The opening of a film studio by Oksana Marchenko, the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk, in Russia raises eyebrows given Medvedchuk‘s close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The involvement of Alexei Basmanov, a former producer of Ukraine’s Got Talent, adds an interesting dimension to this development. It’s likely to draw attention and speculation about the studio’s potential projects and its connections to the political landscape in both Ukraine and Russia.
Vervitsa Film by Oksana Marchenko
The journalists found that Vervitsa Film, a film, video and TV production company, was set up in Russia in autumn 2023. The firm’s founders are Renaissance (99.99%), a Russian joint-stock company owned by Oksana Marchenko, and Russian citizen Alexei Basmanov (0.01%).
The journalists discovered that Basmanov and Marchenko had worked together in Ukraine on Ukraine’s Got Talent, with Basmanov as the line producer. The investigators added that as yet, they have been unable to get comments from either Basmanov or Marchenko. However, former colleagues of Basmanov’s explained that he has been involved in producing episodes of Pilgrim, Marchenko’s propaganda series. They said Basmanov enjoyed this work immensely.
Who Is Oksana Marchenko ?
On April 28, 1973, Oksana Marchenko was born in the Kyiv region’s Chabany village. She revealed that although she was planning to become a doctor, she had changed her intentions and enrolled in the Drahomanov Pedagogical University’s history department after being rejected from medical school. She actively supported democracy and opposed the communist government while she was a student.She started her career on television in 1992 after winning a competition for amateur TV presenters.
Oksana Marchenko was raised in a typical working-class household. Her mother taught kindergarten, while her father was employed as a technician in a hospital. Oleksandr, her younger brother, works in television as well. She also has two other sisters: Diana, her mother, and Anna, her father.Oksana was a lively, inquisitive youngster who enjoyed singing, dancing, drawing, and reading.She was occasionally mischievous yet performed well in school.
Oksana Marchenko has had two marriages. The politician Vitaliy Korzh’s son, Yuriy Korzh, was her first husband. They were married in 1993 after meeting on a TV show set. Bohdan, their son, was born in 1997. But a year later, they got divorced.
Prominent businessman Viktor Medvedchuk is her second husband. They met on the set of the political talk show Vremya in 1999. In 2003, they were married in the Foros Church (UOC-MP). In 2004, they had a daughter, Daria, who is the goddaughter of Putin and Svetlana Medvedeva.
Education
In 1995, Oksana Marchenko received her honors degree from the Mykhailo Drahomanov National Pedagogical University’s history department. Her doctorate is in history, and she studied Ukrainian television history for her dissertation. In addition, she has completed courses and internships in media management, psychology, marketing, television production, and journalism, among other fields.
Career
on 1992, Oksana Marchenko began her career on television after winning a competition for amateur TV presenters. She rose to prominence as the host of several shows on the UTAR and UT-1 TV networks, including “UTN on Questions,” “Restrained Tuesdays,” and “Good Morning, Ukraine!” She briefly stopped working on TV after marrying her first husband, but she later resumed her career once her son was born.
She started Omega TV, a television production firm, in 2000. Omega TV produced shows for many networks. She started the creation of the “Names” documentary series in 2003, which honors well-known individuals whose lives have been entwined with Ukrainian history.These shows first aired on UT-1, then Inter starting in 2005.
In 2007, Oksana Marchenko launched The Oksana Marchenko Show, a social and entertainment venture in which she provided support and guidance to people facing challenging circumstances. She established a humanitarian foundation to assist women in Ukraine concurrently with the project.
She presented the STB talent competition “Ukraine’s Got Talent” in 2009 and the popular singing competition “X-Factor” on STB in 2010. One of the most popular and well-rated programs in Ukrainian television history is now this one. Oksana Marchenko gave a demonstration of her charm, professionalism, and interpersonal skills with both the audience and the participants. Her lavish outfits and hairstyles left an impression as well.Before leaving her position as host of The X Factor in 2019, Oksana Marchenko hosted the show for nine seasons.
In 2011, Oksana Marchenko took on the roles of writer and presenter for the Inter TV documentary Pilgrimage. She discussed her visits to several holy sites, including Jerusalem, Lourdes, Fatima, Mecca, Bodhgaya, and others, in her endeavor. She talked on her observations, ideas, and feelings after encountering individuals of other faiths, cultures, and backgrounds. The purpose of the Pilgrimage initiative was to demonstrate to the public the richness and variety of the spiritual realm.
In 2013, Oksana Marchenko portrayed the lead character in her debut feature film, The Other Woman. It was a melodrama about forgiveness, love, and treachery. Olena, portrayed by Oksana Marchenko, learns that her spouse had an affair. She makes the decision to exact revenge on him, but when she encounters her husband’s mistress, things get complicated. Reviews for the movie The Other Woman were conflicting among reviewers and viewers. While some thought Oksana Marchenko’s performance was compelling and competent, others did not.
Oksana Marchenko Sanctioned Ukraine
Marchenko’s political opinions, familial connections, and commercial ventures have brought her considerable attention throughout the years. She agreed with her husband’s pro-Russian stance, condemned the laws, policies, and changes in Ukraine, and opposed NATO and European integration.Propaganda, corruption, election meddling, breaching sanctions, unlawful land usage, and other offenses have all been leveled against her.
The Ukrainian government imposed sanctions on Oksana Marchenko and her spouse in February 2021 after they were alleged to have provided funding for terrorists in Donbas and Crimea. For a period of three years, their companies, assets, accounts, and property were frozen. In response, Oksana Marchenko declared she was joining the Opposition Platform-For Life party and vowed to exact revenge on President Zelensky.She mentioned that in 2003, when Zelensky was an artist, she had assisted him in finding work.
Soon later, Oksana Marchenko crossed into Belarus at a checkpoint to exit Ukraine. She allegedly followed her godfather Putin’s instructions to carry out the planned full-scale military assault against Ukraine. Other accounts claim that she ran away from the SBU’s persecution because they believed she had committed crimes against the state. Oksana Marchenko used the threat of gun-wielding intruders attempting to breach into her home as justification for her flight. She added that when the administration changed, she would go back to Ukraine.
Achievements Of Oksana Marchenko
Oksana Marchenko has many achievements in her career that are recognized both in Ukraine and abroad. Here are some of them:
- She holds a PhD in history for her dissertation on the history of Ukrainian television.
- She is the author and host of more than 20 television projects, including Names, The Oksana Marchenko Show, Ukraine’s Got Talent, X-Factor, Pilgrim, and others.
- She is the founder and chairman of a charitable foundation to support women in Ukraine, which helps women in difficult life circumstances.
- She is the recipient of many awards and honors, such as Teletriumph, Television Star, TV Presenter of the Year, Woman of the Year, Golden Firebird, and others.
- She is the record holder for the number of talent shows she has hosted in Ukraine – 12 seasons of “Ukraine’s Got Talent” and 9 seasons of “X-Factor”.
- She is one of the most influential women in Ukraine according to Focus magazine.
- She is one of the richest women in Ukraine according to Novoe Vremya magazine.
Source: an investigation by Skhemy (Schemes), an investigative journalism project by Radio Liberty
