Aryan Romanovski

After the major glossy publications left Russia, Arian Romanovsky lost the post of editor-in-chief of Tatler, but soon shone on his personal telegram channel Olivier with Caviar. In an interview with Anna Nikolaeva, she talked about how she founded a personal brand that replaced the secular Tatler balls, dispelling several rumors about herself.

– After coming out of the shadows from being the front of a great and beautiful magazine to becoming an independent media person, I believe we have the right to start with personal questions. So, who is Alexei Sokolov? (Some Yakut publications reported that Aryan’s real name was Alexei Sokolov. – Approx. ed.)

– I’m flattered that my name is littered with legends, but this is not particularly true. I’m Arian, named after my grandfather. I was born in Moscow, but my mother is from Yakut.

– Tell us about your family.

– I don’t want to do that because they’re not public at all.

Is it true that your mother was a civil servant for a long time?

– No it is not.

But do you keep in touch with your parents?

Yes, especially with my mother. He lives in Moscow.

– Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?

– Yes. I am so happy.

Is it okay to ask questions about your sexual orientation?

– I’ll probably keep this one. Thanks for asking.

– You’ve always been more open about your mental problems. And they talked in detail about their bipolar disorder. But you do not give the impression of a person with such a diagnosis. I’m afraid to convict you of inspiring a fashionable disease.

— My current situation is the result of work on myself. Bipolar disorder is not a sentence, especially when it is mild as in my case. First I was diagnosed with depression and then the psychiatrist canceled the antidepressants because it concluded that in my case it was a different diagnosis.

– You graduated from the Faculty of Journalism and built your whole career in glossy magazines. Have you had an idea to get into more serious journalism?

— No, I initially focused on this industry. My mother always bought glossy magazines. I still have the TopModel magazine binder. I’ve always been interested in celebrities, pop culture. The only subject in which I can prove myself is Russian and literature. Therefore, when the question about admission arose, the answer was obvious. I also liked that the Faculty of Journalism is located in Mokhovaya, and not in residential areas like everyone else.

– Did your family somehow participate in the development of your career?

– Not. I’m just here by myself. At the age of 17, she joined Tatler as an intern under the guidance of Victoria Davydova. Nadya Obolentseva worked as a secular historian – she walked around the editorial office with Louis Vuitton daily. She was impressive. Like the Tatler launch party on the Luzhnetskaya Embankment with Macy Gray and Eva Green. I was wearing a beige oversized TopMan jacket that was not out of style at the time, and an elegant scarf to match. That was so fun! Since then, serious journalistic thoughts have never arisen.

– Despite your sensuality and bright temperament, you made a consistent and brilliant career in the strict rational structure of the brilliance. How did you do this?

– It is difficult to present the finished formula. There are always many factors. Somewhere you make concessions, somewhere there is luck and good manners. But above all, it seems to me, sincere attention is important. My memory, like a random number machine, yields something that many people do not remember: In which restaurant did Ulyana Zeitlina like to dine? What connects Dasha Zhukova and Nastya Kochetkova? These are useful qualities for a secular historian. I was also fired. At one point I found myself in the Life of Aram Ashotovich Gabrelyanov.

– When you went to work for Gabrelian, did you feel betrayed by your profession?

– It is clear that an image character has certain nuances. But I quickly realized what a powerful school it was. In addition, I have been given a great deal of open authority, a large team of talented journalists, submission and complete freedom of action. So it was a super experience.

— After Brilliant left Russia, editors-in-chief switched to Telegram channels and turned from corporate representatives to independent media players. From Tatler’s “cover” you turned into a person who lives with emotions, vivid expressions, conflicts.

– Do you understand that this is also an image? There is still a lyrical hero behind my channel. Even my friends wrote: are you exaggerating? Did you act like a cuckoo after being fired? Not everyone understands that new species require new approaches. And I knew very well that without “provocative honesty” media like the Telegram channel would not work.

– Good. So how much do Olivier and Ariane overlap as individuals?

— Of course, there are more of me in what I write, but it is hard not to understand that my channel is still a media product. The channel reflects my views, interests and lifestyle in general. But I’m not arranging spiritual striptease, I’m staying on the case.

– What about telegram conflicts? You argued loudly with Ksenia Sobchak, quarreled with the girls from “Antiglyants”, exchanged hard thorns with Alena Doletskaya. Is this also a “lyrical hero”?

– I am sincere in my statements. And I express my point of view. But I don’t insult. In the end, I don’t think such discussions should affect personal relationships. And we continue to communicate warmly with the girls and Ksenia Anatolyevna from “Antiglyants”. True, Alena Stanislavovna promised me that I would not shake hands. Even though I had kept a respectful distance from him before. Of course, I was upset that he questioned my professional qualifications. It’s reassuring that Anna Wintour, with whom we spoke before my appointment, still appreciated them. It’s a joke that I have to have a conflict with Yuri Loza in order to be completely happy.

– So when you meet at parties later, do you communicate as if nothing happened?

– Yes. At least it is from my side.

– The great brilliance was a serious infrastructure for a secular party. Celebrity covers, socialite prom, social breakfasts and picnics. What has come to replace and replace the new reality of secular life?

– Of course, there are not enough sites anymore. The characters are sad. The same Tatler was a kind of wall newspaper that people liked to read, look at, and find themselves there.

– What about the import substitution?

– The law of conservation of energy works. Another question is what quality it will be. It’s hard to say now.

– Are you ready to return to the brilliance of “domestic production”?

— Now I am preparing my own project. It will be about the media. Despite the fact that the telegram channel has begun to make money, it is clear that a bugaga is nothing more than a toy. I found a kind of paparazzi for him that I really like. The audience too.

But back to your project. What are we talking about?

So far I’ve just formed the general idea.

— Urban media or secular media?

– Urban. People. I can’t say more. The only thing is that I definitely do not plan to leave the media environment. I can’t do anything anymore.

– You began to build a personal brand, a personal image, unlike colleagues, the same Ksenia Solovieva or Victoria Davydova, who pumped “expertise” in their projects. You have become an independent secular character. How has this affected your relationship with the Tatler characters?

– I cannot say that I have “completely changed” and pull the blanket over me. I still continue to write about secular characters, tell special stories and share my impressions on the channel. School praise and Life taught me that exclusivity is everything no matter how well you write.

– How has the secular agenda and social life changed since February 24?

– To be honest, when it all started, I quickly realized that our life would not be the same, and I had no dreams about it. At first, secular life froze. Then there is the question of the flexibility of morality. There is so much hypocrisy all around. Some still dance on the tables, some rub their hands in fairy tales first and then dance on the tables. But the basic instinct, the instinct to live, wins. I recently met a friend from Chechnya and he said that he has already experienced all this for a long time. But at that time it was called not a special operation, but a Chechen campaign. He remembers that even then there were many people speculating about it, moralizing and teaching who and how to react to what happened. Therefore, he tends to think that people have a right to live no matter what.

– So, do you think enjoying life is more important than thinking?

I don’t think one excludes the other.

– Do you ever think of children? would you like a child?

– I’d be happy.

— Who are the best secular heroes of Moscow today?

– Other than me?

– We’re leaving you. Who else?

– Tatler once regularly made a list of the most invited. I think it’s roughly the same.

– It seems to me that this list has changed a lot with the change of the political agenda. Is not it?

– Well, except that Alexander Efimovich Rodnyansky is not there at the moment.

– Then name your 5 most interesting personalities in Moscow.

“You’re forcing me to step on thin ice and take great risks with myself. Therefore, I can only name a few of my close friends: Olya Karput, Liza Aminova, Sandro Radaev. In general, I bird watch as an “ornithologist”. This “bestiary” is also my particular favourite. none.

You talked about “moral flexibility”. Sounds good but the content is bad. Are there people you wouldn’t personally shake hands with?

– Turning away and not shaking hands… No, I’m not that principled. There are people who don’t care about me. Or tasteless. But on the way to the next party, I do not keep my thoughts in my head: “I will see this scumbag and how not to shake hands!”.

So the rules of honor are foreign to you?

“If you speak in Buddhist terms, I am an old soul. It seems to me that this is not the first thing I have experienced, and I take everything calmly. This is not indifference. It’s more about “swimming – we know” here. That’s the truth. There is a history spiral. It’s easy to be wise when you’re a monk sitting on a hill. And you try to be a wise man among people. Although someone will say that I am an opportunist. But what’s going on right now will definitely not lift me up and drive me away from Russia.

– What will it do to you?

– Threats to personal safety and the safety of your loved ones.

Are you familiar with the problem of professional burnout?

– Hard. However, excitement and interest in life gains.

— Did you know Eduard Dorozhkin?

Yes, he was one of my teachers.

– When he died, many wrote about how underestimated he was. Do you not think that the “lyrical hero” of the secular lion in Russia is doomed? There are no prophets in the bright homeland. Aren’t you afraid of the fate of Dorozhkin?

– The question is very philosophical. If you are destined to be forgotten – then ce la vie. I’ll try to make sure that doesn’t happen. I am arrogant and still want to spit into eternity.