Childhood and adolescence
Sergei was born in the Cuban capital, although Moscow is indicated in his passport in the “Place of Birth” column. These were the rules for Vneshtorg employees, who were his parents, and it should be noted that this circumstance only played into Sergei’s hands. Having become an international journalist, Brilev often visited America, but with Cuban citizenship, entry into this country would have been denied to him. But he, as a native of this country, can fly to Cuba at any time without a visa. The boy spent his entire childhood traveling, in addition to Cuba, visiting Ecuador, Uruguay and other Latin American countries. Thanks to this, he speaks fluent Spanish and English, which have become as familiar to him as Russian.
Student years
Brilev graduated from school in Moscow, and not just any school, but gymnasium No. 109, better known as the “Yamburg school” - a multidisciplinary educational center where students had their own stables, a theater (Sergei happily took part in amateur performances), and a pottery workshop. a circle and even a non-alcoholic bar. By the way, as school director Evgeniy Yamburg later told reporters, in the 80s Brilev took part in the school anarchist circle.
Sergei Brilev in his youth
Having received a matriculation certificate, the young man entered the journalism department of MGIMO and already in his first year distinguished himself by writing a topical article in Komsomolskaya Pravda. The fact is that in 1990, in all the capital’s universities, such a subject as “History of the CPSU” was canceled, but at MGIMO it remained. And Brilev, at his own peril and risk, highlighted this situation by writing an article for KP.
This story received a great response, and Sergei became an official employee of Komsomolskaya Pravda, where he worked until 1993. Then he moved to Moskovsky Komsomolets, where he became a special correspondent for the international department. At the same time, the young man made reports for the TV show “International Panorama”.
Sergei Brilev worked at the newspaper from his first year
Despite such active journalistic activity, Brilev managed to successfully study at MGIMO, spent a year improving his knowledge of the Spanish language in Uruguay, completed BBC courses in London and interned in the USA.
The Writer's Direct Path
Back in 1990, while still a student, Brilev accepted the position of intern correspondent for the popular print publication Komsomolskaya Pravda. It was as an intern in the department of science and education that Sergei went on international business trips, among other things, to study. At first, it was his work in the periodical “paper” media that completely absorbed him. The journalist worked selflessly, if not fanatically.
Thorough knowledge of the material, deep immersion in the topic, impeccable command of style and the ability to present facts from an objective perspective attracted the attention of leading publications and agencies. In 1993, Sergei Brilev took a huge step towards achieving his main dream, which at the same time became a powerful impetus for the start of a dizzying career. Having noticed a promising employee, the then-forming state holding company offers him a job on television.
Truly endless horizons open up before the mind of a young correspondent who makes local reports. And it was at the turn of 1995/1996 that Sergei faced a rather tough choice:
- on the one hand, he continues his literary activity;
- on the other hand, Sergei Brilev has already been invited to television news and analytical programs;
- There is a third feature - it was at that time that a massive rotation of “talking heads” took place on leading federal channels.
TV career
In 1995, Sergei graduated from university and was invited to the position of special correspondent on the Rossiya channel. The young man set to work with his usual zeal, and a year later he won the TEFI award for topical reports from Chechnya, Budennovsk and other hot spots of the country.
Sergey Brilev began working on the Rossiya channel
In 1996, Brilev headed the channel's bureau in London and remained in this post for five years. Returning to Moscow in 2001, Sergei became the host of the Vesti program. The journalist remembered his first television broadcast for the rest of his life: for five hours he had to cover the events that happened on September 11 in New York without leaving the monitor. No one in the editorial office knew English better than him, so Sergei acted as a simultaneous translator, commenting on the tragedy that occurred in front of the whole world.
For almost twenty years Brilev has not changed the Rossiya channel. Having started his television career at VGTRK as a news presenter, he soon began hosting the programs “Fifth Studio”, “Fort Boyard”, “Federation” and many others.
Sergey Brilev - news program presenter
In addition, the journalist pays a lot of attention to documentaries; he has about fifteen films to his credit. All of them were filmed either about the lives of prominent people (Primakov, Churkin, Gorbachev, Chernomyrdin), or touch upon acute topical topics that, in his opinion, are of interest to Russians who are not indifferent to the fate of the country.
Brilev is also the author of two books: “Fidel. Football. Falklands. Latin American Diary,” in which he shared his observations about life in Latin America, and “Forgotten Allies in World War II,” about the role of third countries in the USSR’s victory over fascism.
Book by Sergei Brilev “Forgotten Allies in World War II”
But the journalist considers his main achievement to be the opportunity to interview famous people all over the world, including leading politicians and leaders of superpowers. Perhaps he is the only Russian journalist who managed to communicate directly with all Russian presidents and two American ones - Bush and Obama. The list of his counterparts includes the leaders of France, Germany, Israel and, of course, his beloved Latin America, as well as the presidents of all the countries of the former CIS. Brilev commented on all the inaugurations of President Putin, and also conducted “Direct Line with the President of the Russian Federation” for several years. Sergei Brilyov interviewed Alexander Lukashenko. He is an active member of the Public Council under the Russian Ministry of Defense. He has received several commendations from Putin and other presidents of the Russian Federation, was awarded the Order of Honor and Friendship of Peoples, and is the winner of many prestigious awards in the field of television journalism and international relations.
Carier start
Sergei Brilev tried himself in journalism while still studying at MGIMO. The Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper became his first place of work. He received the position of correspondent in the department of education and science. Then Brilev got a job as an international reporter at Moscow News. At the same time, the young man made stories for several programs at once. In 1995, Sergei received an offer from the Rossiya TV channel. He was invited to the position of special correspondent for the Vesti program.
The young man worked as a correspondent for a whole year. Then Brilev moved to London to head the English bureau of Vesti. Moreover, the trip turned out to be unplanned. At that time, Sergei took advanced training courses in the capital of England. And Brilev was asked to replace the London journalist Alexander Grunov, who left for Moscow on urgent business.
Later the correspondent decided not to return. The management of VGTRK thought for a long time about who to make the new staff correspondent in London. At this time, there was a report on TV, hosted by Sergei from England. The head of the channel decided to leave Brilev in London on a permanent basis.
Personal life of Sergei Brilev
Sergei met his wife Irina under rather interesting circumstances. On the eve of the entrance exams to MGIMO, Brilev’s mother washed a shirt that had a Komsomol card in its pocket. In 1990, it was impossible to enter a university without him, and there was no time to recover. However, the girl from the department for issuing the treasured red crusts came to her senses and, violating the instructions, issued a new document to the upset young man. Thus began the story of their relationship, which continues to this day.
Sergei Brilev and his wife
The young people tested their feelings for quite a long time, then Sergei’s workload and frequent business trips prevented them from formalizing the marriage. They got married only nine years after their first meeting and settled together in London, where Brilev at that time held the position of chief of the British bureau of the Rossiya channel.
Sergei Brilev with his daughter
Irina very quickly integrated into the English environment (her excellent knowledge of the language helped) and got a job at one of the large London media companies. In the summer of 2006, the couple had a baby, Alexandra.
Sergey Brilev now
In 2021, Brilev found himself at the epicenter of a scandal that had been brewing for several years.
Opposition politician Alexei Navalny presented evidence that Brilev is a British citizen. The journalist confirmed that he had British citizenship, although he had previously denied this fact in every possible way. This news caused a huge resonance, because Brilev positions himself as a devoted patriot of Russia and an ardent supporter of the policies of Vladimir Putin. And then it turns out that Sergei is not only the holder of a British passport, but also owns real estate in London, registered in his wife’s name, worth about 700 thousand pounds.
Alexey Navalny about the citizenship of Sergei Brilev According to Russian laws, journalists of federal channels are not prohibited from having dual citizenship, but he is prohibited from being a member of the public council of the Russian Defense Ministry. Sergei Shoigu promised to deal with this situation. Dmitry Peskov also noted that this story does not look good on the journalist.
At the subsequent presidential press conference in December 2021, Brilev was given the opportunity to ask a question, and he asked about the possible impact of Brexit on relations between Britain and Russia. After this, a photograph of Brilev appeared on the official Twitter account of the President of the Russian Federation, which opposition-minded Russians saw as outright mockery.
Visual mastermind
The decision to leave literary journalism itself was very difficult for Sergei Brilev. You could even say that chance decided everything. Moreover, thanks to his personal charm, rich vocabulary and ability to dispassionately convey thoughts, Brilev received a high level of trust.
Suffice it to say that Sergei Brilev conducted exclusive interviews with top officials of various states - Yevgeny Primakov, Dmitry Medvedev, Angela Merkel, Silvio Berlusconi - this series can be continued indefinitely. Not to mention the leaders of the states of the southern part of America, who impress Brilev himself and for whom, as mentioned above, he has felt sympathy since childhood.
Brilev’s track record also includes another record that simply cannot be recorded in any record book. Sergei is the only person in the world who was able to obtain permission for an exclusive interview with a number of leaders of the leading countries of the world:
- George Bush (Sr.);
- Barack Obama;
- Dmitry Medvedev;
- Vladimir Putin.
And the interview taken with Evgeny Primakov is considered a classic of the genre. It is clear that conversations, which involve fairly frank conversations, are by no means limited to these persons.
