TV presenter Boris Notkin died at the age of 76 . RIA Novosti reported this on Saturday, November 11, citing a source in law enforcement agencies.
Boris Notkin. Photo: RIA Novosti/Ekaterina Chesnokova
“TV presenter Boris Notkin was found dead today,” said the agency’s interlocutor, without specifying the circumstances of his death. Another law enforcement source told the agency that suicide is being considered as one of the possible causes of death.
According to the Mash telegram channel, Notkin’s body with a gunshot wound to the head was found by his wife on Saturday afternoon in his office. A gun was found nearby, and on the table a suicide note with the following content: “I am leaving this life voluntarily. I'm tired of suffering." It is noted that the TV presenter recently learned that he was terminally ill; doctors diagnosed the 4th stage of the fatal disease. According to Mash, a couple of weeks ago Notkin received a license for a gun and bought it with his wife, allegedly for self-defense.
Boris Notkin was one of the leaders of the TV Center channel, and hosted the author’s program “Boris Notkin Invites.” Twice nominated for the TEFI television award.
What happened to Boris Notkin?
That evening, a call was received at the control panel of the Odintsovo police station. The woman said that she found her husband's body at home with a gunshot wound to the head. Arriving at the call, the employees identified the famous TV presenter.
A gun lay next to the body. Boris bought it recently, as his wife said, saying it was for self-defense. Until the circumstances of the case were fully revealed, there were numerous rumors among fans and colleagues. People discussed who could have committed such a daring crime? Of course, he was associated with professional activities.
But the truth soon became clear. The investigation has ended and the main version of what happened . Boris Isaevich committed suicide , as stated in the note found. The text was written in his handwriting, which was confirmed by the examination, and there was no doubt about the authenticity of the document.
Is Boris Notkin hospitalized?
It turns out that the journalist was terminally ill . In the spring of 2021, the first signs of malaise appeared. He felt unwell, felt weak and was constantly tormented by dizziness. It was decided to go for examination. The diagnosis sounded like a death sentence. Doctors discovered stage 4 inoperable brain cancer . It was useless to fight the disease; medicine could only offer drugs that alleviated the condition.
The TV presenter did not talk about what happened, he even continued to write to his work colleagues that not everything was so bad, I continued to work. Then he told his wife that he wanted to get a weapons license. After which the same gun that investigators found at the scene of death was purchased.
In addition to the weapon, there was a note nearby. In it, Boris said that he was leaving this life voluntarily, because he could not bear the torment associated with the disease.
It was not only physical suffering, but also moral. He was always an active person, used to working, moving, communicating. The disease broke him, life no longer had meaning. Thus, all rumors about the murder were dispelled.
Brief biography of the presenter
The Russian journalist was born in a difficult time for the country - in 1942. But despite this, his parents, Jews, attached great importance to their son’s education. The boy studied well at school, was already a sociable person, and always knew how to find a common language with teachers and peers.
Then he entered the Institute of Foreign Languages, as they always came easy to him. He worked at Moscow State University for 20 years, teaching psycholinguistics there.
One day Boris was invited as a guest to one of the Moscow Channel’s programs. A week later he appeared on air again, but as a presenter. This is how his television career began:
- 1990 – 1997 – presents the program “Facing the City”;
- At the same time, the program “Boris Notkin Invites” was released, which was a huge success and was released until 2015.
The last project was created by our hero. He always chose the guests for the broadcast himself. Often these were high-ranking politicians and even Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. While talking with him, Boris voiced the problems of famous artists who still do not live in the best conditions despite the fact that they have state awards and recognition from millions of viewers. Many people remembered this program, since a week later another was shown, where T. Dogileva receives the keys to a new home .
In addition to television, there was work in newspapers. His articles were regularly published by Moskovsky Komsomolets.
The beginning of a brilliant career
The brilliant career he could have had as a translator was largely fulfilled. Immediately after graduating from IFL, now renamed Moscow State Linguistic University, he was invited to work at Moscow State University. There he worked successfully since the landmark year of graduating from the institute, where he received the profession of a translator.
Boris Notkin graduated from IFL
His reputation as a brilliant linguist, mastering all the intricacies of the English language, led him to translate for the most famous people of the time - director Bondarchuk and composer Nino Rota during the filming of the film Waterloo. He provided translation services to Ronald Reagan himself when he was President of the United States, and visited Moscow State University during his then visit to the Soviet Union.
Boris Isaevich Notkin, whose biography is a chain of unexpected turns, was considered one of the best synchronized interpreters in Moscow, but his career as a translator did not satisfy his creative nature. He entered graduate school at the Faculty of History of Moscow State University and successfully completed it. After graduating from graduate school, Boris Isaevich successfully defended his dissertation on American Sovietology.
By that time, he was considered one of the best translators in the vast country, and his transition to scientific activity somewhat puzzled those close to him.
Notkin's personal life
Notkin married late, but once and for the rest of his life. “I am my mother’s son,” a journalist once admitted. “Even though I have a brother, my mother’s love was enough for two. We were so accustomed to her image that all the girls were compared to her,” he said. In addition, the father left the family early, and the man believed for a long time that marriage only spoils relationships between people.
There was a period when Boris was credited with having unconventional sexual relationships. The reason for this is an Italian director who did not hide his attraction to men. Notkin worked for him, translated and dubbed the film. Zeffirelli repeatedly invited the journalist to meet, but was always refused. This story was told by Boris himself. He shared it with one of the media representatives, but then he was very worried, since a couple of “hot” articles were immediately written about what was happening. First of all, an uncomfortable situation arose with the director, about whom unscrupulous newspapers and magazines began to “trumpet” to the whole world.
But soon the rumors came to an end; the TV presenter got married. His chosen one was Irina Stolyarova, an energy specialist. After the couple formalized the relationship, Irina left work and began to take care of the house. She was the first friend, critic and spectator.
There were no children in the family, and Irina spent all her time next to her husband. It was she who found her husband dead and called the police that evening.
The period of creative maturation
The situation became a little clearer when, having left teaching psycholinguistics and psychological aspects of translation at Moscow State University, and working as a translator in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he left to teach in the USA as a Fulbright professor.
The biography of Boris Isaevich Notkin at that moment seemed to take another inexplicable turn, but here everything turned out to be much simpler. He needed a change of scenery, he needed new impressions and faces, and language practice with native speakers of the dialect of English, which professionals call American English, was simply necessary for him.
Boris Isaevich Notkin was born into a Jewish family and was a member of the Russian Jewish Congress, where he was a member of the public council. His sharp analytical mind is always critical of ideological postulates, and it is likely that his trip to America was the step from which his biography once again turned in an unpredictable direction.
Boris Isaevich Notkin was born into a Jewish family
His career as a scientist and teaching ceased to satisfy him; he wanted to take part in the life of the world community. To convey to people the information that he received by analyzing the environment, comparing two ways of life and the mentality of those nations whose languages he spoke.
His biography and turns, which from the outside seemed inexplicable, were in fact inextricably linked with the history and modernity of the people to which he belonged. And his natural talent and sharp, unconventional thinking forced him to be critical of the surrounding reality, rethink it, and try to rebuild it.
Returning to Moscow, he began writing articles. One of them is about how ineffective the medical propaganda conducted through the media is (a topic very far from his lifestyle and profession at that time). However, it was a turning point in my life.
At that time, Boris Notkin was almost 48, an age at which many already calm down and count the time remaining until retirement. His biography contained information about the university where he studied, victories in tennis, an academic degree and graduate school, teaching at the most prestigious university in the country and a professorship in America.
He translated for presidents and deputies of the Supreme Council, and taught the intricacies of translation to future celebrities in the literary field.
Behind him was the translation department of the institute, which only a few were lucky enough to get into. He did not have any journalistic education at the moment when Literaturka published material that was significant for him, which became the reason for his invitation to the television studio. Probably, only one in a million could enter the guest studio of a TV channel as a person from the diplomatic and scientific world, known in narrow elite circles, and a week after that be positioned as a TV presenter.
This was not just a person who narrates a text prepared for him by someone, but the author of a program named after him, a popular one that attracted a multimillion-dollar audience on television.
At that moment, he was confident in his ability to convey truthful information to people in a way that was not merely shocking or horrifying. He wanted to make a program that would evoke positive emotions and force us to rethink what was happening. He tried to make sure that the TV viewer watched it with pleasure and a smile, and understood the information indirectly, but firmly.
What was said from the television screen with a charming smile (Boris Notkin believed that he looked very bad when he was angry or indignant) should have burned with the verb, but not left deep wounds. His biography turned in a completely different direction, and not only in the professional sense.
During this period, he married out of great love, and lived happily with his wife Irina until the very moment when he learned about his serious illness. They did not have children, although if he had children, he would, without a doubt, give them the same brilliant education as the level of knowledge that his parents took care of in their time.
What did TV viewers remember about the presenter?
Boris Isaevich Notkin is, first of all, the permanent face of the TV Center channel. His contribution to journalism is enormous. He was the first who tried to shape the social thinking of Russian people in his programs. But at the same time, being between politics and the people, he was able to remain the most non-conflict and most diplomatic journalist.
He tried to pave the way between the state and the people, to convey to the “top” about the problems of the population and the country as a whole. He did it so skillfully and tactfully that he earned the respect of all parties. His programs never turned into shows; they were rather introductory and educational in nature. At the same time, the essence of the problem always remained on the surface.
But unfortunately, Boris could not survive the personal drama. He was 75 years old when his life was cut short. Nobody expected such a decision. Even the wife, who was always nearby, had no idea about her husband’s thoughts.
For many, what happened came as a shock. There is still talk that the suicide was staged and for certain reasons the real circumstances are hidden. Fans and relatives can only accept that a good man and a professional in his field, Boris Notkin, has died. The cause of death will be discussed for a long time by those who benefit from it.
Awards
- March 18, 1993 - Medal “Defender of Free Russia” for the performance of civic duty in defending democracy and the constitutional order on August 19-21, 1991;
- August 30, 1996 - Medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, for services to the state, many years of fruitful activity in the field of culture and art, great contribution to the development of mass sports;
- May 19, 2003 — Honorary title “Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation” for services in the field of culture and many years of fruitful work;
- June 27, 2007 - Medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland”, 1st degree, for his great contribution to the development of domestic television and many years of fruitful work;
- November 16, 2011 - Order of Friendship for great services in the development of domestic television and radio broadcasting and many years of fruitful activity.
