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Strangely enough, in 2006 Zhirinovsky had almost no counterparts in England. Today, they exist. At that time, our television magazine Russian Hour was the only Russian media outlet broadcasting in the United Kingdom with a large audience on the Sky Digital platform, available in approximately nine million households. We were preparing to launch a full-fledged channel. At a certain point, a major Russian state player appeared on Sky, leased the entire channel from our broadcaster, and the media landscape changed dramatically. We proposed cooperation – including integrating our programmes – but the idea went nowhere. At the time, it seemed possible that we could coexist and complement each other. A different model was chosen. History, as it often does, turned out to be ironic: in a later period of geopolitical tension, that same channel itself faced restrictions on broadcasting in the UK as a foreign state media outlet. Independent projects registered within the country would have found it far easier to maintain a presence – which is precisely why our films, including those about my native Donbass, continued to find their audience. We were unable to continue regular broadcasting not because of pressure on the ground, but rather due to a lack of support. At times, it felt as though there was a “simple” logic at work when it came to Russian media abroad: either one large state channel, or nothing at all.

All the more valuable today are conversations like this one – with Vladimir Zhirinovsky. They remind us that alternatives always exist: in politics, in media, in life. The man himself, sadly, is no longer with us. But Russian Hour will return – in one form or another. In Britain and beyond, both connections and an audience remain: many still write and ask when we will be back on air. And perhaps when that happens, it will no longer be television in the traditional sense, but something else. We are now discussing different options and new formats – including with our professionals abroad, those who today are reshaping the very nature of global media and the internet. We are moving toward this. But that is another story. When Russian Hour returns to regular broadcasting, one of our first programs will be a film entitled “Zhirinovsky’s DNA.” By watching our programme to the end, you will see that, working with the theme of archaeogenetics, we invited Vladimir Volfovich to take a DNA test. After he held a special cotton swab in his mouth, I sent the sample to Cambridge under a pseudonym, completely concealing his name. This was done in order to exclude even the theoretical possibility of any influence on the results.

Two weeks later, I received the answer – and was astonished. After much deliberation, I decided not to pass the results on to Vladimir Volfovich. It seemed to me that he might not trust the test and might see a political motive behind it. At that time, this discovery could easily have turned into a scandal. We were not chasing sensations; professional ethics were always more important to us. Nevertheless, one day we will certainly return to this story. We will contact his relatives – because the mystery of his DNA belongs not only to him, but to them as well. And if they give their consent, this story will be told. But perhaps its time has not yet come. And in this sense – Zhirinovsky will return!"