Andriy Kulykov
Andriy Viktorovych Kulykov is a Ukrainian journalist, editor, television and radio presenter, actor, media expert, and media editor. He is widely known in Ukraine as the former host of Freedom of Speech , a popular political talk show broadcast on ICTV, but he also been involved with the BBC, Hromadske Radio, and other news media publications and broadcasters. Kurlykov is also a professional English-Ukrainian language Translator-referent. He has been involved in the journalistic effort to explain the Russian invasion of Ukraine to English-speaking audiences. On March 1, 2022, Kulykov was broadcasting live from his apartment when the Russian military bombed the Kyiv radio transmission tower. Kulykov also demanded the release of captured Ukrainian journalist Maksym Butkevych, publicly pleading the case for his safe return to Ukraine.
Kulykov is currently the chair of the board of Hromadske Radio and leads Ukraine’s, a professional self-regulatory body. He lectures regularly at higher education institutions across Ukraine, and is part of the academic staff at Mariupol State University in Donetsk Region. He holds academic credentials in international relations and works as a consulting translator. He also guest lectures at various Ukrainian and international universities including Harvard, Columbia, Oxford, Toronto, and others.
Early life
Andriy Kulykov was born into a media-involved family; his grandmother, Nina Savytska, was a well-known announcer for Ukrainian Radio and played a significant role in introducing him to the world of broadcasting. His grandmother was also heavily involved in Ukrainian radio theatre productions. Although he was born into a Russian language household, his grandmother regularly provided him with Ukrainian-language literature, including works translated by Olha Senyuk and writings by Vsevolod Nestayko. Through reading and contact with his grandmother’s professional circle, Kulikov became fluent in Ukrainian.During his adolescence, although he initially failed a voice audition in a radio studio, he developed a strong interest in radio programs, especially those in various languages including Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Polish. His early fascination with music and language led him to explore cultural and linguistic nuances through international radio broadcasts.
Kulykov's father was Viktor Kulikov, a teacher at the Kyiv Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers, and Zoya Kulikova, an employee at a long-distance telephone exchange.
He began his education at Kyiv Secondary School No. 57, which was known for its innovative language instruction. English was introduced from the first grade, and subjects such as history and geography were taught in English. Russian language instruction was also emphasized; notable figures such as Ariadna Shcherbytska, the wife of Ukrainian Soviet leader Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, taught there. At the time, few of Kulykov’s classmates spoke Ukrainian.
After completing the eighth grade, Kulykov transferred to Kyiv School No. 92, which used Ukrainian as the language of instruction. The school, housed in the historic Pavlo Galagan College building, fostered an environment where students interested in Ukrainian culture and history had access to additional resources. The school was known for attracting the children of Ukrainian dissidents, and during Kulykov’s time there, efforts were made by Soviet authorities to close it.
While he was attending Kyiv School No. 92, Kulykov witnessed searches and arrests of classmates’ family members, including the sons of dissidents Mykola Rudenko and Heliy Snehiryov. He also observed visits by state commissions tasked with removing publications deemed ideologically harmful. In response, school staff covertly saved many of these books, distributing them to private homes. Kulykov and his neighbors participated in preserving these materials, incorporating them into their personal libraries.
While in the tenth grade, Kulykov participated in a school drama club and was invited to apply to a theatre institute. However, upon consulting his grandmother, he was dissuaded from pursuing acting and later acknowledged her judgment as accurate, recognizing a distinction between artistic performance and comedic expression.
Kulykov graduated in 1979 from the Faculty of International Relations and International Law at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Unable to immediately find employment in his field, he worked unloading freight at the Petrivka railway station and provided private language lessons. While he was working at the train yard, a journalist acquaintance encouraged him to submit trial pieces to the newspaper The News from Ukraine, two of which were published.
Career as a journalist
Soviet propagandist
Andriy Kulykov began his journalistic career with The News From Ukraine in 1979, which was a Kyiv-based publication associated with the KDB URSR, and was an organ of the KGB-funded Association for Cultural Relations with Ukrainians Abroad during the Soviet period of Ukraine. Kulykov worked in the newspaper’s Soviet propaganda department, where he remained for 13 years.Kulykov has said that the primary inciting incident which solidified his transition into independent journalism was the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. During the latter half of the 1980s, the journalistic team at The News From Ukraine took part in the broader reform movement within the press.
BBC Ukrainian Service
In 1991, following the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, the BBC World Service launched a Ukrainian-language department. To prepare for this, it organized a seminar for about 30 Ukrainian journalists who were proficient in English. Six months later, those participants were invited to compete for newly available roles at the BBC Ukrainian Service. Andriy Kulykov was one of the successful applicants. According to Kulykov, the first four Ukrainians to join the service were Oleksiy Sologubenko, Kira Fomenko, Natalia Skofenko, and himself. Sologubenko quickly advanced, eventually holding leadership roles across various sections of the BBC World Service. Kulykov spent four years in London, from 1991 to 1995, initially working as a producer and later as a senior producer.Entry into Ukrainian television
In 1996, Kulykov joined Internews-Ukraine, a media organization founded by Mykola Kniazhytsky. He was initially offered the position of Editor-in-chief, but later stepped into the role of Deputy editor-in-chief, overseeing six weekly programs. This period marked his transition into television journalism, allowing him to gain practical experience in TV production. He worked alongside journalists such as Serhiy Kutsy, Heorhiy Gongadze, Oksana Novosad, and Yuriy Gorban.Kulykov joined 1+1, where he served as a production editor and deputy director of TSN. He credits Oleksandr Tkachenko with significantly influencing his development in television journalism, particularly in organizing the production process. During this time, 1+1 integrated its information and analytical content into a cohesive editorial approach, which reflected a distinct Ukrainian style.
He held the position of editor-in-chief of TSN twice: once for a single day and again for one week in 1998. His brief tenures were affected by political pressures, including resistance to editorial directives from figures such as Vadym Rabinovich, who influenced TSN's content at the time. Kulykov’s refusal to adhere to instructions about excluding certain politicians from coverage, such as Yulia Tymoshenko and Oleksandr Yelyashkevych, ultimately led to his departure from the channel.
From 1998 to 1999, Kulykov worked at the newly established New Channel as editor-in-chief, at the invitation of general producer Mikhail Pavlov. His work there was experimental, emphasizing improvisation and minimal political content. The channel’s studio was characterized by a flexible, open-door policy toward new contributors and programming ideas, resulting in a dynamic but loosely structured editorial environment.
Following the arrival of Oleksandr Tkachenko’s team at New Channel, Andriy Kulykov was offered the opportunity to lead its Reporter news program. He declined, opting not to return to conventional news formats after his earlier period of experimental broadcasting. Instead, he collaborated with Ihor Husiev, the former chief on-air director at New Channel, to develop a program called Night Dramaturgy, a stylized, whimsical portrait-style show that Kulykov hosted on STB.
Return to BBC
In 2000, Andriy Kulykov returned to London to work once more as a producer for the BBC Ukrainian Service. Although Kulyvov says that he briefly considered settling permanently in the United Kingdom, he ultimately decided to return to Ukraine, viewing it as offering greater professional opportunities. During this period, the BBC Ukrainian editorial office began incorporating internet-based content and broadcasting from a self-operated studio. Despite these developments, Kulykov concluded that he had reached the limits of his growth within the organization.Kulykov remained with the BBC for seven years. In the final two years, from 2005 to 2007, he also worked in Ukraine as an expert in the European Union's educational initiative "Development of Media Skills," a journalism training initiative in Ukraine.
During the Orange Revolution in late 2004, Kulykov served as the BBC’s correspondent from Kyiv's Independence Square, broadcasting in Ukrainian, Russian, and English. His coverage included reports specifically prepared for the BBC's domestic British audience.
After Viktor Yushchenko's electoral victory, Volodymyr Oseledchyk, general producer of 1+1, invited Kulykov to reorganize the TSN newsroom. Kulykov participated in the project but did not stay permanently, as he was already committed to other plans. This period was marked by a renewed emphasis on editorial independence at 1+1, with staff pledging to report truthfully and restore the network’s journalistic standards.