Yury Aleksandrovich Dud (Russian: Ю́рий Алекса́ндрович Дудь, Russian pronunciation: [dutʲ], also spelled Yuri Dud; born 11 October 1986) is a German-born Russian journalist known primarily for his informational online videos he distributes as a YouTuber. He has been deputy director-general of the sports website Sports.ru [ru] since 2018, having previously served as the editor-in-chief from 2011 to 2018.

Yury Dud
Dud in 2017
Personal information
Born (1986-10-11) 11 October 1986 (age 38)
EducationMoscow State University
Occupation(s)Journalist, interviewer
YouTube information
Channel
Subscribers10.3 million[1]
Total views2.24 billion[1]
100,000 subscribers2017
1,000,000 subscribers2017
10,000,000 subscribers2022

Last updated: 2 Sept, 2024

In 2017, Dud launched his YouTube channel, vDud (Russian: вДудь), where he interviews individuals from Russia and other post-Soviet states. He is one of the most popular YouTubers in Russia, with vDud having over ten million subscribers as of early 2022. His series of socio-political interviews have included multiple opponents of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and related foreign policies of the nation. This has brought him attention from worldwide audiences and opposition from Vladimir Putin's government.[2] On 11 April 2022, Dud released Человек во время войны (English: Man in the Time of War / Man in War), a film project based upon his research into the Ukrainian refugee crisis.[3]

Early life and family

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Dud was born on 11 October 1986 in the city of Potsdam in East Germany to Alexander Petrovich Dud, the head of Bauman Moscow State Technical University's military department and professor of military science,[4] and Anna Stepanovna Dud, a schoolteacher of chemistry.[5] In 1990, his family moved to Moscow.[6] Dud has lived in Russia since the age of four.[7][8] He considers himself to be of Ukrainian origin and particularly Russian by identity.[7]

Career

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Early career

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Dud played football as a child and dreamt of becoming a goalkeeper, but had to stop playing because of asthma. However, this passion got him interested in sports journalism.[9] In 2001, Dud began working at the Russian newspaper Izvestia as a freelance journalist; he became a staff journalist at the age of 16.[7] In 2007, Dud began working for the sports magazine PROSPORT.ru, which was then in the sports division of NTV Plus.[7] In 2008, he graduated from the MSU Faculty of Journalism.[7]

From 2011 to 2013, Dud hosted the TV show Headbutt (Удар головой) on Russia-2. From 2015 to 2017, he hosted the show KultTura (КультТура) on the newly launched TV channel Match TV.[7] The show was taken off the air due to poor ratings and a lack of sponsors.[10]

From 2011 to 2018, Dud was editor-in-chief of Sports.ru [ru].[7] In 2018, he moved to the position of deputy director-general.[11]

vDud

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In February 2017, Dud launched the YouTube channel vDud (вДудь), where he interviews famous figures, including musicians (mainly rappers), politicians, journalists, film directors, and businesspeople.[12] The channel quickly became a success; his 2018 interview with influencer Nastya Ivleeva received over 30 million views.[13] By June 2020, the channel received over one billion views.[14]

In September 2019, Dud was awarded GQ Russia's Person of the Year prize in the Face From the Screen category. In his speech at the ceremony, he urged his colleagues to break the silence around police brutality, corruption, and election rigging. The next day, the Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told media that he does not advise for those words to be projected onto the whole of society.[15][16][17]

By 2021, Dud became the most popular Russian blogger.[18] In his article "D — Dud" ("Д — Дудь") as part of his "Words of Russia" project ("Слова России"), Yury Saprykin [ru] wrote that Dud became a voice of the new generation in his country. In his interviews, he openly speaks with guests on topics that are not represented in state media. Saprykin stated that Dud, through his work, reinvents recent Russian history and presents it without state propaganda. By November 2021, the channel had more almost 10 million subscribers and his 2020 documentary How the World's IT Capital Works had received over 40 million views. Forbes estimated Dud's annual income in 2021 to be $1.8 million.[19]

On 17 June 2021, the authorities opened a case against Dud for allegedly distributing "drug propaganda" in his interviews with a Ukrainian blogger and a Russian rapper; Dud had included the disclaimer "drugs are evil, don't consume them" at the beginning of the videos.[20] In October, he was sentenced to a 100,000 ruble (US$2,000) fine.[21] Dud tried to appeal the ruling, but the Moscow City Court declined his appeal.[22]

Following a mass crackdown in Belarus on the media, the GUBOPiK of the Belarusian interior ministry labelled three videos on his channel as extremist in 2022. The videos were about stand-up comedian Slava Komissarenko, who fled Belarus and openly opposes the government of Alexander Lukashenko. The Committee to Protect Journalists criticized the decision and called on Belarusian authorities to reverse it and "stop using the country's extremism legislation to silence independent journalism".[23]

Documentaries

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Over time, Dud's YouTube channel grew from one-on-one interviews to documentary films on social issues and recent Russian history.[19]

Kolyma

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In April 2019, the documentary film Kolyma was published which is about Stalinist repressions in the region of Kolyma and the emergence of the Gulag camps and their legacy.[24][25][26]

Beslan. Remember

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In September 2019, a film about the victims and survivors of the Beslan school siege in 2004 was released.[27] In the opening of the film, Dud states: "Our state made mistakes that led to this tragedy. By giving maximum care to the victims it can earn forgiveness and, later, trust of its people". The film is based on interviews of witnesses, hostages, journalists, and bureaucrats who were there during the tragedy, including Ruslan Aushev, the sole negotiator who entered the sieged school and led 26 hostages outside.[28] The film received over 10 million views in four days on YouTube. Its release marked the 15th anniversary of the Beslan tragedy, where no documentaries or reports were given that day on state channels.[29]

Criticism from state media followed the release of the film with Vladimir Solovyov being one of the most vocal.[30] The newspaper Argumenty i Fakty accused Dud of whitewashing the terrorists.[31] Dmitry Sokolov-Mitrich [ru], who witnessed the events, criticized Dud for what he called was a biased description of the storming of the school by Russian forces.[32][33] Independent publications including Novaya Gazeta praised the documentary for what it described as a professional, calm, and thoroughly detailed analysis.[34]

HIV in Russia: An Epidemic No One Talks About

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In February 2020, HIV in Russia: An Epidemic No One Talks About was published, receiving over 13 million views in its first week of release.[35] Initially, Dud's team wanted to tell its audience how to not become part of the statistics where over one million people in Russia live with HIV. But during the production of the film, they understood the issue of constant condemnation and discrimination against those living with HIV.[36] After its release, the politician Fedot Tumusov organized a screening in the State Duma in order to motivate other deputies to work on the issue.[37] The head of the Audit Chamber of Russia, Alexei Kudrin, ordered his department to carefully examine support measures provided to those living with HIV in the country.[38] According to Google Analytics, searches for HIV tests in Russia increased by 56 times after the film was released. The head of the Federal Centre for the Prevention and Control of the Spread of AIDS, Vadim Pokrovsky told media that the number of people willing to perform HIV tests doubled.[39]

How the World's IT Capital Works

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In April 2020, a film about Silicon Valley Russian-speaking entrepreneurs was released.[40] Many of them (like Mikita Mikado or Andrey Doronichev from Google) were yet unknown to wide Russian audience and 'woke up famous' with social network accounts bursting with thousands of new followers.[41] Although the film was generally praised,[42] it was criticized for making the Silicon Valley business environment seem too positive, as it did not tell the story of hardship and failure.[41][43]

Why They Torture in Russia

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In December 2021, a film about torture in modern-day Russia was released.[44] In the film, Dud interviews victims of torture as well as human rights activists and organizations.[45][46] The film opens up on the issue of violence and torture in Russia's penitential facilities that stay undisclosed and uninvestigated, where often the victims are unable to sue their offenders. Even in those cases that are opened, the offenders are usually acquitted.[47]

Man in War

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On 11 April 2022, a film about the work of volunteers helping refugees from Ukraine titled Человек во время войны (English: Man in the Time of War / Man in War) came out based on Dud's research.[3]

Personal life

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Dud is married to Olga Dud (née Boneva) and has two children.[48][49]

In February 2022, after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Dud condemned the invasion and publicly called for Russian troops to be withdrawn from Ukraine; his anti-war Facebook post received over 1 million likes.[50][51] Dud described the invasion as an "imperial frenzy" that he doesn't want to be a part of.[52] A complaint about his anti-war posts were filed to the Prosecutor-General of Russia's Office and Ministry of Justice, calling for Dud to be designated as a "foreign agent".[53] On 15 April, Dud was designated by the Ministry of Justice as a "foreign agent".[54][55] However, he had left his country to continue working from Istanbul.[56]

Awards

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  • 2016 – Winner of GQ Russia's Person of the Year award in the Face from TV category with Yevgeny Savin[57]
  • 2017 – Winner of GQ Russia's Person of the Year award in the Face From the Screen category[58]
  • 2017 – Laureate of Redkollegia's prize in October[59]
  • 2019 – Winner of GQ Russia's Person of the Year award in the Face From the Screen category[60]
  • 2020 – Forbes Life Hero of the Year Award[40]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "About вДудь". YouTube.
  2. ^ McDade, Aaron (15 April 2022). "Yuri Dud, Russia's Most Popular YouTuber, Named a Foreign Agent by Kremlin". Newsweek. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b ""А добро точно победит?" Юрий Дудь снял фильм об Украине". Delfi (in Russian). 12 April 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Отец Дудя – офицер и военный изобретатель. У них с Юрой явно разные взгляды на жизнь" [Dud's father is an officer and a military inventor. He and Yura clearly have different perspectives on life] (in Russian). 27 January 2019. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Антон Чупков: Мама Юрия Дудя учила меня химии. С любовью ставила двойки" [Anton Chupkov: Yuri Dud's mum taught me chemistry. She lovingly gave me D's]. Sovetsky Sport. 17 September 2017. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  6. ^ "«Я панк, не мечтающий о бегстве из страны». Гуру спортивной журналистики выступит с лекцией в Екатеринбурге" ["I'm a punk not dreaming of fleeing the country". Sports journalism guru to give a lecture in Ekaterinburg] (in Russian). ura.news. 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Юрий Дудь / Биография и фильмография (in Russian). Russia-2. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Скрыл семью, нажил врагов: цена славы Юрия Дудя". 74.ru. 17 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Юрий Дудь: "Я сел с Емельяненко на маты — и если бы меня начали бить, не успел бы убежать"" [Yuri Dud: "I sat down with Emelianenko on the mat - and if they started hitting me, I wouldn't have had time to run away"]. The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Юрий Дудь: Из шоу «КультТура» ушел спонсор. Но мы и сами виноваты". sovsport.ru. 18 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Юрий Дудь: "Новый главный редактор Sports.ru – Александр Аксенов"". Sports.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  12. ^ Cichowlas, Ola (2 June 2017). "Talking Heads: How Russia's Videobloggers are Shaping Public Opinion". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Профессионал года – журналист Юрий Дудь" [Professional of the Year: Yury Dud] (in Russian). Vedomosti. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Как Юрий Дудь набрал миллиард просмотров за три с лишним года" [Yury Dud Gets Billiard Views on Youtube] (in Russian). Spark. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Кремль посоветовал не проецировать на все общество речь Дудя на премии GQ" [Kremlin Advises Not to Project Dud's Speech on GQ Award onto All Society] (in Russian). RBC. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  16. ^ Milchenko, A. (11 September 2019). "Один — не все: Песков о словах Дудя на вручении премии GQ" [One is Not Everyone: Peskov About Dud's Speech on GQ Award] (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  17. ^ "«Молчание уже перестало быть спасительным оберегом». Речь Юрия Дудя о полицейском произволе и фальсификациях на выборах" [Silence Can No Longer Help: Yury Dud's Speech on Election Rigging and Police Violence] (in Russian). Meduza. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  18. ^ Dovzhik 2021, p. 1298.
  19. ^ a b Saprykin, J. (19 November 2021). "Д - Lelm" [D - Dud] (in Russian). Kommersant. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Russian authorities open court case against journalist Yury Dud for distributing 'drug propaganda'". Committee to Protect Journalists. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Юрия Дудя оштрафовали на 100 тыс. рублей за пропаганду наркотиков" [yury Dud Fined 100,000 Roubles for Drug Propaganda] (in Russian). Kommersant. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  22. ^ "Мосгорсуд оставил в силе штраф Юрию Дудю за пропаганду наркотиков" [Moscow City Court Declines Yury Dud Appeal] (in Russian). TASS. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Belarus authorities sentence journalist Aleh Hruzdzilovich to prison; label more media 'extremist'". Committee to Protect Journalists. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  24. ^ "The Russian YouTuber Who Tours The Legacy Of Stalin". Radio Liberty. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Gulag Documentary Takes Russian YouTube by Storm". The Moscow Times. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  26. ^ "Юрий Дудь снял документальный фильм «Колыма — родина нашего страха»" [Yury Dud Publishes Documentary about Kolyma] (in Russian). Sobaka Magazine. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  27. ^ "Documentary film about Beslan survivors leads to a flood of support for one disabled woman". Meduza. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  28. ^ Shorokhova, T. (2 September 2019). "«Он не про поиск виноватых. Он о людях»: Юрий Дудь сделал документальный фильм о трагедии в Беслане" ['It's Not About Searches for the Guilty, It's About People']. Forbes (in Russian). Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Фильм Дудя про Беслан собрал более 10 млн просмотров за четыре дня" [Dud's Beslan Documentary Has 10 Mln Views in 4 Days] (in Russian). Vedomosti. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  30. ^ Aluleev, I. (6 September 2019). "«Ничтожная мразь»: за что Соловьев набросился на Дудя" [‘Lousy Scum’: Why Solovyov Insults Dud]. Gazeta. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  31. ^ Sidorchick, A. (6 September 2019). "«Беслан. Помни». Двойное дно фильма Юрия Дудя" [‘Beslan. Remember’ False Bottom of Yury Dud's Documentary]. Argumenty i Fakty. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  32. ^ "Провластные журналисты неделю объясняют Юрию Дудю, почему он снял очень плохой фильм про «Беслан». Кратчайший пересказ" [State Owned Media in Chorus Explain Why Yury Dud's Beslan Documentary is Weak] (in Russian). Meduza. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  33. ^ "Юра, ты поступил как пижон. Соколов-Митрич назвал ошибкой фильм Дудя о Беслане" [Yura, You Behaved Like a Show-Off: Sokolov-Mitrich Criticizes Dud's Documentary on Beslan tragedy] (in Russian). SMNews. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2022.[permanent dead link]
  34. ^ Taroshina, S. (3 September 2019). "Как вырастить фиалки в аду. Юрий Дудь и Ксения Собчак выпустили документальные фильмы о трагедии Беслана" [Growing Violets in Hell: Yury Dud and Xenia Sobchak release documentaries on Beslan Tragedy]. Novaya Gazeta. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  35. ^ Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber (18 February 2020). "Russian blogger's HIV documentary reaches millions, draws Kremlin praise". Reuters. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  36. ^ Pinkham 2021, p. 394-395.
  37. ^ "В Госдуме в День всех влюбленных показали фильм Юрия Дудя о ВИЧ" [Screening of Yury Dud's Film on HIV in State Duma] (in Russian). Novaya Gazeta. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  38. ^ "Фильм Дудя о ВИЧ-эпидемии заинтересовал Счетную палату. За пять дней его посмотрели более 11 миллионов человек" [Yury Dud's HIV Film Got Attention of Auditing Chamber] (in Russian). Fontanka. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  39. ^ Gagarin, G. (17 February 2020). "В РАН подтвердили сведения Дудя об эпидемии ВИЧ в России" [RAN Verifies Data from Yury Dud's HIV Movie] (in Russian). NSN News. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  40. ^ a b Titok, E. (14 December 2020). "Юрий Дудь стал героем года по версии читателей Forbes Lifе" [Yury Dud Awarded Hero of Year by Forbes Life]. Forbes (in Russian). Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  41. ^ a b "Герои фильма Дудя о Кремниевой долине запустили Mesto — русскоязычное сообщество стартаперов" [Heroes of Dudya's documentary about Silicon Valley have launched Mesto, a Russian-speaking start-up community] (in Russian). Meduza. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  42. ^ Falaleev, D. (27 April 2020). "Котел крутых людей: что осталось за кадром фильма Юрия Дудя о Кремниевой долине" [Cauldron of cool people: what's behind the scenes of Yury Dud's film about Silicon Valley]. Forbes (in Russian). Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  43. ^ "Mikita Mikado: Silicon valley entrepreneur, Belarusian activist". The Tribune. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  44. ^ "Юрий Дудь снял фильм о том, почему в России пытают" [Yury Dud Releases Documentary on Tortures in Russia]. Radio Liberty (in Russian). 7 December 2021. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  45. ^ "Почему в России пытают Аудитория Юрия Дудя уже сопоставима с аудиторией телеканалов" [Tortures in Russia. Yury Dud's Audience reaches TV Channels Numbers]. Новая газета. 9 December 2021. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  46. ^ "«Почему в России пытают» — двухчасовой фильм Юрия Дудя" [‘Tortures in Russia’ — new Yury Dud's documentary] (in Russian). The Village. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  47. ^ "Пытки в СИЗО и колониях в России: как система отстаивает "своих"" [Tortures in Russian Jails and Colonies: how the system protects itself] (in Russian). Deutsche Welle. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  48. ^ Личная жизнь Юрия Дудя: татуировки в честь детей и непубличная жена
  49. ^ "В день рождения Юрия Дудя: 7 поводов его любить". PEOPLETALK (in Russian). 11 October 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  50. ^ "Russia's anti-war lobby goes online". france24.com. France24. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  51. ^ Alexey Kovalev (3 March 2022). "Russia Has Suffered a Crushing Moral Defeat. And Russians Know It". The NY Times. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  52. ^ Irina Kuznetsova (27 February 2022). "This War Is Not in My Name". The NY Times. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  53. ^ "На блогера Юрия Дудя пожаловались в Генпрокуратуру и Минюст после его поста об Украине" [Complaint on Yury Dud Filed to General Prosecutor's Office and Ministry of Justice] (in Russian). TJ Journal. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  54. ^ "Минюст РФ объявил Юрия Дудя и Екатерину Шульман «иностранными агентами»" [The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation declared Yury Dud and Ekaterina Schulmann as "foreign agents"] (in Russian). Meduza. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  55. ^ "Екатерина Шульман, Юрий Дудь и Роман Доброхотов внесены в реестр СМИ-иноагентов". BBC Russian. 15 April 2022.
  56. ^ "Who are the Russians leaving their country?". DW. 5 April 2022.
  57. ^ "Лицо из ТВ 2016: Евгений Савин и Юрий Дудь". gq.ru. 3 October 2016.
  58. ^ "ЧЕЛОВЕК ГОДА 2017". gq.ru. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  59. ^ "Лауреаты за 2017". redkollegia.org.
  60. ^ "Все победители премии "GQ Человек года" 2019". gq.ru. 10 September 2019.

Sources

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