Natalya Sindeeva

Media manager and founder of Dozhd TV channel* Natalya Sindeeva gave an interview with Taisiya Bekbulatova**, founder of Kholod broadcast, where she talks about female leaders of Russian media, faith in Dmitry Medvedev, personal life and more. Spletnik collected interesting quotes.

About “Rain”

We got a license in Riga, opened a company, built studios. It turned out to be difficult as hell, because we are creating a TV channel from scratch. We will have several launch phases. We’ll start on our YouTube channel, but I think the big, serious launch will be in the fall because we want to build a studio, a stage. Everyone is tired of sitting in streams and working on their knees. So I think there will be a few starts and hopefully our audience will understand and forgive us that we won’t be 24/7 from day one. The company will be one – European, but there will be branches in different countries.

I realized that there was nothing else to do. So I’m going back to Moscow (these are friends, this is my home, this is land, I didn’t want to go anywhere), the first few months I’ll even get high, I’ll tango, and then what? I won’t be able to do what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years, do media, and I’m not ready to do anything else.

about shame

I have no shame, I proudly say that I am from Russia. And I keep saying that Putin is not Russia, people are not Putin. And although many Ukrainians think otherwise, it is not the Russian people who bombed Ukraine. They have every right to think so, but I tried my best. I have no shame – I have pain.

About how Natalia’s family lives now

Traveling with suitcases for four months. I plan to live in Amsterdam for a year – there will also be a Dozhd centre. If I lived in Riga or Georgia, I certainly wouldn’t be able to learn English. And so – a challenge: come on, life told you to do it. The son entered the University of Amsterdam, so we will already be together. My daughter will stay in Austria to study as she reads.

About divorce from entrepreneur Alexander Vinokurov

Sasha and I have a great relationship. We’re divorced, I have my own life, he has his own. But we are very close, we support each other, so there is no such problem.

Maybe I’m ready for a new love. As always, you are supreme in your work, so you have no time to think. But it seems to me that yes.

On Media Objectivity

We have always held our position. And now we’re definitely on the side of the good, not the bad. But of course we will work hard to establish a dialogue – not only with the people I speak of, but also with the people in power. Now they will tell me: How to establish a dialogue with criminals? In some cases, it is necessary. However, this is impossible with those who completely sold their souls to the devil.

About the female leaders of the Russian media

This job is a tough story because there are so many external things: reputation and toxic competition. It is built on brilliant people and characters. Many women can be leaders because they have a maternal desire to protect and protect themselves. I know for sure that a kid in my place will close them long ago, write down all the losses and move on. I couldn’t do it because to me it’s like a child I gave birth to in pain and then brought up in agony, and as soon as he starts to raise his head, something happens to him again.

On faith in Dmitry Medvedev

I once believed that he would be the new leader and would be a return to democracy. It was that moment, and then I was disappointed. It was sincere then. The most striking example is Victory Day, the leaders of all countries came to us. He wanted to open himself to this world, he made reforms (for example, regarding the judicial system). Then there was a sense of unraveling, now everything will be fine in the end.

About life after 50

I feel like 35 years old. Age is about how you feel. On the one hand, I definitely have an active life of 35-40 years. You are no longer a child, you are not a teenager, you are already a mature, wise person in some matters. Another thing is that it is difficult to fight with physiology, keep yourself fit … I did not sleep at night – this is immediately reflected on my face. There are unpleasant moments, but in general you can live with them.

* “Rain” is recognized by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as a media outlet acting as a foreign agent.

** Taisiya Bekbulatova is recognized by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as a media outlet acting as a foreign agent.