KVN (Who Took the Property). Alexander Maslyakov: permanent and irreplaceable presenter of KVN Description of the appearance of Alexander Vasilyevich Maslyakov
The beginning of life and meeting with KVN
Maslyakov Alexander Vasilyevich was born on November 24, 1941 in Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg) in the family of a military pilot. His father Vasily Vasilyevich went through the entire war, and his mother Zinaida Alekseevna was a housewife and raised her son. Having spent a fair amount of time in garrisons, the parents settled in Moscow, where in 1960 the guy entered MITI, planning to become a railway engineer. 
He was lucky to be a student during the Khrushchev Thaw. At that time, KVN, the only youth entertainment program, was incredibly popular. By the way, the well-known abbreviation KVN was born in the communal apartment of one of the founders of the idea, Mikhail Muratov. His neighbor was Vladimir Vysotsky, who was interested in the “kitchen battles” of creative guys. It was he who suggested calling the program the Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful.
Maslyakov was a fanatical fan of his native MITI team. In 1964, KVN host Albert Axelrod was forced to leave, but recommended that the director appoint the smiling and charming Sasha Maslyakov in his place. Together with Svetlana Zhiltsova, they hosted the program until its closure in 1971. Alexander’s position then had an interesting name: he was called “commentator on the youth program.” Maslyakov received his specialized education at the Higher Courses for Television Workers a little later, in 1968.
After the closure of KVN, Maslyakov disappeared from the screens. This gave rise to constant rumors that he was given a sentence either for a criminal or for a political crime. In fact, Alexander Vasilyevich was then looking for something to do after 10 years of active creativity.
In KVN, he was no longer only the presenter, but also the editor of the issues and the “punching force”, because the obstacles of the artistic councils had to be overcome sometimes with superhuman efforts.
“I was constantly a “tester””
It must be said that organizing and running entertainment programs in the USSR was an unknown matter. None of those true pioneers of the genre had any experience or mentors. And Maslyakov was very often a pioneer or, as he himself liked to say, a “tester” of television projects - now he would simply be called a “showman.”Alexander Maslyakov in the program “Come on, girls!”
In the early 70s, a new program for the Ostankino youth editors called “Come on, girls!” appeared on television. In parallel with it, the “Virage” project was organized in the format of a competition or relay race between men’s teams. The program “Hello, we are looking for talents” was the prototype of the modern “Star Factory”. Entertainment programs that Soviet television did not indulge the audience with were overwhelmingly popular due to their originality. The whole country knew Maslyakov by sight, so every new program with his participation was simply “doomed” to success. For example, the organizer of “What? Where? When?" Vladimir Voroshilov invited Maslyakova to conduct the first broadcast. He was also the host of the first episode of the scandalous “Vzglyad”. It was only later that new generations came - from Vlad Listyev to Sergei Bodrov. Later, in 1989, together with Leonid Yakubovich, Alexander Maslyakov even hosted the first Miss USSR beauty contest.
Revival of KVN
In 1985, perestroika began in the USSR, which significantly weakened censorship and removed many ideological prohibitions. Already a seasoned television worker, Maslyakov initiated the revival of his favorite humorous program in the same format - a competition between student teams. Since 1986, a new report began in the life of the longest-running television project, as well as in the biography of its presenter and permanent artistic director. Alexander Vasilyevich prefers this particular formulation, avoiding the word “producer”, although, in fact, he is also involved in producing. 
Broadcasting is the visible part of the process, while the rest of Maslyakov’s work remains behind the scenes. In the late 80s, Alexander created the creative association “Amik”, which began to engage not only in holding KVN games, but also in the festival movement. It must be said that there is not a single television project in the post-Soviet space that would give a “start in life” to so many famous personalities and popular shows.
Alexander Maslyakov visiting Ivan Urgant
Members of the KVN jury at various times were Leonid Parfenov, Konstantin Ernst, Mikhail Efremov, Igor Vernik, Sergei Garmash, Gennady Khazanov and about a hundred other famous names. In 2016, the President of Russia
Alexander Maslyakov is a television journalist, permanent host of the humorous and entertainment program “KVN”, founder of the creative association “AMiK”.
The childhood of a future journalist
Alexander Vasilievich was born in the fall of 1941 in the Urals. He was brought up in a strict, intelligent family. The boy's father was a military man, his mother was a housewife. At school, Maslyakov studied well and was distinguished by diligent behavior. Since childhood, Alexander dreamed of becoming famous, but having received a matriculation certificate, he took a package of documents to MIIT.
Alexander Maslyakov in his youth
After graduating from college, Maslyakov worked in his profession for several years, but at some point he realized that this was not his path. In 1969, Alexander got a job at the Main Editorial Office of Programs for Youth, where he took the place of senior editor, and remained there for 7 years. Then he was transferred to another department to the position of special correspondent. In 1981, the young man moved to the Expert television studio.
Maslyakov came to television by accident, at the request of his friend, he became one of the 5 presenters of the KVN student program. Alexander liked the new image, he even thought about the author’s program. The first program of the modern version of the club of cheerful and resourceful people aired in 1961, but for a number of reasons it was closed after the second episode. The return of the project to television screens took place in 1965, Albert Axelrod became the host of the project, but 3 years later his place went to Maslyakov.
A messy start to work at KVN
For the first 7 years, the KVN program was broadcast exclusively live, but due to Soviet ideology and strict principles, this idea had to be abandoned. Subsequently, all episodes were strictly censored before being broadcast. Ultimately, it came to the point of absurdity: participants in the show were strictly forbidden to wear a beard, because it desecrated the image of Karl Marx. As a result of such ups and downs, the broadcast of KVN was completely stopped.
Alexander Maslyakov at the beginning of his career
In 1986, thanks to the captain of the MISI-60 team, the Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful returned to TV screens. Alexander Maslyakov continued to lead the project. In the new format, the program has become even more popular. It was played in schools, colleges, universities, and not only in the Soviet Union, but also abroad.
Alexander Maslyakov and Svetlana Zhiltsova
In 1990, Alexander decided to open his own project, which was called “AMiK”. It was this creative association that became a permanent sponsor of KVN games at various levels. Various entertainment programs began to be released under this label. Modern editions of the humorous battle are significantly different from Soviet editions, where participants could criticize the current government to smithereens.
Alexander Maslyakov managed the AMiK company
Maslyakov’s brainchild supports the policies of the current president, who has been repeatedly invited to the KVN finals. At the same time, Vladimir Putin did not refuse invitations, and made several return visits. In 2013, Alexander Vasilyevich handed over the reins of the AMiK company to his only son, whom the participants call San Sanych.
Alexander Maslyakov on the KVN stage
In addition to the KVN TV show, Maslyakov led such projects as: “Hello, we are looking for talents!”, “Come on guys!”, “12th Floor”, “Sense of Humor”. His work has been highly recognized by numerous prestigious awards.
Alexander Maslyakov and Vladimir Putin
Happy family man
Alexander met his wife Svetlana in 1966. She worked as an assistant director of the KVN program. For about 5 years, the young people met and got to know each other better. Then Maslyakov proposed marriage to his beloved girl, and they registered their marriage.
Alexander Maslyakov with his wife
In 1980, the Maslyakov family was replenished with the birth of their first child, son Alexander. The guy followed in the footsteps of his parents and graduated from MGIMO. In 2006, the son of the eminent presenter had a daughter, Taya, who also keeps up with her creative relatives. The girl has already tried herself as the host of a charity project dedicated to Children's Day.
Son of Alexander Maslyakov with his wife and daughter
In December 2017, Maslyakov Sr. found himself at the center of a scandal; he was accused of numerous frauds while working in the KVN project. This was the reason for the dismissal of Alexander Vasilyevich from the position of State Unitary Enterprise. The investigation was conducted by independent experts who forwarded the existing facts about corruption to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation.
Read about the lives of famous public figures
Alexander Maslyakov is one of the most famous TV presenters, producer, chief KVN player of Russia, born on November 24, 1941 in Sverdlovsk.
Childhood
Maslyakov’s childhood was during the difficult war years. His father, an air force officer, went to the front from the very first days of the war. All worries about the baby fell on the shoulders of the mother, who had a very difficult time. Fortunately, my father survived the fighting and returned home. A few years later, he was appointed to the country’s General Staff and moved his family to Moscow.
The mother devoted her entire life to her husband and son, trying to give the child a good education and all-round development. In high school, Alexander became interested in journalism, tried to write himself, and dreamed of working as a reporter. But at the insistence of his father, he chose a serious profession and entered the Transport Institute.
He graduated from the institute, but worked in his specialty for only a short time - a little more than a year. Already in his senior year, he simultaneously studied at the school of State Television workers and at the same time became interested in playing KVN. This determined the future fate of the future showman.
The KVN team game first appeared on Soviet television in 1961. According to the director's plan, it was supposed to be an analogue of the Czech comedy program. However, after the third episode it was closed, since the jokes of the participants touched on Soviet ideology.
But gradually it changed a little, and in this format three years later it returned to the screens and won the hearts of millions of television viewers.
Maslyakov began playing in his fourth year, immediately joining the main team of MIIT, which quickly became popular and often took first place in KVN tournaments. Once, as the winning team, they were asked to film a short program, and the captain gave the role of its host to Maslyakov. This work captured him so much that he decided to devote his life to television and KVN.
After completing the courses, Maslyakov left his job in his specialty and received a position in the Main Editorial Board of youth programs. At first he worked as a senior editor, then as a special correspondent, and later moved to the Experiment television studio, where he hosted a number of programs.
Maslyakov first appeared on the KVN stage as a presenter in 1964. Then his partner in the program was the already well-known television announcer Svetlana Zhiltsova. But she soon left the program, and since then Maslyakov has been the only and permanent host of the popularly beloved television program.
At first, KVN was filmed only on live broadcasts. But after several unsuccessful jokes from the participants, the program came under the close attention of State Security Service employees. Soon, live broadcasts were banned, and only the version of the program that was passed by strict Soviet censorship began to appear on screens. Naturally, greatly abbreviated. In 1971 the program was banned altogether.
AMiK
The program was revived during perestroika, when official censorship disappeared, and participants could say whatever they wanted from the stage. Veteran KVN player Maslyakov again became the guest host of the updated version of the program. After the first release of the program, everyone started talking about it again.
With my wife
Literally a year later, the KVN movement covered the entire country. What is noteworthy is that even after the collapse of the USSR, in an era of total crisis and shortage, the program continued to be published and only gained more popularity. She even saved some from depression - a nation that knows how to laugh at itself will never die.
Delighted by such interest in the program, Maslyakov decided to devote himself entirely to his favorite activity. He created the author's creative center "AMiK", which developed scripts and created new KVN programs. Now the participants not only performed on television, but also gave numerous concerts throughout the country, organized by Maslyakov’s company.
With son
Already in 1992, the program went beyond the CIS and acquired an international format. The first international game took place between the CIS and Israel teams. Later, teams from other countries joined the movement: the USA, Germany, and the former socialist camp. A little later, the annual Voting KIVIN festivals began to take place, gathering thousands of armies of KVN fans.
With pleasure
According to recent news reports, Alexander Maslyakov, who for many years headed the state unitary enterprise Planet KVN, resigned in early December 2017. According to the organization's press center, the departure of the head of the popular show from the post of general director was initiated by himself, back in the spring of this year.
The reason for this decision was the desire to bring his own work activity into compliance with the requirements of the legislation adopted in the Russian Federation. Now Alexander Vasilyevich Maslyakov, according to the latest news, will only host all episodes of the program, remaining the media face of the project, but will not be able to resolve property issues.
As has already been reported in all open sources of information, in the early fall of 2017, a scandal broke out due to Transparency International’s inspection of the activities of a unitary enterprise, which for many years had been managed by the firm hand of the founding father of a popular entertainment show.
Then this non-profit organization to identify corruption components in all unitary enterprises published documents indicating that the universally respected TV presenter was involved in a major fraud.
According to members of the inspection commission, the head of KVN transferred the rights to own the Havana cinema to the AMiK company, once founded by him. But according to the law, unitary non-profit organizations do not have the right to do this. Moreover, after Transparency International checked the permitting documents, it turned out that such a scam became possible with the approval of the capital’s mayor’s office. Members of the inspection organization had to contact the State Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation with a corresponding statement, which initiated a new collapse of all kinds of inspections.
Alexander Maslyakov was fired from the AMiK company
In other words, as the latest news reports, Alexander Vasilyevich Maslyakov Sr. sold the premises to himself.
As a result of the prosecutor's investigation, it turned out that the TV presenter was not involved in anything criminal, so the owner of KVN will not bear criminal liability.
His colleagues, who took part in the game as members of the jury, spoke in defense of the head of KVN. For example, Valdis Pelsh said in an interview with journalists that without Alexander Maslyakov, who was fired from the post of head of KVN, the program will become different, so he will remain its permanent presenter for many years. At the same time, the head of the program will relinquish any formal responsibilities. did not stay away from the scandal, saying that he did not see a big problem in the scandal, artificially inflated by unscrupulous media.
Prohibition on the use of abbreviations
His son, Alexander Maslyakov Jr., is not far behind his famous father in terms of notoriety. As it became known in the latest news on December 6, 2017, the TV presenter’s successor as director of AMiK forbade the creators of a film about the history of the program from using the word KVN.
According to Russian law, the abbreviation has long been considered the intellectual property of an association owned by a popular family. Therefore, the authors of documentary films do not have the right to introduce it into their works without the official permission of the owners of the “trademark” mark.
The filmmakers are outraged by such close adherence to commercial rights by the “cheerful and resourceful” owners of AMiK, especially since they had to incur additional costs for changing the name and replacing posters.
Facts from the biography of the presenter and the background of KVN
Maslyakov Alexander Vasilievich was born in Yekaterinburg in 1941. Nothing is yet known in more detail about the childhood of the 76-year-old popular TV presenter.
After school, the young man set off to conquer the capital and entered the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers. While still in his fourth year at the university, the student became interested in creating KVN, which received its name from the brand of the TV, which became the first product of the domestic industry. Therefore, Maslyakov decided to retrain as a television journalist and graduated from a specialized university with the appropriate specialization.
The very idea of creating a fun program belonged to Sergei Muratov, who decided to broadcast the program “Evening of Fun Questions”, the plot of which the authors copied from the Czech prototype of the show. The program lasted only three broadcasts, after which it was closed due to a misunderstanding related to a mistake by the TV presenter.
As soon as the hype subsided, the creators of the program released a new project, calling it “KVN,” in which 5 presenters participated, supporting each other in various unpleasant situations associated with the live broadcast.
Gradually, the number of entertainers was reduced and only Maslyakov and Svetlana Zhiltsova remained on stage. Then the whole country was confident in the happy family life of this famous couple. And no one knew that Alexander had long been happily married to another Svetlana, who became the director of the program and gave birth to his son.
For the first 7 years, KVN was broadcast exclusively live, which horrified television executives - students did not hesitate to joke live on air about the shortcomings in the USSR, which was severely persecuted at that time.
As a result, the transition to recording the program in the studio was influenced by the management’s ban on performances by bearded jokers - one of the censors saw in such images a mockery of the great ideologist of the Communist Party, Karl Marx. The unpredictability of the program participants' performances led to the fact that the State Security Committee of the Soviet state became interested in their work and the program was closed in 1971.
There are many rumors associated with this story, which claim that the permanent host of the funny program was in prison for “currency fraud.” Alexander Vasilyevich himself only laughed in response to such accusations - it was impossible for a presenter with a criminal record to work on Central Television. Moreover, all channel employees underwent strict selection under the all-seeing eye of the State Security Committee for reliability.
For 15 years the broadcast was banned. The state of affairs on Soviet television changed due to Perestroika. In 1986, the Cheerful and Resourceful Club appeared on television again. The extraordinary popularity of the program is evidenced by the fact that literally a few years later of its return to the list of television programs, competitions in wit crossed the borders of the Soviet Union - competitions with international status began to be held in Israel and Poland, in the UK and the USA.
KVN became a kind of cradle of many pop comedy groups, which later became independent units on the country's television landscape.
The most famous of them are “Ural Dumplings” and “Kvartal 95”, which currently have their own show programs and even produce films under the registered trademark of teams that once won various humor competition festivals. A huge number of young talents consider their starting point to be work in KVN teams, which gave them the opportunity to become stars of modern show business, popular and famous.
Life and family of Alexander Maslyakov Jr.
The life of Alexander Maslyakov Jr. and KVN cannot be separated from each other - he grew up, achieved success and became famous thanks to the “Merry and Resourceful Club”. In the following material we will talk about the main milestones in the biography of the artist and presenter, his family and wife.
Biography of a famous TV presenter
Alexander Alexandrovich comes from the capital of the Russian Federation, was born on April 28, 1980. Both of his parents worked in the field of Soviet television. Father is the permanent host of the KVN program Alexander Maslyakov Sr. Mother - Svetlana was engaged in television directing, helped in the filming and broadcast of KVN.
It was a creative family united by one thing. The father initiated his son into all the intricacies of the show; Maslyakov Jr. appeared at team rehearsals from childhood, saw and remembered how it was done. Naturally, the atmosphere of laughter and friendliness attracted the boy. And living in such a mood influenced the choice of the future. Of course, not right away: at first he wanted to work in the traffic police, but having matured a little, he wanted to get involved in politics.
After receiving his school certificate, Alexander tried to find his way: he entered MGIMO and studied at the Faculty of International Relations.
In 1999, he managed to play the role of presenter on the “Planet of KVN” project - then the general public became acquainted with Maslyakov Jr. The public immediately considered the son of the eminent TV presenter to be the future successor.
Gradually, the young man realized that he was really attracted to the life of KVN. He successfully graduated from the university in 2002, and a year later became the head of the Premier League of the Cheerful and Resourceful Club. By participating in this project, Alexander not only gained a lot of experience, but also contributed to the emergence of a new generation of comedians. Under his leadership, bright stars of humor appeared on the stage, known throughout the country and beyond.
In parallel with this, the man became a candidate of economic sciences in 2006, defending his dissertation at the State University of Management.
With the participation of Alexander and his father, new projects were launched: “First League of KVN”, “Outside the Game”, etc. In all these shows, Maslyakov Jr. was the host. He made occasional appearances at regional games.
Alexander Maslyakov with his wife Sometimes KVN participants joke about him, calling him Alexander II, although the man himself does not like being compared to his father. He also prefers not to talk about the time when he will be forced to completely replace Maslyakov Sr. in his work.
In 2013, the man tried himself as a participant in KVN in 2013, when he surprised everyone by appearing on stage. It was a STEM competition, where Alexander acted as a guest star. An interesting performance only increased his reputation among his colleagues and his love in the eyes of the public. KVN members call Maslyakov Jr. omnipresent for his mobility and ability to appear in competitions in different guises.
Now he continues to work in the “Merry and Resourceful Club”, continuing the family tradition. Friends believe that he will soon completely replace his father in work, giving him the opportunity to relax and enjoy the spectacle from the stands.
Who is Maslyakov Jr.'s wife?
Maslyakov Jr. is a happy father MGIMO, even though it did not lead Alexander to work in politics, helped him find his love and future wife. Angelina Marmeladova, a diligent student, helped him prepare for the exams. After some time, a spark of feeling slipped between them, and a romance began.
The relationship lasted about 5 years, the young people found in each other what they had been looking for for a long time: the ability to be themselves, to feel free in each other’s presence. Although, according to Alexander and Angelina, they are completely different people, and these differences strengthen the marriage even more. A truly complementary pair was formed.
Now that they have been together for a long time, the spouses continue to be mentally close, do business and achieve success. His wife Angelina is a successful writer, author of 3 novels.
In 2006, there was a replenishment - daughter Taisiya was born. Now she is growing up and is already showing creative abilities, studying at a theater studio in Moscow.
Alexander Maslyakov Jr., although he tried to find himself in something of his own, realized that connection with family and a common cause gives much more. He was able to realize himself, find recognition in his work, love in his family and happiness in life. We wish him continuation of this harmony and new achievements in life.
