exceptionally so. I believe this approach - this very tone - fundamental to this genre of television programming.
Reflecting societal shifts is another vital function of television and mass media. However, that responsibility falls to political commentators and analysts, for whom dedicated programmes exist. What Yuri Nikolayev hosted were kind, sincere broadcasts, oriented towards family and children. They were instrumental, in my assessment, in preserving a spirit of goodwill within our nation, a spirit that must endure regardless of political circumstances. Moreover, this is of profound importance in safeguarding our country's traditions.
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