The fate of decorated state TV host Vladimir Solovyov shows how the tide is turning in Russia. Once Vladimir Putin’s favorite propagandist, Solovyov is falling out of favor with the Kremlin and losing all credibility with the Russian public.
This was the man who staked his reputation on boosting Putin’s war in Ukraine.
He is one of many casualties of a four-year war that has destroyed the Russian economy, cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and cratered Putin’s reputation at home.
Solovoyov’s fawning coverage of Russia’s war against Ukraine aimed to lionize the invading troops, but it has instead ended up highlighting multiple shortcomings and embarrassing setbacks, as even the most loyal Kremlin cheerleader was confronted with the brutal reality on the ground.
Solovyov expected to receive another medal from Russian President Vladimir Putin for his consistent reporting from the front lines, although the precise locations of his video shoots might be farther from the front than he claims. But this year, he has been snubbed.
This year also marks the first time Solovyov was not invited to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026), often described as the “Russian Davos.” On June 7, during the broadcast of Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, the host noted, “The forum was, of course, very important. It was the first forum I wasn’t invited to.” Solovyov claimed that he was left out because he was likely to ask some “awkward questions” about “the four horsemen of the economic apocalypse: high interest rates, a growing tax burden, a strong ruble, and problems associated with administrative barriers.”
Solovyov was also overlooked by the Academy of Russian Television, as none of his programs won any TEFI awards, the highest and most prestigious national television prize in Russia. An Orpheus statuette that Solovyov received in the past still sits on his desk during every broadcast of his radio show, Full Contact. As his reaction revealed, Solovyov anticipated receiving another prize this year and bitterly complained when he didn’t.
On June 8, he started the broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov by naming some of the winners in the category “Information and Socio-Political Broadcasting,” including state TV hosts Olga Skabeeva, Evgeny Popov, Dmitry Kiselyov and Dimitri Simes. He went on to congratulate Simes on receiving the coveted award. Solovyov remarked, “Our modest programs and myself personally didn’t get anything this year. Apparently, I did a bad job.” He proceeded to describe members of the Academy of Russian Television as people who merely fancy themselves to be academics.
At the end of May, Vladislav Davankov, the Vice Speaker of the State Duma, suggested that the channel Solovyov Live no longer be sponsored by Russian taxpayers. He wrote, “You know, I can’t figure out for whom the channel Solovyov Live is broadcasting. I thought people there were conveying the position of the fighters of the special military operation, promoting the idea that they were heroes and role models. I no longer believe that.”
While Solovyov has been forced to address some of the disastrous impacts of the war on Russia, he has continued to saber-rattle and stand up for the country aggressively against foreign foes, insisting that a diplomatic solution is not an option. In this year alone, Solovyov’s remarks have prompted diplomatic incidents and angry reactions from Armenia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and other countries.
He is still trying desperately to please the Kremlin, but he is becoming more of a liability than an asset for Putin’s regime.
Aside from being sidelined by the system, Solovyov is losing his grip on the once-devoted audience. Like Putin’s troops, Solovyov overpromised and underdelivered. Ratings of Solovyov’s programs are in steep decline. His shows, which used to predict a near-instant victory over Ukraine, currently feature the panicked host urging his viewers not to panic, while he complains about Russia’s inability to protect its infrastructure from Ukrainian drones, bemoans fuel shortages, highlights the Motherland’s failure to manufacture its own drones in the necessary quantities, and underscores an ongoing need for more recruits.
Since new soldiers reportedly have a life expectancy of just 20 to 35 minutes in combat in Ukraine, Solovyov is constantly urging his viewers—both young and old—to enlist to fight Putin’s war, reliably triggering a flow of angry comments as to why the host and his bevy of adult children are not going to the front themselves.
Each time, he urges editors to immediately remove these comments from the program’s Telegram channel and block their authors, but the volume is too extensive for them to keep up with the unrelenting stream of criticism.
The juxtaposition of the way the host and his family live their lives with what he demands of other Russians is enough to trigger even the most gullible viewers and listeners.
In a sign of growing internal strife, Solovyov also frequently complains about unnamed oligarchs ordering “hit pieces” to trash his reputation.
The mood in Russia is rapidly shifting, now that Ukraine has brought this war to Russian soil. The latest polls reveal that the number of Russians who agree with Solovyov’s insistence on a war without a time limit, ending in complete victory, has decreased from 13 percent to 9 percent. Now, an absolute majority of Russians—81 percent would support ending the war tomorrow. This is the highest figure in all four years. Solovyov frequently rages about this quiet change in public opinion, complaining that the living rooms of everyday Russians are “buzzing” with discussions about achieving peace as soon as possible.
When German Gref, head of Russia’s state-controlled Sberbank, said that most Russians are concerned about “a rapid end of hostilities” above all else, Solovyov deliberately misquoted him on-air, by adding “with our victory.” During Thursday’s broadcast of Full Contact, Solovyov raged against unnamed bureaucrats who are urging Putin to stop his invasion. He yelled, “Stop waiting for everything to end. I see them saying, ‘We’re experiencing some inconveniences. Now there are lines at our gas stations, we are having problems with gasoline, why did you start all this? Let’s negotiate. You are depriving us and our children of a future.”
Before the full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, Solovyov was one of the loudest voices on state television that promised a quick and decisive victory and readily admitted that Russia is striving to rebuild itself as an empire. Once it became clear that Ukraine did not intend to surrender and the West wouldn’t abandon it, Solovyov resorted to nuclear threats on an industrial scale. Having initially unsettled adversaries overseas, the sheer volume and frequency of the host’s threats eventually backfired, and now he is seen as a cartoonish villain and the boy who cried wolf.
During the latest edition of Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov on June 28, he concluded his monologue in a markedly different way. Instead of repeating his trademark threat that the whole world will cease to exist if Russia loses in Ukraine, this time Solovyov predicted that Russia—and not the entire planet—will perish if it doesn’t win. He either received instructions to tone down the nuclear rhetoric or realized that constant repetition caused it to ring hollow. Solovyov’s endless drumbeat of warmongering propaganda is failing both at home and abroad.
Facing criticism for calling the young and the old to sign up for Putin’s meat grinder—while his own family enjoys a life of safety and privilege—last week, Solovyov even offered to go to the frontlines as a sniper—an empty gesture, fueled by sheer desperation to regain favor and popularity.
