Rudenko Serhii. PROFILE

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09 Серпня 2022

Rudenko Serhii. PROFILE

Ukrainian publicist, journalist, TV presenter

Serhii Rudenko on social networks:

Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/sergij.rudenko1

Twitter page – https://twitter.com/rudenko_s

Instagram page – https://www.instagram.com/rudenko.sergii/

Email for contacting Serhii Rudenko: rudenkos2021@gmail.com

In 2022, Serhii Rudenko’s book “Zelensky Without Make-Up” became a bestseller in the West. 24 countries of the world have acquired the rights to its publication. After the publication of the book in Poland, Great Britain, Germany, Holland, Portugal and many other countries of the world, the book landed in the top of sales.

Reviews of Rudenko’s “Zelensky” were written by leading media: The Guardian, The Economist, The Times, The Sunday Times, Spiegel, The New York Times, etc.

In 2022, the whole world learned about Serhii Rudenko’s book “Zelensky Without Make-Up”. Photo by Olena Cherninka

This is not the author’s first book. Previously, his books about the teams of Viktor Yanukovych, Viktor Yushchenko and Yuliia Tymoshenko were published. But “Zelensky Without Make-Up” is beyond all doubt the most successful project to date by Serhii Rudenko which conquered the whole world.

Biography: place of birth, study

Born on October 14, 1970 in the village of Stetskivka, Sumy oblast. It is 40 kilometers from the border with the Russian Federation.

Serhii’s mother, Lidiia Vasylivna, was a village teacher of Ukrainian language and literature. His father, Valerii Mykhailovych, worked as an electrician in a state farm.

In parallel with his studies at the secondary school, Rudenko studied at the art school of the city of Sumy. In 1985 he became the winner of the All-Union Art Competition dedicated to the 40^th anniversary of the Victory over the German Fascists.

In 1987 he graduated from secondary school and entered the Faculty of Journalism of Kyiv State University named after T.H. Shevchenko.

In 1996-1997 he studied at the Goethe-Institut in Kyiv.

Served apprenticeship on Radio Svoboda.

Career: work in a newspaper, on the radio and on television

In 1992, after graduating from the university, he worked as a correspondent for the newspaper “Dobryi Den” (Sumy).

From 1993 to 1996 – journalist of the newspaper “Radoslav”, magazines “Viisko Ukrainy”, “Dilo”, collaborated with the German agency “M2-Agentur”, media outlet OstInvest.

From 1996 to 2002, he was a correspondent of the Ukrainian Radio Svoboda service. Afterwards he worked as an editor of the policy department of the weekly “Dilovyi Tyzhden-FT”.

1999. Serhii Rudenko at Radio Svoboda studio. Photo from the archive

In 2005-2014 he was the editor-in-chief of the newspapers “Seichas”, “Hazeta 24”, Internet sites “PIK”, “Glavred”, “TVi”.

In 2013-2015 – TVi TV presenter.

Since 2015 – chief editor of the Espreso site, Espreso TV presenter.

Serhii Rudenko – presenter of the Espreso TV channel

Author and presenter of the programs “Dossier with Serhii Rudenko”, “Politics”, “Debates”, “Verdict”.

Author of weekly columns on Deutsche Welle.

Since 1993, he is the founder of the Creative Association “500”.

In 2008, together with partners, he founded the book portal “Bukvoid”.

“Zelensky Without Make-Up”, the world’s first book about Volodymyr Zelenskyi

In 2020, Serhii Rudenko wrote a book about Zelenskyi. As the author confides in numerous interviews, he was interested in learning the maximum about the sixth president of Ukraine. “I was collecting Zelenskyi’s profile. And at some point I realized that this could be interesting to other people. That is how the idea of publishing a book about the president was born,” he says.

Cover of the Ukrainian version of Serhii Rudenko’s book “Zelensky Without Make-Up”

After the project was completed, Rudenko at his own expense funded the preparation and publication of the book, which saw the world in January 2021 in the “Summit Books” publishing house.

In March 2022, Serhii Rudenko received an offer from the German agent Thomas Wiedling to publish a book in Europe. An updated version of the book was presented to Western publishers in April. The right to its publication was bought by publishing houses from 24 countries.

The first translation was released on May 10, 2022 in Portugal.

The first translations of “Zelensky Without Make-Up” in Poland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and in Georgia

On May 18, the book appeared in Holland.

On May 30 – in Poland (together with the Ukrainian version).

On June 1 – in Georgia.

On June 25 – in Spain.

On July 1 – in Great Britain.

On July 15 – in Italy.

On July 25 – in Germany.

In Germany, Serhii Rudenko’s book was published in the famous Hanser publishing house

Since then, dozens of publications about the book and the author’s interviews have been published in the press.

“I am not Zelenskyi’s biographer. And I never sought to be one. I just wrote a book about the sixth president of Ukraine when no one believed that in 2022 he would become one of the main figures in world politics,” Serhii Rudenko says. He then adds, “Unlike other books about Zelenskyi sprouting in the West like mushrooms after the summer rains, in my book there is the real Zelenskyi. No make-up. The way he was before going to politics. The way he has become in three years of presidency.”

"Battle for Kyiv" is the story of the unconquered

In 2022, Serhii Rudenko wrote the book "Battle for Kyiv". This is the history of the defense of the Ukrainian capital in February-March 2022. With the beginning of the great war, millions of people came to the defense of Kyiv.

This is a story about a heroic confrontation with the Russian enemy on the approaches to Kyiv. Among the heroes are Igor Lapin, Akhtem Seitablaev, Dmytro Linko, Andrii Khlyvnyuk, Tetyana Chornovol, Serhii Kryvonis, the Klitschko brothers, Yevhen Spirin, Roman Bezsmertny, Roman Ratushny, Max Levin and others.

Rudenko calls the 17 chapters of the book "rounds", because this is the story of a struggle that is still ongoing. In each round, there are turning episodes, backstories of events and personal, sometimes tragic stories of heroic figures who took up arms.

The right to publish Serhiy Rudenko's book has already been bought in Finland, Georgia, North Macedonia, Albania, and Georgia.

In Ukraine, the book was published by "Fabula" publishing house.

Finnish edition. Tammi, 2023

Books about the entourage of Tymoshenko, Yushchenko and Yanukovych

In 1994, together with Maksym Rozumnyi, he became the author and compiler of the anthology of poetry “Young Wine”. In 1995, together with the writer Andrii Kokotiukha, he compiled the anthology “Texts”.

Serhii Rudenko’s first books about Ukrainian politicians

Author of a series of books about Ukrainian politicians:

“All the President’s Men. Viktor Yushchenko’s entourage from A to Z” (Kyiv: Summit Books, 2007);

“All the Prime Minister’s Men. Viktor Yanukovych’s entourage from A to Z” (Kyiv: Summit Books, 2007);

“All the Yuliia’s Men. Yuliia Tymoshenko’s entourage from A to Z” (Kyiv: Summit Books, 2007);

“Government of Yuliia Tymoshenko” (Kyiv: Summit Books, 2008);

“25 rich people of Ukraine” (Kyiv: Summit Books, 2009);

“Men of Yuliia Tymoshenko” (Kyiv: Summit Books, 2010);

“Pantheon of Classics” (Kyiv: Summit Books, 2011);

“YANUKOPEDIA” (2012).

Awards and Prizes

Diploma holder of the international literary competition “Hranoslov” (1998).

TOP 20 “Best Ukrainian Book 2008” (according to the magazine “Korespondent”): “All the President’s Men”, “All the Prime Minister’s Men” and “All the Yuliia’s Men”.

In 2009, the book “Government of Yuliia Tymoshenko” was recognized as one of the best books according to the magazine “Korespondent” (3^rd place in the nomination “Opinion journalism”).

In August 2022, the German translation of Serhii Rudenko’s book “Zelensky Without Make-Up” became a bestseller on Amazon and entered the list of bestsellers according to the Spiegel weekly (31^st position).