Marianna Maksimovskaya: “I want to live with self-respect”

She seems to live on a volcano. Not the office of the deputy editor-in-chief of the REN TV channel – a firing line. Hot calls, slamming doors, people quickly coming in and out… While I cross the threshold, Marianna manages to discuss a few more issues, making decisions instantly. The serious, piercing gaze and clarity with which this fragile woman gives orders is confusing: is it possible to talk about something here other than the cause she serves?

However, her voice is soft, calm, and as soon as the room is empty, Marianne moves the chair closer, sits down, hands folded in her lap, – full readiness to listen and delve into. It can be said without exaggeration – the ideal interlocutor. The author and presenter of the information and analytical program REN TV “Week with Marianna Maksimovskaya”, apparently, knows very well what and why he does in this life. And he has no doubts, answering the questions of Psychologies.

Psychologies: Where do you get this energy, leadership inclinations?

Marianna Maksimovskaya: I think we are already born with a certain type of character. Personally, I managed to be born a person who needs to delve into everything, be interested in everything. I can’t sit still for a minute, if I’m at home for more than a day, I just feel uncomfortable. It seems to me that upbringing does not change much here: parents can somehow correct the process of growing up their child, but it is impossible to completely change the type of his personality.

Whose do you have more – maternal or paternal?

M. M .: I would say – grandma and grandpa. (Laughs.) Here all the relatives were noted. But in general, I have a very passionate family. During the revolution, everyone was in it – on one side or another of the barricades. Everyone fought in the war, in other critical periods of our history everyone also took an active part in public life, and this, probably, was also passed on to me with genes … I was lucky, in my opinion, to become an eyewitness to the events of 1991: for three days I was among others defenders of the White House – and I will remember these days for the rest of my life. Then, already as a TV correspondent, I filmed the 1993 coup, was in all the hot spots in the post-Soviet space. I was greatly impressed by the “orange revolution” in Kiev – this popular upsurge, the absolutely sincere faces of people who defended their right not to be deceived and the right of their country to freedom. I understood how everything would end, but that air of freedom and the feeling that everyone breathes it together and thinks of the same thing is fantastic!

Was it like this in your family – everyone breathes the same air?

M. M .: Yes Yes. My younger sister and I are very close to our parents. I’m probably a little closer to mom, and Alina is closer to dad. Although we love both equally. From childhood, my mother knew absolutely everything about me: where I am, with whom, what worries me, what interests me. She was my close friend. Until now, I call her and consult on a variety of issues – from what to wear to working moments. For example, I ask her about some topics that will be in my program – I’m interested in her opinion as a viewer. And it always coincides with the ratings that we get after the broadcast: what she finds interesting touches other viewers as well. Mom is probably the main person in my reference group, whose opinion is most important to me.

How were you brought up?

M. M .: My parents gave me maximum freedom. In many ways, probably because I was born so restless. In the maternity hospital then all the babies were swaddled, and I was the only one whose hands could not be swaddled, because I yelled in such a bass voice … (Laughs.) And maybe the parents (although I am an early child, like my daughter) had sufficient wisdom in their young years, because they realized: you can’t put pressure on me. And never pressured. And if something was forbidden, they explained why. In the same way, I tried to raise my own daughter, as far as I could.

Your sister is much younger than you. Do you remember your feelings when she appeared in the family?

M. M .: I was then almost ten years old, I was a thoughtful child, and when my parents told me that I would have a brother or sister, I studied all the scientific literature that I could get my hands on about pregnancy and childbirth. And at school, I clearly showed my classmates what a fetus is and how it develops.

She showed, obviously, in faces and very actively – to such an extent that her parents were called to school. And when they brought my sister … I read this thing: if the second child is born to parents with a difference of more than seven years, the eldest still has the psychology of the only child in the family. I must have worked this law.

Or maybe I was just immersed in my life: friends, social work, sports sections, some circles, I read a lot – in a word, my life was very eventful. And we had a grandmother who took on some of the worries. I don’t remember being pressured or forced to sit with my sister. Whenever I wanted, I played with her. When she grew up, she sometimes took her to her get-togethers. Growing up—hers and mine—was quite easy. Although with such a big difference in age, we could grow up as strangers, nevertheless, over time, we became close to each other, and this also happened somehow by itself.

Is your sister also in your reference group?

M. M .: Yes, but to a lesser extent than my mother. There is a noticeable difference in generations. Those who grew up after us have a different attitude to politics. They are more immersed in private life, and social processes are of little interest to them.

Are you tired of it?

M. M .: No, I’m wondering, I’m trying to understand why this is happening. After all, in any case, this is the generation that is coming to replace us. And I want to imagine what the new elite will look like. I won’t say that I like everything in this generation, but I understand that we are different.

Your sister and daughter are also ten years apart…

M. M .: Moreover, my sister had a girl – and she and my daughter also have a little more than ten years of difference. So every ten years a girl is born in our family! (Laughs.) Each is a different generation. We are, if you like, an experimental platform: many of the processes taking place in the country can be observed within one family. My daughter’s generation is the people of the world. For them, to take and leave, say, for Turkey for the weekend (if finances allow) is absolutely normal. They consciously learn languages, realizing that without this they cannot make a career. They perceive the world as a small ball and do not close within the country. Technical innovations for them – something for granted, they master them overnight.

Are they freer or busier than we were?

M. M .: On the one hand, their level of personal freedom is higher than ours. On the other hand, the principle “If you are so smart, why are you so poor?” much more important to them than to previous generations. They strive to become successful people who earn enough not to feel humiliated as a person. Our generation most of all wanted to realize itself, having declared itself professionally, to prove to someone: “I can, I am worthy!” They did not think about money – it was almost something indecent. This generation says: we must now study well in order to make a career, earn well and live well in order to be respected. But I’m afraid that these people will be ready for any compromises in terms of ideology, some global things that were very important to us! For example, I have political priorities, personal beliefs, position. And I can’t change it, because then I would be ashamed. I will lose not only my friends, but also my self-respect. Maybe I will earn big money, but I will still break down after a while. I can’t live like this.

What would you absolutely wish for your daughter in life?

M. M .: It would be very painful for me to watch her go to success, stepping over some very important things for me. Even though she wasn’t raised that way. She is 17 years old, and we talk a lot about this topic. Now she wants to become a journalist and admits that she cannot say one thing, think another, and write a third …

What would you wish for her?

M. M .: I would recommend her to study history very persistently. Without this, it is impossible to analyze what is happening now. How can they judge whether they are lying to them now on TV or not? What is the problem of relations between countries and peoples? Without knowledge of history, it is impossible to make the right decisions today.

Will it make her happier?

M. M .: Not sure. But at least it will make her smarter. Of course, I want my daughter to be well-read and erudite. Perhaps this will warn her against some big mistakes. Maybe in your personal life too. After all, they say that smart people prefer to learn from the mistakes of others – sometimes it is enough to carefully read books.

Have you managed to avoid major mistakes in your life?

M. M .: in some sense, yes. But the one who does nothing is not mistaken, and I tried to do something all the time, and quite actively. And, of course, I was wrong. But at some of the most important crossroads that everyone meets in life and where you need to decide where to go, I think I made the right decisions that put my life on the right track. So, in 1993, I was offered to switch to NTV and at the same time broadcast news on Channel One, where I then worked. Can you imagine what it is like for a correspondent to receive an offer to conduct news? It’s like for a lieutenant to become a general. I was 23 at the time and my head was spinning. But it was 93, the October events. The news management of Channel One then went home, leaving the people who remained in the editorial office during the storming of Ostankino. And the journalists who went to NTV filmed everything that happened without sleep and rest. And I realized: everything real in the profession is happening now in this small private television company, which then occupied one room in Ostankino. I went to NTV and not only made a career there, but also met my husband and spent the best years of my life – professionally and personally.

Can politics make a person happy?

M. M .: Politics is not supposed to make us happy. Concrete actions of the authorities – yes. Our own actions – yes, above all. Otherwise, what happens: here we are sitting at home, and someone should think and make decisions for us. I just want to convey to the maximum number of people a different point of view: politics is something that we should influence, and not something far from us. A person remains apolitical until the moment when trouble touches him. I am not saying that everyone must necessarily rush to the defense of ideals, be passionate fighters for the rights of people. Of course not, you have to be born with such a temperament. But we should treat the events in the country as something that hurts us personally! Because otherwise this “politics” will still come to your own apartment and affect you. Only you can’t change anything.

Does your husband share your views?

M. M .: In basic things, we coincide with him, but we often argue about the details. Maybe that’s why I’m very interested in him. I’m generally lucky with my husband. We have been living together for a very long time, although for both of us this marriage is not the first. And for all these years, they managed not only not to get bored with each other, but to become somehow even closer. Of course, like all normal people, we have quarrels and inconsistencies. But I have one iron rule: I never go to bed without reconciling. For all the time of our life together, we never fell asleep without clarifying our relationship. Language is given to man to speak. However, we swear too infrequently. We argue – yes, but there was no serious crisis in our relations. I will spit, of course, three times. (Laughs.) They say that our age is approaching a crisis – middle, so it’s better not to promise. In any case, we maintain partnerships. Absolutely aware. We help each other, we do almost everything together and do not shift problems on each other. And we share everything. Maybe this type of relationship saves us from some kind of crisis?

If you were asked to continue the phrase: “I can say that my life has been successful if …”

M. M .: …if I can continue to do my job without being ashamed of it. If I can continue to communicate with dear and close people who will treat me with respect, and if I myself understand that I have something to respect myself for.

Private bussiness

• 1970 April 7 was born in Moscow, in the family of an engineer and philologist, 10 years later her sister Alina was born.
• 1987 Enters the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov.
• 1989 Marries, marriage ends two years later.
• 1990 September 9, the daughter of Alexander was born.
• 1991 Correspondent of the news service of Channel One TV.
• 1993 Correspondent for the NTV television company. He meets Vasily Borisov, an economic journalist, marries him a year later.
• 1996 Host of the programs “This morning” and “This afternoon” on NTV.
• 2000 Host of the program “Hero of the Day”.
• 2001 Moves to TV-6 channel.
• 2002 News presenter on TVS channel.
• 2003 Presenter of the information and analytical program “Week” on REN TV.
• 2007 The informal association of TV journalists “TV Press Club” announces “Person of the Year” Marianna Maksimovskaya and the creative team of the program “Week” (REN TV channel) – “for civil and professional courage.”