Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko: biography and photos

Modern Russian journalism is going through hard times. On the information scene there are not so many people who are respected by the thinking part of the society. The brighter exceptions on this background look. Let's take a closer look at the personality of independent military journalist Arkady Babchenko.

Facts from biography

The future military correspondent Arkady Babchenko was born in 1977 in an intelligent Moscow family. Of decisive importance in his future destiny was the call in 1995 for active military service. This coincided with the beginning of the first Chechen war, to which he was destined to become a party. In the second Chechen war Arkady Babchenko took part in the status of a contractor. He served in motorized rifle troops, later as a commander in the calculation of a grenade launcher. In the reserve dismissed in the rank of guard sergeant. But in the interval between the two Chechen campaigns he managed to graduate from the Law Faculty with a Bachelor's Degree in International Law. He began to work as a military observer in a number of central publications and on television. I was engaged in literary work.

Arkady Babchenko, books about the war

The author of books about the Chechen wars says that he started writing so as not to just go crazy with the emotions and memories that have accumulated in the soul. About a bloodbath in the North Caucasus and lawlessness in the deep rear. Perhaps the author did not count on the noisy success of his works, nevertheless he followed. The readers of the periodicals did not neglect the materials, the author of which was Arkady Babchenko. Reviews about them came in the editorial office in large numbers, the reading public was waiting for the continuation. And the author did not deceive her expectations. In total, based on materials about the Chechen wars, Arkady Babchenko published three books: "Ten series about the war," "God's man," and "Alkhan-Yurt." But he did not intend to limit himself to literary activity alone.

South Ossetia

Two Chechen wars were not the last for the young writer. But Arkady Babchenko, a journalist, is already taking part in the armed conflict in August 2008 in South Ossetia. He does not want to take up arms anymore and is present at the forefront only with a camera and a laptop. The reports and images of the independent correspondent had a significant resonance and were widely replicated both in the virtual space and in the mass media of many countries around the world. The image of this war in public opinion was largely shaped as Arkady Babchenko, a journalist from Novaya Gazeta, saw her. And this picture strongly disagreed with the idea of it, which was imposed by official propaganda.

Opposition politician

After the war in Georgia, Arkady Babchenko goes recklessly to public and political activities. In the information space, he acts as an independent journalist and blogger. His sharp publicistic materials about Russian reality find a lively response from readers, constantly cause clashes of conflicting opinions. For several years, his texts have come to the forefront in the rating of citation, and their author has become the leader of public opinion. In the late autumn of 2011, after the election of the State Duma was falsified, public activity was being thrown out onto the streets of the capital. Arkady Babchenko at this time was in the forefront of the opposition and actively participated in organizing protest protests. One of his most extravagant ideas was the proposal to use snow-removing machinery in confrontation with the authorities. For the call for mass riots, the author of this idea was awarded a criminal case. It is not closed to this day.

Kiev Maydan and the war in the east of Ukraine

Revolutionary events in Kiev in the winter of 2014, of course, could not leave the military journalist indifferent. At Kiev's Independence Square, Arkady Babchenko attended all three months, while there was a confrontation with the authorities. Without hiding his sympathies for the insurgent Ukrainian people, the journalist did not take weapons into hands. Even when he was in the hottest spots, such as the shooting of an advanced detachment on Institutskaya Street on February 20, the camera was in the hands of the reporter. During the day, he several times left the air from the very center of events and published reports in the virtual space. After the victory of the revolution on the Maidan, the lull in Ukraine did not last very long. In early summer of 2014, a bloody war broke out in the east of Ukraine. And the military correspondent Arkady Babchenko is again in its epicenter. As usual, he climbs into the very heat. At the front, the reporter is present from the armed forces of Ukraine. And by coincidence, he was almost killed by the Ukrainian military. Already on his return to Russia, he was heavily beaten and threatened with execution, mistaking him for a spy. After all that has happened to him, the journalist does not intend to renounce his specialization in the field of military reportage. And all costs consider absolutely natural and carry them to the sphere of professional risks.

Arkady Babchenko, "The War"

A significant event in Russian literary life was the publication of the book by Arkady Babchenko "War." This happened in the current year 2015. The book in the genre of documentary prose with interest is accepted by both simple readers and a significant part of literary criticism. The basis of the compilation was previously published materials on the daily realities of the Chechen war. But they are supplemented by today's comments and reflections, in which the author makes an attempt to reinterpret old events in a new way. An unconditional semantic core of the narrative is the furious aversion of the author of war as such. And his thoughts Arkady Babchenko learned to expound very lucidly. Those who read carefully his book may for a long time disappear the desire to go to any war and directly take part in the events depicted in it. Previous books by Babchenko were translated into foreign languages and published in significant numbers in many countries around the world. There is no doubt that the "War" will also be read.