Military journalism is highly praised by politicians and society, as it provides an opportunity to monitor developments. Unfortunately, today's reality is such that military commissars do not remain without work. One such journalist is Yevgeny Poddubny, whose biography is outlined in this article.
Biographical data
Evgeny Evgenievich Poddubny was born in late summer, August 22, 1983. The place of his birth was the city of Belgorod, where he lived for many years. His parents - Evgeny Pavlovich and Irina Mikhailovna - are medical workers. Thanks to his mother, a surgeon by profession, Eugene from an early age was versed in medical terminology and could provide first aid to the victims. In many ways, this knowledge was useful to Poddubny in his subsequent work as a correspondent in hot spots.
Poddubny Eugene became a student of Belgorod State University in 2001 after graduating from high school number 20. He chose psychology as his specialty. Although initially enrolled in the Faculty of History. Eugene explained his choice by the fact that in the early 2000s there was no journalism department at BSU. Despite this, Eugene chose his profession at school.
For some time Poddubny lived in the Middle East with his parents, where he studied the culture and lifestyle of local residents. He began to learn Arabic. Also Poddubny Eugene speaks English. He claims that in his profession without knowledge of a foreign language it is simply impossible. It is necessary for communication, and sometimes just for survival. The years spent in the East helped Eugene very much on his journalistic missions (Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan).
Work comes first in his life, says Evgeny Poddubny. Wife and children will be later.
Carier start
Poddubny began his professional career at school. While studying at the university, he already worked as a presenter on the radio, then for some time he wrote articles for the newspaper, then he was a correspondent on local television. After graduation, he was invited to Moscow.
For nine years he worked as a reporter on the TV Center channel. Since 2011, he switched to the Russia-24 TV channel, where he became a special correspondent covering local conflicts.
Eugene himself calls the scope of his work extreme journalism. He argues that a film crew traveling to cover military conflicts should be able to do many times more than a civilian one. There, the reporter is not just a reporter, he is also a producer who agrees to shoot, knows how to cook food at the stake, bandage wounds, etc. All this applies to both operators and engineers.
Eugene Poddubny proved his ability to survive in critical situations with his reports. The correspondent, whose photos the whole world saw, managed to visit Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, South Ossetia, Lebanon. He was exposed to incredible dangers so that his viewer could see the whole truth. Honest coverage of events is the main task for the reporter.
Work in South Ossetia
To be a war journalist means to be ready at any time to fly to the scene. Sometimes this happens within a couple of hours. A call from the editorial office, early gatherings - and now you are already sitting on the plane, heading into the unknown.
That is exactly what happens with Poddubny almost always, rarely business trips are planned.
On August 8, 2008, in the morning, Eugene was already in Tskhinval. It was he who conveyed the message to General V. Boldyrev that all the possibilities for the defense of the city were exhausted and that the Ossetian Security Council asked Russia to intervene.
Since August 9, there has been a massive evacuation from the conflict zone, but the film crew did not leave, giving their seats in the minibus to civilians. They selflessly worked to the sound of volleys, not knowing if they would meet the dawn tomorrow. Thanks to such dedicated people like Yevgeny Poddubny, the viewer could follow the development of events.
His business trip ended only on August 18.
Work in Syria
In total, Poddubny Yevgeny, a special correspondent for the Russia-24 channel, spent two years in Syria. These were business trips of three to four months with a short break for a trip home.
He first flew there in 2011. In September 2012, his documentary “Battle for Syria” was released, in which the reporter showed the current events of the civil war and conveyed feelings: his own, colleagues in the film crew, civilians, etc. The film was mounted in the field, with ongoing fighting. He was translated into several languages, so he was seen not only in Russia.
In June 2013, Yevgeny Poddubny, together with his colleagues, came under fire. The ambush awaited the column, which also contained the machine of the Rossiya television channel. The battle lasted about 15 minutes. Journalists miraculously managed to survive.
Work in Ukraine
The reporter considers this to be the most unexpected business trip. According to him, the war in Ukraine caused him a shock, although he had already seen a lot.
Covering the events of the Maidan, the correspondent could not have thought that he would soon have to shoot while sitting in the trenches with the militias. And I had to sit back, and Evgeny Poddubny, whose growth did not really favor this, did everything in his power not to fall under the gun. On his account there are many reports right from the forefront. Poddubny was in Donetsk, and in Artemovsk, and in Gorlovka during the most aggressive military operations.
During this time, he directed three large documentaries:
- "Farewell of the Slavs" (about employees of the "Golden Eagle");
- "The price of defeat" (about military losses, the despair of civilians and the cynical new government, which does not dare to talk about it and take this into account);
- "Dad" (a film about Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of the militia and the head of the DPR).
In fact, work in Ukraine has become one of the most dangerous for journalists. They are equated there in status with terrorists. Initially, when there was no general Ukrainian hysteria, according to Poddubny, it was possible to find a common language with the security forces, take an interview, and ask about something. Later it became simply impossible.
This was confirmed by the subsequent deaths of several Russian and foreign reporters. The security forces even had a special list with supposedly terrorists. Poddubny Evgeny Evgenievich was in it at number 64.
Despite all the danger, Poddubny is going on another business trip. According to him, while the war is on, we must work.
