Kseniya Sobchak

Ksenija Sobchak • Ksenia Sobchak • Xenia Sobchak

Ksenia Anatolyevna Sobchak (Russian: Ксения Анатольевна Собчак, IPA: ['ksʲenʲɪjə ɐnɐ'tolʲjɪvnə sɐpˈt͜ɕak]; born 5 November 1981) is a Russian journalist, media manager, television personality, and former politician. She is the younger daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg and one of Vladimir Putin's mentors, and Senator Lyudmila Narusova. Sobchak b...

Ksenia Anatolyevna Sobchak (Russian: Ксения Анатольевна Собчак, IPA: ['ksʲenʲɪjə ɐnɐ'tolʲjɪvnə sɐpˈt͜ɕak]; born 5 November 1981) is a Russian journalist, media manager, television personality, and former politician. She is the younger daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg and one of Vladimir Putin's mentors, and Senator Lyudmila Narusova. Sobchak became known to the wider public as the host of the TNT reality show Dom-2. She later became an anchor at the independent television channel TV Rain. Sobchak was the Civic Initiative's candidate for the 2018 Russian presidential election. From 2020 to 2021, she co-hosted the television talk show Dok-Tok with Alexander Gordon on Channel One. Currently, Sobchak leads her own independent media holding, Ostorozhno Media, which includes a network of popular Telegram channels and her YouTube journalism project "Ostorozhno: Sobchak". Sobchak is the second daughter of the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak, and Lyudmila Narusova, a Russian politician. Sobchak has described herself as being of part‑Jewish heritage. Sobchak also revealed that she and her family had experienced antisemitism. As a child, Sobchak attended the ballet school attached to the Mariinsky Theatre. She also attended the Hermitage Museum art school. In 1998, Sobchak left the school attached to Herzen University and enrolled at Saint Petersburg State University (Department of International Relations). In 2001, Sobchak moved to Moscow and enrolled in the International Relations programme at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Entertainment career Television Sobchak became famous in 2004 as a host of the reality show Dom-2. She left the show in 2012 because the show's lowbrow orientation had become incongruent with her political activism. From 2008 to 2010, Sobchak was a host of the reality shows Who Does NOT Want to Be a Millionaire?, Last Hero‑6, Sweet Life of a Blonde, the Muz‑TV Awards, and Two Stars. In 2010, Sobchak became a host of the television programme Freedom of Thought on the state‑run Channel 5. She soon left the programme because, according to her, it had turned into a never‑ending discussion of public utilities maintenance. In 2011, Sobchak hosted the programme Sobchak Live on the independent channel TV Rain and became the host of Top Model po-russki on Muz-TV. In 2012, she appeared in the television series Brief Guide To A Happy Life. On 7 September 2012, MTV Russia launched a talk show, GosDep (State Department) with Ksenia Sobchak. The show aimed to cover hot social and political issues. The first episode, titled 'Where Is Putin Leading Us?', featured interviews with the head of Left Front, Sergei Udaltsov; a member of the 'Solidarnost' (Solidarity) movement, Ilya Yashin; and the eco‑activist Yevgeniya Chirikova. The show was cancelled after one episode. The second episode would have included an interview with the anti‑corruption blogger Alexei Navalny. MTV Russia representatives said the show was cancelled because of a lack of interest in politics among the channel's audience. Sobchak served as editor‑in‑chief of L'Officiel Russia from 2014 to 2018. Film Sobchak acted in the comedies Hitler Goes Kaput!, Rzhevsky Versus Napoleon, The Best Movie, and Entropiya. Sobchak also acted in the film Thieves and Prostitutes. Music In 2007, Sobchak recorded the song 'Dance with Me' (Потанцуй со мной) with the Russian rapper Timati, as well as a music video. Russian media at the time attributed a relationship between Sobchak and Timati. Annual income According to Forbes magazine, in 2021 Sobchak was the seventh highest‑paid celebrity in Russia. She has been ranked as high as fourth (in 2010) and as low as 15th (in 2016) among Russian celebrities. Her income in 2017 was approximately US$2.1 million. The main source of this annual revenue is advertising contracts. Euroset It was reported that Sobchak sold her ownership stake in Euroset for $2.3 million in December 2012. Other Around the time of her interview with Valērijs Kargins in Riga, she and Oksana Robski (Russian: Оксана Робски) released the perfume Married to a Millionaire (Russian: Zамуж за миллионера). On 28 December 2008, Sobchak was on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to New York City when she and other passengers determined that the pilot was drunk before take‑off. Sobchak phoned Aeroflot, who replaced the flight deck crew. In 2009, Russia's Tatler magazine included her on its list of the most desirable single women in the country. The list was based on women's fortune and celebrity status. She is known across Russia as a socialite, TV host, and presenter. Sobchak was Russia's No. 1 'it girl', an analogue of Paris Hilton. Political background and activities Background Sobchak's father, Anatoly, had been both Vladimir Putin's and Dmitry Medvedev's law professor at Leningrad State University. He built a particularly close relationship with Putin, and in 1991 Anatoly helped launch Putin's career in politics when he was the mayor of Saint Petersburg. Putin later helped Anatoly flee Russia when he was wanted on corruption charges. According to the Moscow News, "Putin's reported affection for the Sobchak family is widely believed to give Ksenia Sobchak a protected status, which may also explain her boldness" – such as her encounter in October 2011 with Vasily Yakemenko, the controversial leader of the pro‑Kremlin Nashi youth movement, when she reprimanded him for eating at an expensive restaurant in Moscow and published a video of the encounter on the internet. "Everyone is Free!" At the end of March 2006, Sobchak rented a two‑storey mansion at 16 Arbat Street and convened a press conference to announce the creation of the youth movement 'Everyone is Free!' According to the television presenter, she was prompted to take this step by numerous letters in which fans of her work on Dom-2 shared their problems and experiences. Sobchak felt that political positions and opposition served only as a pretext for realising her ambitions and declared her movement non‑political, aimed at providing help and support to young people. Sobchak promised to fund 'Everyone is Free!' from her personal funds. The rented building on Arbat was hastily renovated and decorated in the movement's 'signature' colour of blue denim; it housed the movement's headquarters and a reception area for those wishing to join. The Izvestia newspaper conducted an online survey in which, after the press conference, users were asked about their desire to join Sobchak's movement. The results showed a lack of enthusiasm: of 2,133 respondents, only 6% expressed a desire to join for political reasons or sympathy for the leader, and 38% admitted that they did not know who Ksenia Sobchak was. After the first press conference, Sobchak stopped communicating with journalists for a month. On 7 July, she avoided participating in a debate with the leader of the youth branch of the Rodina party, Sergey Shargunov, at the Club on Brestskaya, which caused dissatisfaction among the youth politicians and journalists who attended the event. On 12 June, 'Everyone is Free!' declared itself with a street action dedicated to improving the square around the monument to Sergei Yesenin on Tverskoy Boulevard. Participants in the movement collected rubbish, painted benches and playgrounds on the boulevard, and Sobchak herself, in the presence of journalists and onlookers, wiped off a yellow bikini with a red heart drawn by an unknown vandal from the crotch of the Yesenin monument. According to local residents, on the morning of that day, there was no paint on the monument, and it appeared only before the event. The action ended with a small concert and fashion show on a stage near the monument. In early July, a 'club day' was held at the movement's headquarters. Sobchak made policy statements and issued club cards to the most active participants, providing free access to nightclubs, discounts, and other privileges. During the meeting, Sobchak gave a presentation on the goals and moral guidelines of the movement, in which two slides were occupied by the declared sponsors: Microsoft, Coca‑Cola, Russian Standard Bank, the Renaissance Capital investment bank, Lukoil, MegaFon, the Bilingua café‑club, and other companies. 'Club day' ended with a debate between the writers Oksana Robski and Sergey Minaev. At first, the movement was the cause of gossip in political circles: experts and young politicians tried to understand Sobchak's motivations. The political scientist and contemporary art collector Marat Gelman suggested that Sobchak might have set her sights on a political career in United Russia and was gathering her supporters ahead of the 2007 Russian legislative election. The head of Yabloko Youth, Ilya Yashin, doubted Sobchak's independence and shared with journalists his opinion that 'Everyone is Free!' could have been created to criticise the opposition with the approval of the Presidential Administration. The leader of the pro‑Kremlin Nashi movement, Vasily Yakemenko, doubted the Kremlin's involvement in the creation of the 'Everyone is Free!' movement: in his opinion, Sobchak could both be useful to the Presidential Administration and discredit the Russian authorities. Subsequently, the movement ceased any activity, and journalists mentioned Sobchak as the head of 'Everyone is Free!' only once – in the context of discussing the elections to the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg of the fourth convocation, which it considered fictitious, and the construction of the Okhta Centre skyscraper for Gazprom on the right bank of the Neva opposite the Smolny Cathedral. Russian presidential election, 2018 In September 2017, before she announced her intention to run, Putin said of Sobchak's presidential intentions at a press conference during the 9th BRICS summit: "Every person has the right to nominate himself in accordance with the law. And Ksenia Sobchak is no exception here. I respect her father Anatoly Sobchak; I believe that he was an outstanding figure in contemporary Russian history. I am saying this without a trace of irony. He was very decent and played a big role in my own destiny. But when it comes to running for the presidency, matters of a personal nature cannot play any significant role. It depends on what programme she is offering, if she actually runs, and how she builds her presidential campaign." Sobchak declared her candidacy for the 2018 Russian presidential election on 18 October 2017. Before announcing her intention to enter the presidential race in 2018, Sobchak discussed her intention personally with Putin. She said: "With Vladimir Vladimirovich, my family has been associated a great deal … so I felt it right to say that I had made such a decision." Putin, she said, told her that "every person has the right to make their own decisions and must be responsible for them". Sobchak was the Civic Initiative's candidate for the 2018 Russian presidential election. Some sceptics accused Sobchak of being a spoiler candidate intended to undermine Alexei Navalny; every recent presidential election has featured a prominent liberal candidate handpicked by the Kremlin. Other sceptics suspect that Sobchak's candidacy is mostly about building her brand. Sobchak did not believe she could win against Putin in 2018, but stated that she was in it for the long haul: "Of course I want to be president. I want to win, but I also want to be sincere. In a system created by Putin, it is only possible for Putin to win. I am realistic about who will become president." On 15 March 2018, Sobchak and Dmitry Gudkov announced the creation of a new party, called the Party of Changes, based on the Civic Initiative party. The aim of the party was to "return our freedom and your freedom". Sobchak won 1.68% of the vote in the 2018 presidential election. Flight from Russia On 26 O