Aleksandr Gurnov Explained

Aleksandr Gurnov, full name Aleksandr Borisovich Gurnov, (born 8 July 1957 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian TV persona.^[1]

He was appointed the bureau chief of the international Russian television network, Russia Today (RT), in London. He has also worked on the Russian sports channel Match TV. Gurnov was a head of the Russian television news agency TSN, on Moscow's TV-6. In 2006, he participated in an on-line interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a representative of the website Yandex.^[2]

Gurnov formerly presented the "Spotlight" programme on RT.^[3]

Controversies

In 2018 Aleksandr Gurnov participated in an investigation by BBC Russia^[4] on the Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. Gurnov questioned the legitimacy of information on the alleged attack, asking "[Was] there really an assassination attempt? Are they really in a London hospital? Are they really close to death?"

Despite his claims, statements have been released by Scotland Yard and The Political Quarterly to the contrary.^[5]

Achievements

1. Medal "Defender of Free Russia" - for the performance of civic duty in the defense of democracy and the constitutional order on August 19-21, 1991^[6]
2. Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (May 8, 1996) - for active participation in the creation and development of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company ^[7]

Notes and References

1. Book: Zasurskiĭ, Ivan. Media and Power in Post-Soviet Russia. 6 August 2012. 2004. M.E. Sharpe. 9780765608635. 195–.
2. Web site: Transcript of the Interactive Webcast with the President of Russia . Kremlin . 19 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170206135643/http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/23691 . 6 February 2017 . en . unfit.
3. https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c1dpfrkx
4. News: 2018-04-22 . Salisbury attack: Russian TV's claims about poisoning . en-GB . BBC News . 2022-03-24.
5. Wood . Steve . 21 August 2018 . The Salisbury Poisoning Case and German–Russian Relations: Ambiguity and Ambivalence . The Political Quarterly. 89 . 4 . 702–708 . 10.1111/1467-923X.12565 . 158462246 .
6. Web site: Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 30.12.1993 г. № 2326 . 2022-03-22 . Президент России . ru.
7. Web site: Распоряжение Президента Российской Федерации от 08.05.1996 г. № 233-рп . 2022-03-22 . Президент России . ru.