Dmitry Ilyich Gordon (Ukrainian: Дмитро Ілліч Гордон, romanized: Dmytro Illich Hordon; Russian: Дмитрий Ильич Гордон; born 21 October 1967) is a Ukrainian journalist, interviewer and politician. He is also the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Boulevard" (from June 1995), later "Gordon Boulevard". In June 2019, Gordon became the head of the election headquarters of the party Strength and Honor.[2]
Biography
Dmitry was born on the 21st of October 1967 in Kyiv to a Jewish family. His father, Ilya Gordon, was a civil engineer,[3] and his mother, Mina Gordon, was an engineer-economist. Gordon started school at the age of six and finished it at 15.[4] During his school years, he read a lot, was interested in the history of the Revolution, the Civil War and the Eastern Front of the Second World War. He was also keen on theatre, modern music and football. When he was in the fifth grade, he wrote about one hundred letters to famous people asking them to send him their photos with a signature. He got two replies: from Leonid Utyosov and Joseph Kobzon.[4]
In 1988, he graduated from Kyiv Civil Engineering Institute. As he recalls, he was very discontent with his choice of study.[5] In his second year he started to collaborate with the leading Kyiv newspapers. During his years of study he published in the best Ukrainian newspapers such as "Evening Kyiv", "Komsomolskoye Znamya" (literally "The Banner of Komsomol"), "Molodaya Ukraina" (literally "Young Ukraine"), "Sportivnaya Gazeta" (literally "Sports Newspaper"), "Molodaya Gvardiya" (literally "The Young Guard"), "Prapor Komunizmu" (literally "Banner of Communism"), and "Komsomolskaya Pravda" (literally "Komsomol Truth"). After the graduation Gordon worked for the newspapers "Evening Kyiv", "Kievskiye Vedomosti" (literally "Kyiv Bulletin") and "All-Ukraine Vedomosti" (literally "All-Ukraine Bulletin").
Since 1995, he has been editing his own newspaper, a weekly of society columns "Boulevard" (since 2005 "Gordon Boulevard"). Today in Ukraine "Gordon Boulevard" is one of the most popular newspapers with high circulation. The readers of the weekly count more than 2.5 million people. The newspaper is distributed in Russia, the United States, Israel, Spain, Italy and Germany as well.[6]
Gordon is the father of seven children. His eldest son, Rostislav (born in 1992), is a student at Kyiv Institute of International Relations.[7] His second son, Dmitry, (born in 1995), is a four-time European champion in the "united combat" discipline in the youth age group. He is also a composer of instrumental music and he plays the piano.[8] Since 2012, he is a student of Berklee College of Music in Boston. Elizaveta (born in 1999) and Lev (born in 2001) are schoolchildren. Gordon's wife is Olesia Batsman – the editor of "Shuster Live". With Olesia, they have three daughters: Santa (2012), Alice (2016), Liana (2019).
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in May 2022, a criminal case[9] was opened by the Russian Investigative Committee against Dmitry Gordon, despite him not being a Russian citizen. Russian authorities accused Gordon of dissemination of fake information about the Russian army. Gordon continues taking a stand against Russia throughout its war, proactively fundraising for the Ukraininan military as well as supporting Ukraine during media appearances.[citation needed]
On March 21, 2022, the Main Investigative Department of the IC of Russia initiated a criminal case against Dmitry Gordon. He was accused of public calls to unleash an aggressive war, actions aimed at inciting hatred or enmity on the grounds of nationality, and public dissemination of allegedly deliberately false information about the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.[11] Gordon responded to Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, stating: ”Vladimir Putin, you will not intimidate either Ukraine or me! The criminal here is not me! The Nazi criminal is you! And you will sit in the same tribunal where the Nazis sat!,” he said.[12]
On April 6, 2022, it was announced that the journalist had been included in a list of individuals and organizations deemed by Russia to be involved in extremist activities or terrorism,[13] and on April 28 the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia Oleksandr Bastrykin instructed to study and analyze the content of the books written by Gordon.[14] According to the journalist, he was generally surprised to learn that his books were sold in Russia.[15]
It became known on July 19, 2022 that Russia’s police force has added Dmitry Gordon to its wanted list,[16] and two days later a court in Moscow arrested him in absentia.[17] Gordon responded by saying that after Russia's attack on Ukraine and the occupation of Crimea he has been fighting against the Russian Federation in the information field for many years, thus, the decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia did not come as a surprise to him, and added, ”I don’t care about them, they can kiss my ass. They put me on the wanted list… With the same success, I’m putting the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on the wanted list”.[18]
In January 2024, it became known that a new criminal case had been opened against Gordon in Russia, allegedly for “public calls to terrorism,” and he was again put on the wanted list.[19]
On July 1, 2024, the 2nd Western District Military Court in Moscow sentenced Gordon in absentia to 14 years in prison on all charges.[20][21][22] Judge Roman Kiforenko ruled that Gordon must serve the first three years in prison, with the remainder of the sentence to be served in a general-regime colony.[23] Additionally, Gordon was banned from administering internet resources for three years.[24] The court stated that the sentence would come into effect “after Gordon’s arrest on Russian territory or his extradition to Russia.” During the trial, it was revealed that the case against Gordon was based on three videos he posted on his YouTube channels in 2022. According to the prosecution, in these videos, he allegedly “called for the killings of Putin and Lukashenko” and urged the U.S. to start a nuclear war against Russia. Commenting on the court’s decision, Gordon said that his media platforms are working for Ukraine’s victory in the war. “I thank Russia for such a high recognition of my services to my country. Yes, I have hurt Russia and will continue to do so,” the journalist emphasized.[25]
Reporters Without Borders condemned the Russian court’s verdict against Gordon, calling the trial a “legal farce.” They noted that the Russian authorities aim to intimidate journalists who publish independent information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.[26]
On September 2, 2022, Gordon was included in Russia’s registry of individuals labeled as “foreign agents.”.[27] Commenting on the Russian Ministry of Justice’s decision, Gordon said, “They’ve completely lost their minds in Moscow. Are they out of their heads? I can’t be a ‘foreign agent,’ I’m not a citizen of the Russian Federation.”.
Gordon stated that he is the only person in Ukraine against whom Russia has taken such a wide range of measures.[28][29] He explained that his online platforms—YouTube channels, social media pages, and the website “GORDON”—have a combined audience of over 10 million people. “For eight years, I have consistently fought against the Kremlin and Putin. My word, or the word of those I invite for interviews, has a huge impact. That’s why I’m enemy number one for Putin and the Kremlin,” he said.
At the end of 2022, Gordon filed a lawsuit against Russia with the European Court of Human Rights.[22] He asked the court to declare his criminal prosecution unjust “for direct, truthful statements about Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”.[30] “If the European Court recognizes violations of the European Convention on Human Rights by Russia, it will essentially confirm that the direct, radical statements of Ukrainians against Russia are justified and permissible from the perspective of international law,” the journalist explained.
FSB assassination plot
In September 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced the exposure of a spy network linked to an elite unit of Russia’s FSB, which operated in Kyiv and, among other things, was planning to assassinate Gordon.[31][32] According to the security services, the network was coordinated by a former member of the banned Party of Regions. Media reports suggest this refers to Vitaly Hrushevsky, a former MP who served from 2012 to 2014.[33] Hrushevsky and three other suspects were arrested. The SBU released correspondence from the case, in which one of the figures asked for images of Gordon’s house.
The journalist is convinced that the order to kill him was personally given by Putin, as “such actions are never carried out without orders from the top leader”.[34] He emphasized that, because of his journalism, he is one of Russia’s main enemies, but the actions of Russian intelligence will neither intimidate nor stop him.[35] “I stand for truth, my country, and my confidence that the Russians will not win in the end. We are on our land and destined for victory,” Gordon said.
Reporters Without Borders condemned the assassination attempt against Gordon and called for a thorough investigation to identify those responsible for organizing it.[36]
Books
1999 – "My Soul Suffers Terribly…" Talks with Kashpirovsky.
2003 – "The Heroes of Interlunation". In eight volumes.
2004 – "The Stars of Popular Music".
2004 – "The Stars of Popular Music and Films".
2004 – "The Sports Stars".
2004 – "The Faces of Ukraine".
2004 – "Visiting Dmitry Gordon". In 2 volumes.
2005 – "In Private".
2006 – "Frankly Speaking".
2006 – "A Lifelong Dialogue".
2006 – "Speak Your Mind".
2007 – "Unedited".
2007 – "Têt-à-têt".
2008 – "Berezovsky and Korzhakov. The Kremlin Secrets".
2009 – "Gloss Free".
2009 – "From Sorrow to Joy".
2009 – "The Height of Loneliness".
2010 – "Son for Father".
2010 – "Under the Magnifying Glass".
2010 – "Between the Past and the Future".
2010 – "Viktor Suvorov. The Confession".
2011 – "Naughty Memory".
2012 – "The Moment of Truth".
2012 – "The Distant Close".
2012 – "Ten Hours in London. Berezovsky. Bukowski. Suvoro".
