Zurab G. Alasania (Ukrainian Zurab Grigorovich Alasaniya) – Ukrainian journalist and media manager of Georgian origin. General Director of the National TV Company of Ukraine (March 25, 2014 – November 2, 2016). Since April 10, 2017 – Chairman of the National Public TV and Radio Company of Ukraine.
Place of Birth. Education. Zurab Grigorievich Alasania was born on January 3, 1965 in the Georgian city of Sukhumi. After graduating from the local high school number 4 and in 1982 he entered the faculty of “Industrial and civil construction” at the Kharkov Civil Engineering Institute. At the end of the first year, Alasania was drafted into the ranks of the Soviet Army. He served in the missile forces of the Red Banner Transcaucasian Military District. In 1985, after being demobilized with the rank of sergeant, he was reinstated in the second year of the institute. Zurab Grigorievich graduated from the institute in 1989, worked in the Kharkov metro as a worker, then as a site foreman.
Professional activity. Transferred to work in his specialty at the Research Institute “Giprozavodtrans” as an engineer. In 1991, Alasania quit his job. For several years he worked in a home studio, a number of graphic and painting works are currently in galleries and private collections in the West.
In 1993 he left for Greece, for a year he lived and worked on the island of Crete. Upon returning to Kharkov, he worked as a manager in a large trade enterprise. In 1996 he went abroad again – under a contract with the French Foreign Legion, but did not sign a contract.
Returning to Kharkov, Zurab published a number of publicistic articles about the Legion. Since 1996, he began regular cooperation with the media. In 1997 he was hired by the Telemac studio, released the author’s program “Television Today”, worked as a correspondent for the “Day by Day” news program, host of the political talk show “Battlefield”. In 1999, he joined the Simon TV and Radio Company as a journalist for the Once Upon a Time program, in the same year he began publishing his own publicistic program Objectively. In 2000, Zurab Alasania became a co-founder and director of the Objective Media Group, whose employees produce a number of information and copyright programs on television and radio, and also issue the Objective-no weekly. In April 2006, due to disagreements with one of the co-founders of the media group, Alexander Davtyan, the collective stopped releasing their products on the “Simon” channel. As a result, the media group was re-registered.
In 2006, Alasania became the founder of the MediaPort agency (newscasts aired on the S-TET TV channel until November 2009) and the weekly MediaPost (aired from June 29, 2006 to October 4, 2007). On July 5, 2005, he was appointed director of the Kharkiv Regional State Broadcasting Company and worked there for almost five years until June 4, 2010.
In 2013, Zurab Alasania became one of the founders and journalists of Hromadske.tv, is a member of the public organization Hromadske.tv, a member of the Independent Mediarada and the Commission on Journalistic Ethics.
On March 25, 2014, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed Alasania as Director General of the National TV Company of Ukraine. His candidacy was proposed to the government by representatives of the media community. Even then, he said that the ultimate goal of reforming the First National was denationalization and the creation of public broadcasting on its basis.
On November 1, 2016, Zurab Alasania resigned at his own request from the post of general director of NTKU. Then he said that he constantly felt pressure from the authorities related to content.
On April 10, 2017, he was elected Chairman of the National Public TV and Radio Company of Ukraine.
On January 31, 2019, the Supervisory Board of the Public Broadcaster (NSTU) prematurely terminated the contract with the Chairman of the Board Zurab Alasania… 12th of February The Supervisory Board of the Public Broadcaster (NSTU) has postponed the termination of the contract with Zurab Alasania for three months. On June 19, the court declared Alasania’s dismissal unlawful. Since July 1, 2019, Zurab Alasania has been officially reinstated as the chairman of the board of the National Public TV and Radio Company of Ukraine.
Awards… Honored Journalist of Ukraine (2005).
Family. He is married and has a son and a daughter. Wife – Viola Alasania, neurologist.
05.01.2021