Apologies are not contemplated, not even as an idea. The Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyev, who in recent days has heavily insulted Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano today relaunches and defines her as “confused”.
Melons “confused”
Solovyev explains: “What I meant is that Meloni is confused, by defending the Pope she has changed her opinion regarding his relationship with Trump: but perhaps she did it to seek the votes of Catholics. As in the past she has betrayed her fascist origins, the party from which she comes.”
The host has words of “love” for Italy, defined as “a second homeland. For what your country represents for the Russians and the special relationship we have had historically. I have no problems with Italy, perhaps some Italians with me”. Then comes the jab at Meloni, albeit with very different tones from those used in recent days: “Meloni doesn’t seem to me to be doing what is best for the Italians. And the same is true for the others. They have no memory, they are like butterflies, they don’t remember the past. The Russians remember well what the Italians sent by Mussolini to Donbass did: they behaved very badly. Every Russian family had fallen in the Great Patriotic War. Do you remember how many Italians died in the Second World War? Europe no longer remembers its history.”
At the word “apology”, Solovyev raises a wall: “I think that before I apologize, you should apologize for what has been done in recent years: as Europeans you have lost respect for your history, you are full of immigrants; Italy is the country of rights inherited from the Romans who are the fathers of civilization, but there isn’t much left of this anymore: therefore I used the term ‘shame of the human race'”.
Who is Vladimir Solovyev
Vladimir Solovyev is one of the best-known TV hosts on Moscow TV and an oligarch close to Putin. In 2014 he received a medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland thanks to “objective coverage” of the referendum on the annexation of Crimea. At that time, in his television speeches he expressed his support for the Russian presidential action, condemning “Western hypocrisy in its relations with Ukraine”. Solovyev never hesitated to reiterate his positions on the Russian invasion and his very hostile attitude towards Ukraine.
He often hosts his program “Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyev” wearing a jacket with a hammer and sickle. He had already made himself known outside national borders for his “strong” opinions, in Italy he became known for the insults directed at Giorgia Meloni first and Sergio Mattarella later. The Prime Minister and the President of the Republic were targeted for the support that Italy has given to Ukraine.
However, Solovyev also has personal relations with Italy. The Anti-Corruption Foundation of Alexej Navalny (Putin’s opponent who died in 2024) discovered that he owned two villas on Lake Como worth around 8 million euros, later seized, and that he had an Italian residence certificate. In April 2022, someone set fire outside one of the two pharaonic villas in Menaggio (Como), already seized by the Italian government as part of the economic sanctions against the oligarchs.