The name of the presenter is what where when. After the game

) and Alexander Kryuk were classmates. They got married in their third year at the institute, divorced in 1970, when Boris was 4 years old, and his mother married Vladimir Voroshilov.

In 1989 he graduated from Moscow State Technical University. Bauman. By profession - design engineer.

From January 13, 1991 to 1999, he hosted the TV show “Love at First Sight” together with Alla Volkova.

First Deputy General Director of the television company Igra-TV.

Vice-President of the International Association of Clubs “What? Where? When?".

What? Where? When?

In the game “What? Where? When?" only his voice is heard. In the first time after Voroshilov’s death, the editors hid the host of the program from both viewers and experts: his voice was distorted using a computer, Voroshilov’s cousin came to the site (experts thought that it was he who was leading the game).

But later Hook revealed his identity, and his last name began to appear in the credits. At the moment, Boris was shown on air once - on December 27, 2008.

Despite the fact that Kryuk has been the host of the program only since 2001, he has taken part in the preparation of more than 100 games - he first got into the announcer's room when he was still at school. While still in school and college, he worked on the “What? Where? When?" as an assistant director, director, author, music editor. For 10 years, during each live broadcast (and “What? Where? When?” is broadcast live), he worked in the announcer’s room next to Vladimir Voroshilov.

Boris Aleksandrovich Kryuk himself notes that in recent years the game “What? Where? When?" became, on the one hand, more commercialized, and on the other, more emotional and spectacular. Although B. Hook's refereeing style caused repeated criticism from television viewers, the game itself did not lose its intellectual excitement and popularity.

Personal life

The second wife, Inna Kryuk, is a microbiologist by profession. Son - Mikhail Kryuk, daughter - Alexandra Kryuk.

Family

• Mother Natalya Ivanovna Stetsenko graduated in 1967 from the philological faculty of Moscow State Pedagogical Institute. Lenin. In 1968 she graduated from the Central Television Institute for Advanced Training of Television and Radio Broadcasting Workers. She worked in the youth editorial office of Central Television as an assistant director, editor, special correspondent, director of the Experiment studio, and producer of Channel One programs. She participated in the creation of the following programs: “Peace and Youth”, “Our Biography”, “Come on, Girls!”, “Come on, Guys!”, “Auction”. Worked on “What? Where? When?”, “Brain Ring”, “Love at First Sight”, “Toys”.

A television

• "Love at first sight"
• "What? Where? When?"

On modern domestic television there are very few successful programs that are domestic know-how that have stood the test of time.

I can immediately remember only two - KVN and “What? Where? When?".

It so happened that the main domestic intellectual game arose at a time when KVN was closed. "What? Where? When?" also lived under the threat of disgrace - due to the irreconcilable nature of her creator Vladimir Voroshilov.

Presenter “What? Where? When?" for many years he was the main mystery of USSR television, since he never appeared on camera. This was not a brilliant director’s idea - Voroshilov was in disgrace with his superiors, and he was forbidden to appear in front of the audience. However, he successfully turned the ban to the benefit of his program.

Vladimir Voroshilov was born on December 18, 1930 in Simferopol into a family responsible employee Yakov Kalmanovich and his wife Vera Borisovna, engaged in home-based tailoring. During the war, the Kalmanovich family was sent to evacuation, where Yakov Davidovich supervised the sewing of army uniforms, and Vera Borisovna also worked next to him in production.

In 1943, the Kalmanovichs moved to Moscow, where Vladimir began studying at an art school for gifted children. After graduating from school, Vladimir entered the painting department of the Academy of Arts of the Estonian SSR. The student chose theatrical set design as his specialization, completing his thesis on the topic: “Scenery and costumes for the plays by A. N. Arbuzov “Years of Wandering” and O. Goldsmith “Night of Errors.”

Vladimir Voroshilov with his mother. Photo: Frame youtube.com

Broken ceiling of Lenkom

After finishing his studies in Estonia, Vladimir studied at the Moscow Art Theater School in the staging department. In 1954, he was assigned for a year to East Germany to the theater of a group of Soviet troops, where Vladimir was supposed to do decorations, create a wall newspaper and draw thematic posters.

Here the complex character of the creator began to fully manifest itself. He could afford to leave the theater in the middle of the working day in order to draw German girls in a restaurant. Vladimir did not respond to warnings, and as a result he was fired from the theater, transferring to writing posters and slogans before returning to his homeland.

In the mid-1950s, Vladimir got married, but the marriage did not last long. The young man's main acquisition was the name of his wife, under which he became famous - Voroshilov.

Since 1955, Voroshilov worked as a production designer at the Maly Theater, at the Moscow Art Theater, at the Operetta Theater, at Sovremennik, at the Malaya Bronnaya Theater, at the Taganka Theater, at Lenkom and the Youth Theater. He was considered a fashionable and innovative artist, whom venerable directors considered it an honor to invite.

In the 1960s, a brilliant theatrical career ended after several scandals. The loudest was his dismissal from Lenkom, where, while working on one of the performances, Voroshilov, without blinking an eye, broke the ceiling that was in his way.

Having stopped working in theaters, Vladimir Voroshilov entered the Higher Directing Courses under the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR.

Success and disgrace of the “Auction”

In 1966, Voroshilov was invited to appear on television. In the early years, he was involved in filming scientific and educational programs and documentaries. Having earned a positive reputation, he received the right to create his own program.

He created “Auction” - the first advertising and gaming program in the history of Soviet television. Its participants answered live questions regarding various products, from televisions to tea, and the winner of the game received a prize.

“Auction” was completely unlike anything that had previously aired in the USSR, and was wildly popular. As Voroshilov’s friend recalled, television director and producer Anatoly Lysenko, “in one day after its transfer, the “Auction” sold a year’s worth of goods.”

But the popular program was aired only six times before it was canceled. The management was openly frightened by her “non-Soviet” style, and Voroshilov met all the bosses’ claims with hostility. As a result, he himself was banned from appearing on camera, but was allowed to continue working as a screenwriter and director. However, his last name most often did not appear in the credits.

In the early 1970s, he came up with the television competition game “Come on, guys!”, but this program did not last long on the air. This time the cause was an accident on the set. Later the program was resumed, but without Voroshilov’s participation.

Director and presenter of the television club “What? Where? When?" Vladimir Voroshilov is preparing another game. 1985 Photo: RIA Novosti / G. Kazarinov

From “Family Quiz” to “Connoisseurs Club”

Despite everything, Voroshilov did not give up, continuing to search and try. On September 4, 1975, a new game program called "Family Quiz" was aired. Two families played against each other. The game consisted of two rounds, filmed at the home of each family. There was no presenter; the two stories were connected in editing using photographs from a family album. Participants had to answer questions from members of the other team using books located in the house. It was also not forbidden to call friends. Time was given to answer not every question, but all questions at once.

After the program aired, Voroshilov was dissatisfied with the result. In 1976, it changed radically - now it was the television youth club “What? Where? When?". Students from Moscow State University took part in the game. At the same time, an invariable attribute of transmission appeared - the top. “Once I went to the Toy House to buy something as a gift for my three-year-old friend. I saw a top with a jumping horse and bought two at once, the second one for myself. I played without leaving home for ten days,” Voroshilov recalled.

There were no teams in the club - everyone played for themselves. The arrow of the top pointed not to the letters from viewers, but to one of the participants who had to answer the question, and immediately, without preparation. Answered the question - get a prize - a book. Answer seven questions and receive the main prize - a set of books. In 1976, only one game took place, the host of which was Alexander Maslyakov.

And this format also did not suit Voroshilov, despite the fact that viewers were interested in the program. In 1977, in “What? Where? When” teams of six people appeared and answered the question after a minute of brainstorming. Now the arrow of the top pointed to the viewer’s letter, and the presenter in the program appeared as a voice-over.

The program was considered successful, and if in 1977 it was broadcast only once, then in 1978 it was broadcast nine times. In 1979, the players were called “experts” for the first time, and a musical break appeared in the program.

Money instead of books

Over the next few years, “What? Where? When?" became one of the most popular programs on Soviet TV. The battles between experts and television viewers were watched with no less enthusiasm than the matches of the invincible USSR hockey team. The day after the game, the whole country discussed issues, quarreled over their sympathies, and experts turned into real stars, whose popularity was comparable to the popularity of movie actors.

Voroshilov, having achieved success, continued to experiment with the format of the program, sometimes to the displeasure of both the experts themselves and the fans of “What? Where? When?". However, this did not affect the popularity of the program for the worse.

Director and presenter of the television club “What? Where? When?" Vladimir Voroshilov (center) among the club's connoisseurs. Photo: RIA Novosti / G. Kazarinov

In the late 1980s, the sports direction “What? Where? When?”, which also has several varieties. The game, invented by Vladimir Voroshilov, went not only beyond television, but also beyond the country.

At the turn of the era, when the USSR was collapsing, Voroshilov again changed the program - the “intellectual club”, in which books served as prizes, turned into an “intellectual casino”, where the game was played for money. The presenter, who now, albeit infrequently, allowed himself to appear on camera, mercilessly broke traditions - in the mid-1990s, all teams were disbanded, and the players at the table played together, as they say, each in his own pocket, making bets.

This form was quite in the spirit of the 1990s, but many who were accustomed to the classic version could not forgive Voroshilov for bringing money into the game. But we must admit that he succeeded in the main thing - in the new era, the program remained afloat, without dissolving in the stream of licensed programs that filled the airwaves. By the way, Voroshilov was also at the origins of this process - in 1991, the production company Igra-TV, which he created and headed, for the first time in the history of Russian television acquired a program of a foreign format - the British "Love at First Sight", which had long been led Voroshilov's adopted son Boris Kryuk.

Master's Last Game

In 1997, the Academy of Russian Television awarded Vladimir Voroshilov the title of laureate and the TEFI award for the program “What? Where? When?".

At the very end of the 1990s, Voroshilov suddenly started talking about wanting to leave the program or close it completely. To the surprise of his colleagues and attempts to dissuade him, he reacted in his own way - in 2000, the year of the 25th anniversary of the program, he announced that experts would play for the future of “What? Where? When?". According to Voroshilov's terms, if the decisive game is lost by them, he will close the transfer, and if the experts win, then he will submit to their decision.

The decisive game for fate “What? Where? When?" took place on December 30, 2000. The experts won with a score of 6:5.

“Well, I promised to repair it to the experts, but I didn’t say when. We won’t elaborate now—we have a holiday today. It’s not so much my holiday as yours. I lost, so what can you do? You have to be able to lose. It would be nice to have some music playing now. The number 25 will now light up in our yard. And it will be very beautiful. Let’s see,” Voroshilov said on air that day.

Show must go on

Despite the victory, experts recalled that tragedy was literally evident in the entire atmosphere of that program. In the final shots, the experts standing on the porch with Voroshilov wave their hands, while in the empty hall the presenter’s doll extinguishes the candles.

This program really was the last for Vladimir Voroshilov. Less than three months later, on March 10, 2001, he died of a heart attack at his dacha in Peredelkino.

The summer series of games in 2001 was dedicated to the memory of the creator of the program. And again fate “What? Where? When?" was at stake - in order for the program to continue, experts had to win, and viewers had to vote for. The experts won with a score of 6:4, and TV viewers voted as follows: “The game should be” - 74,819 people (91%), “Not be” - 6,678 people (9%).

The new host of the program was Boris Kryuk, who worked with Voroshilov for many years. "What? Where? When?" survived its creator and remains one of the most popular programs to this day. Changes are made to its format, but the main essence remains the same.

Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. In 2003, a monument was unveiled at his grave - a cube made of black polished granite, symbolizing the black box in the game “What? Where? When?". The monument was created according to the design of Nikita Shangin, one of the most popular experts of the 1980s.

Monument at the grave of Vladimir Voroshilov at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Andrei Sdobnikov

In the winter of 1991, Russian television viewers saw on their screens the uninhibited game show “Love at First Sight” - the Russian version of the English television game Love at first sight. Its hosts were the smiling and thorough Boris Kryuk.

Even then, the country noticed that this round-faced, burly man with glasses could joke and improvise in front of the camera superbly. But few people knew that the charming Hook specialized more in mind games than in romantic shows. A year before the release of this program, he developed a script for a youth tournament of minds called “Brain Ring” and was to become its host. As a teenager, Boris Kryuk, next to Vladimir Voroshilov, lived in the host’s cabin at the famous intellectual casino “What? Where? When?". At the beginning of the new millennium, he became the host of this most exciting and exciting television program.

Something from the biography

Kryuk Boris Aleksandrovich was born in the summer of 1966 in Moscow. He was, as he himself says, a sort of quiet person with big eyes and a curly head. One day on the street, Boris’s grandmother, who was already proud of her grandson, was respectfully told that her boy had a “Leninist head.” Parents trusted their child and never conducted personal searches or biased interrogations. The boy's life schedule was free.

Mom dreamed that Borya would study to become a doctor, but he chose a technical university, although, as he admits, he was always a pure humanitarian. It’s just that the literature teacher, who gave bad marks for independent thinking, completely discouraged me from taking humanities subjects. After graduating from school, Kryuk entered the university. Bauman, was educated as an engineer. Boris left the technical profession immediately after. Now it is obvious that he was destined to work in the bowels of a television studio, where he spent his entire conscious childhood.

Smart casino croupier

His parents (TV director) and Alexander Kryuk (builder) separated when Boris was about four years old. Mom married again - to Vladimir Voroshilov, an “inconvenient” and brilliant director who, like her, worked on television. Together they came up with the game “What? Where? When?”, which appeared on silver screens in the fall of 1975. Voroshilov remained incognito for a long time; viewers and program participants heard only his voice. This became a kind of highlight of the program, although it was dictated by censorship considerations of the television management. When in 2001, after Voroshilov’s death, the voice of an invisible announcer was heard from the presenter’s room, everyone was stunned: the similarity in timbre and manner of playing was striking. So Boris Kryuk became the successor and author of the program. Photos and recordings of the program, where he is visible in the frame, appeared later - in 2008.

Childhood on the other side of the screen

Little Boris witnessed the filming, and in some places also took part in the most popular Soviet programs: “You Can Do It” (at the age of 4), “Come on, guys” (at the age of 5). At the age of 10, he played on the side of television viewers in “What? Where? When?" (his question fell to the experts in the very first game). At the age of 12, he came up with a rule to exclude the losing team from the club. As a student, Boris Kryuk worked as an assistant director on this program. In 1989, Boris became a full-time employee of the Youth Editorial Office of Central Television, and then - first deputy general director of the Igra-TV Television Company and vice-president of the International Association of Clubs “What? Where? When?”, where he is the deputy of his mother Natalya Ivanovna. When asked about cronyism, Hook cites the Fords and the Rockefellers as examples and notes that business dynasties around the world succeed precisely because their members can rely on each other for everything.

Mysterious voice

The first broadcasts of “What? Where? When?" after Voroshilov they looked like a detective story. Hook, as everyone was used to, came to the shoot in jeans and a sweater, and scurried around among the people until the very beginning, preparing the studio for the broadcast. At this time, a stranger in a black tuxedo (this was Vladimir Yakovlevich’s cousin) was brought to the television studio in Voroshilov’s Jaguar, and he immediately headed to the announcer’s room. At the very last moment before the game, Boris came there. The hoax was supported by a computer proposed by Konstantin Ernst. All this was necessary in order not to disrupt the psychological mood of the experts before the game. It wasn’t long before viewers of the TV show learned that the real presenter was Boris Kryuk.

Personal life

Fans of the show “Love at First Sight” immediately married two handsome presenters - Volkova and Kryuk. But their relationship was a business one, moreover, Hook was already married to microbiologist Inna. Boris and Inna have two children - Mikhail and Alexandra. The second time Hook married Anna Antonyuk, from this marriage he has two daughters - Alexandra and Varvara.

In addition to mental competitions, Boris Kryuk is passionate about football, which only helps him improve the intellectual show, the horse of which he has long and successfully saddled.

The point of the game is that a team of experts answers questions sent by a team of TV viewers.

Basic Rules

Description of the gameplay

IN television version game, a team of experts, consisting of six people, answers questions sent by viewers. The question is selected by a top, which in turn is launched by the manager.

Experts are given one minute to discuss the question, after which the team captain chooses an expert who will answer the question. There are also cases when a team gives an answer ahead of schedule: the expert who knows the answer usually puts his fist on the table with his thumb bent up. If the answer is correct, then experts earn an extra minute of discussion, which they can use on any subsequent question in this game. The number of additional minutes depends on the team's early responses. Recently, experts can take a “minute credit” on a given question, but on the condition that they answer one of the following questions without a minute of discussion.

There is a hint in the game "club help". If experts do not know the answer to a question, then they can ask for help from those who are now in the room. Those present are given 20 seconds to express their versions. Since 2007, “club help” can only be taken in cases where the score is not in favor of the experts. Since 2010, it also cannot be taken in “blitz”, “super blitz” and the decisive round.

Due to the very large number of people in the room, there are cases of unauthorized tips. The manager who notices this violation of the rules of the game raises a red card. There are operators in the hall who can record the clue on video cameras. The offender is removed from the hall until the end of the game.
On April 10, 2016, a yellow card was introduced. It is shown by the stewards of the hall to the presenter at the moment when the captain of the playing team asks for the club’s help, and only if during the discussion they notice suspicions in the hint. The team loses the club's help in this round, but, unlike a red card, can provide an answer. The offender will suffer a more serious punishment and, at the end of the round, will be required to leave the hall before the end of the game. The club's help does not expire and the team can use it in the next rounds if the score is not in favor of the experts. The card has been discontinued since 2018.

When a team of experts gives the wrong answer, viewers whose questions the experts got wrong receive cash prizes: the viewer who scored the first point for their team receives 50,000 rubles, second point - 60 000 , third - 70 000 , fourth - 80 000 , fifth - 90 000 and the sixth point - 100,000 rubles(until 2012 the amounts were from 10 000 before 60,000 rubles). If a team of experts wins, the unplayed money goes into the prize fund for the final of the year, i.e. If the experts win with a score of 6:4, 190,000 rubles are added to the fund for the missing 5th and 6th viewer points.

Squat games

In some cases, 2 or more teams of experts can play during one game. This type of game is called squat games. Its essence is that after each incorrect answer, teams are replaced: the teams change places. The team starting the game is determined by lot. If the experts win, the team that brought the decisive point last wins.

Description of the location and filming process

A place for gaming connoisseurs

Filming of the game takes place in Moscow, in the Hunting Lodge of Neskuchny Garden. It is equipped with a special room with a table, which is divided into 6 sectors in a large radius (for each member of the team of experts) and into 13 sectors in a small radius - for questions. The questions themselves lie in envelopes, which in turn lie on 12 sectors, signed with the names of the cities of the participants who sent the question (among these 12 questions there are “blitz” and “super blitz” questions). On the thirteenth sector there is a plastic plate on which the number 13 is printed in red (from 2001 to 2011 the number font is Pragmatica, since 2011 the number font is Arial, since 2013 the number font has become a little bold). In the center of the table there is a top with an arrow. The spinning top is spun by the manager, and the question on which the arrow stops is chosen for the game. The envelope containing the question is placed in a special clothespin located on one of the monitors above the experts themselves. The monitors usually show a photograph or video of the author of the question filmed specifically for the question, a video filmed by correspondents for the question, or drawings or paintings that help experts answer.

Advocates

Every game in the club there are defenders of the interests of experts, television viewers, as well as the Keeper of Traditions. Their opinion is taken into account when resolving controversial situations.

• Defender of the interests of experts. Appeared in 2002. The Connoisseur Advocate selects the best connoisseur of the game and awards him the Crystal Atom prize. At the moment, the Director of the Communications Department of the State Corporation Rosatom, Andrey Cheremisinov, is the Defender of the interests of experts; in some games, he can be replaced by the general director of the corporation, Alexey Likhachev. Previously, the defenders were lawyer Mikhail Barshchevsky, lawyer of the Moscow Bar Association Natalia Barshchevskaya, representatives of the general sponsor - the MTS company: Mikhail Susov (2003-2004), Igor Stolyarov (2005), Grzegorz Ash (2006), Mikhail Shamolin (2006), Sergey Beshev ( 2007-2008), Alexander Popovsky (2009-2012), Director of the Rosatom Communications Department Sergey Novikov (2013-2016).
• Defender of the interests of television viewers. Appeared in 1991. The viewer advocate selects the best question in the game and determines the value of the viewer's winnings. Since the fall of 2018, the position has been held by VTB Bank Senior Vice President Dmitry Breitenbicher. From 2002 to 2009, the defender of the interests of the team of TV viewers was the vice-president of Binbank Grigory Guselnikov, in 2010 - Dmitry Akulinin, from 2011 to 2012 - vice-president of the Bank of Moscow Irina Nikitenko, from 2013 to 2018 - vice-president of the bank VTB (formerly Bank of Moscow) Vladimir Verkhoshinsky, in some games they were replaced by the President of the Bank of Moscow Mikhail Kuzovlev.
• Keeper of traditions. A position that existed from 2001 to 2016. As the name suggests, he enforces the rules and “traditions” of the club. From May 19, 2001 to December 26, 2009, the “Keeper of Traditions” was Mikhail Barshchevsky, from March 27, 2010 to June 19, 2016 - Grigory Guselnikov.

Hall managers

There are two stewards in the hall to ensure that there are no clues. Also, one of the stewards rotates the top, and the other takes out objects, black boxes and hits the gong. Currently, the stewards are Alexander Bakalov (since 2013) and Polina Lysenko (since 2017), previously the stewards were Nikolai Lgovsky (1984-2001), Andrey Lgovsky (early 1990s), Andrey Lysenko (1993-2013), Alexey Vetyugov ( late 1990s), Boris Fuks (2001-2016), Evgeny Galkin (2011, in the Kazakh version of games) and others.

Mikhail and Olga Barshchevsky



Alexey Likhachev



Andrey Cheremisinov



Sergey Novikov



Grigory Guselnikov



Vladimir Verkhoshinsky



Dmitry Breytenbicher



Nikolay Lgovsky



Boris Fuks



Evgeniy Galkin



Alexander Bakalov



Polina Lysenko

Questions

General information

The game requires great education and a broad outlook in the field of modern science, the ability to think quickly, original and extraordinary, observation and attentiveness.

The questions relate to different areas of knowledge and have different styles, so the best players will be the most erudite and well-read. A strong team should have harmonious cooperation between people with different ways of thinking, and, if possible, specialists in different fields. Much depends on training and the ability to understand each other within the team.

Types of questions

Sample questions

• Here is an ancient Egyptian manuscript; it says about a certain slave: “He hears perfectly with both ears, is honest and obedient.” This text is considered to be one of the early copies of... what? (Answer: advertising)
• The McDonald's board of directors believes that rumors that McDonald's meat dishes are prepared from earthworms can be easily refuted by comparing them with meat. Question: by what criterion? (Answer: in terms of price, worms are much more expensive)
• According to the humorous calendar of Belyaev and Stalber, “If this statement were true, This It wouldn’t taste as good.” Guess what statement is being talked about and name it This. (Answer: wine).
• Once, Mark Twain's friend, Harry Dumain, borrowed $500, promising to return it in a month - of course, if he was still alive. Question: What did Mark Twain do when he didn’t receive what he was promised after a month? (Answer: Dumain's obituary was published)
• In Ambrose Bierce's fable, a deputy promises his constituents not to steal after receiving office. When it was revealed that he was stealing huge sums, voters demanded answers. The deputy replied that, yes, he promised not to steal, but he did not make another promise. Which one? (Answer: promises not to lie)
• Jerome K. Jerome compared This with the government, since both are valued only as long as they are good. Name it. (Answer: weather)
• Russian humorist Mikhail Zadornov said that he was not angry with the communists, since they never deceived him. But why, according to him, did they not deceive him? (Answer: because he never believed them anyway)

Game history by year

Vladimir Voroshilov

Boris Kryuk

1975. September 4 - On this day, one game was played according to different rules - two families played against each other (as in the popular game "Lucky Chance"). The game consisted of two rounds, filmed at the home of each family. They came together for the sake of photography for the family archive.

1976. A top appears, but in early games it was not the question that was chosen, but the player who answered. Already this year the game “What? Where? When?" has already changed a lot and received the name “television youth club”. Since Vladimir Voroshilov was banned from appearing on screen at that time, the first full-fledged release of the TV game was hosted by Alexander Maslyakov, who in the future will revive the KVN project. The first players were MSU students who talked loudly and smoked while discussing the issue. There was no one-minute discussion time limit; each person played for himself and not as a team.

1977. The game finally took its final form: a spinning top showing a question and a one-minute time limit for discussing the question. Its first symbol appeared in the game - Fomka the eagle owl. The first questions were invented by Vladimir Voroshilov himself, and later, when the game became popular, they began to accept questions from viewers. It is known that bags of letters arrived every day, each of which had to be answered, the best questions selected, the accuracy of the facts presented checked, edited, prepared, if necessary, the necessary items. Of course, one person cannot do such work, and Voroshilov was helped by his wife Natalya Stetsenko, who headed the department of correspondence with viewers for many years.

1979. Games began to be held regularly. The term “connoisseur” appeared; now this word has become familiar to describe the participants in the game; the club is now usually called the “club of connoisseurs.” Until this point, there was no special name for the players. The details of the game rules changed frequently, but the main prize was always books (which were hung on the Christmas tree during the final game) and a crystal owl.

1982. A six-point game rule has been introduced.

1983. Instead of the Ostankino television center, games begin to be held in a mansion on Herzen Street.

1984. A new prize has been introduced - the Crystal Owl. The winner is the best player at the end of the year.

1987. Holding the International Games in Bulgaria.

1988-1989 International Games at Sovintsentr. Several teams participate in the game simultaneously.

1990. The program begins to leave the Hunting Lodge in Neskuchny Garden.

1991. The game has become more commercialized, that is, it has turned from an “intellectual club” into an “intellectual casino.” Connoisseurs start playing for money.

1992. Starting this year, two series are held per year - summer and winter. A zero sector appeared, called the “zero sector”. It appeared instead of the sector with the highest amount, which was awarded for the correct answer. Each question now has a certain “value”, which can be increased by placing the money you win on a certain playing field. Sponsors and lawyers appeared (Mikhail Barshchevsky).

1995. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the game, the Immortal Games are held. The title of Club Master was introduced. The first master was Alexander Druz.

1999. The game is temporarily airing on the NTV channel. The Christmas series is being held.

2000. In the fall, an experimental series of games takes place, in which, in addition to experts and television viewers, the Internet team also participates. Using the website www.rambler.ru, registered Internet users give their versions of the answer during a minute of discussion. The most popular version becomes the final answer from the Internet team, and the Internet user who sends the correct version faster than others receives the amount at stake. The score is listed in the order of “TV viewers:connoisseurs:Internet”.

In December, the Anniversary Games are held, in which the existence of the game is at stake. Maxim Potashev is awarded the title of Master. On December 30, Vladimir Voroshilov played his last game.

2001. This year the host of the game, Vladimir Voroshilov, dies. After this, his adopted son, Boris Kryuk, began to play the game. At first he distorted his voice, but soon he revealed himself and began to play the game with his own voice. In the summer, a series is held to decide whether the game will exist without Voroshilov. In winter, the gaming table was updated, and games for money were stopped. From that moment on, the value of questions was determined using telephone voting by viewers (the difference between the number of “like” and “dislike” votes multiplied by 10 rubles; negative amounts were equal to zero). At the same time, the thirteenth sector was introduced (in 2000, this sector was called the “Internet sector”).

2002. The game began to be held annually in four series: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. After all the games, the final game of the year is held, in which the best team of experts of the season takes part. A total of 17 games are played per year. The Crystal Owl is now awarded 3 times a year. A new prize has been introduced - the Diamond Owl, which is awarded to the best player of the winning team in the Final of the year.

2005. Celebrating the game's 30th anniversary. Viktor Sidnev becomes the third master. From now on, at the end of the anniversary year, the winning team is awarded a Crystal Nest - 6 crystal owls.

2008. From this year, cash prizes for TV viewers have changed. For the first point for his team, the viewer receives 10,000 rubles, for each subsequent point 10 thousand more. Thus, for the sixth point the viewer receives 60,000 rubles. At the Final of the year, Andrei Kozlov was recognized as the fourth master, and his team was awarded a crystal nest, since the 33rd year was recognized as an anniversary year.

2013. TV viewers' winnings have increased. Depending on the point won, the viewer receives from 50 to 100 thousand rubles. The game is starting to be released in HD quality.

2015. Starting this year, the number of broadcasts per year has increased from 17 to 20. Now the spring, summer and autumn series consist of 5 games. The Academy of TV Viewers appears.

2018. For the first time, a series of games “Children of the 21st Century” was held, in which teams of schoolchildren took part. The fifth Academician (Radik Khabibullin) and the fifth Master (Elizaveta Ovdeenko) appear in the Club.

Live

One of the main features of the game is that it takes place live. During the live broadcast, viewers could give answers using MTS phones. However, the cost of a message has increased from 5-6 cents (according to the tariff plan) to 10 rubles. In addition, the first experts were given a good telephone.

Prizes and titles

Owls

• Crystal Owl- the prize was introduced in 1984. Awarded to the best player from the team of experts and the best player from the team of TV viewers based on the results of a series of games. The first owner of the Crystal Owl was Nurali Latypov. In the Anniversary seasons there is a special prize - Crystal Nest, representing six small owls on a crystal tray. Awarded to the best team of the anniversary year; thus, each team member becomes the owner of a Crystal Owl. The prize was awarded twice - in 2008 to the team of Andrei Kozlov and in 2010 to the team of Balash Kasumov.

Experts-prize winners ( italics owls obtained as part of the Crystal Nest are highlighted):

1. Alexander Druz - 1990, 1992 (winter), 1995 (winter), 2000 (autumn), 2006 (summer), 2012 (spring);
2. Fedor Dvinyatin - 1991 (summer), 1994 (summer), 2000 (winter), 2002 (spring);
3. Maxim Potashev - 1997 (winter), 2000 (winter), 2000 (winter), 2016 (autumn);
4. Andrey Kozlov - 1992 (summer), 1994 (winter), 2008 (winter);
5. Boris Burda - 1998 (winter), 2000 (winter), 2008 (winter);
6. Dmitry Avdeenko - 2009 (winter), 2010 (winter), 2018 (summer);
7. Yulia Lazareva - 2010 (winter), 2015 (autumn), 2017 (spring);
8. Alexey Blinov - 1992 (summer), 1993 (winter);
9. Alexander Rubin - 1995 (summer), 1996 (summer);
10. Valentina Golubeva - 2003 (summer), 2003 (autumn);
11. Ilya Novikov - 2004 (autumn), 2014 (summer);
12. Ales Mukhin - 2004 (spring), 2019 (summer);
13. Vladimir Molchanov - 1991 (winter), 2008 (winter);
14. Nikolay Silantyev - 2008 (winter), 2008 (winter);
15. Elizaveta Ovdeenko - 2010 (winter), 2011 (spring);
16. Mikhail Skipsky - 2010 (winter), 2016 (spring);
17. Nurali Latypov - 1984;
18. Marina Govorushkina - 1985;
19. Leonid Vladimirsky - 1986;
20. Oleg Dolgov - 1987;
21. Neiko Neikov - 1987;
22. Nikita Shangin - 1988;
23. Vladislav Petrushko - 1989;
24. Lyudmila Gerasimova - 1993 (summer);
25. Georgy Zharkov - 1998 (summer);
26. Alexander Byalko - 2000 (winter);
27. Alla Damsker - 2000 (winter);
28. Marina Druz - 2000 (winter);
29. Dmitry Eremin - 2000 (winter);
30. Sergey Tsarkov - 2000 (winter);
31. Victor Sidnev - 2001 (summer);
32. Rovshan Asgarov - 2001 (winter);
33. Dmitry Konovalenko - 2002 (summer);
34. Mikhail Moon - 2002 (autumn);
35. Inna Druz - 2003 (winter);
36. Asya Shavinskaya - 2004 (summer);
37. Andrey Bychutkin - 2006 (autumn);
38. Grigory Alkhazov - 2011 (summer);
39. Vladimir Stepanov - 2012 (autumn);
40. Gunel Babayeva - 2013 (summer);
41. Boris Levin - 2014 (autumn);
42. Boris Belozerov - 2017 (autumn);
43. Elman Talibov - 2019 (spring);
44. Alexey Kapustin - 2008 (winter);
45. Igor Kondratyuk - 2008 (winter);
46. Vladimir Antokhin - 2010 (winter);
47. Balash Kasumov - 2010 (winter);
48. Roman Alloyarov - Small Crystal Owl, 1997 (winter).

• Diamond Owl- it is awarded to the best player based on the results of the year. The prize was founded in 2002.

• Owl sign- was the predecessor of the Crystal Owl, awarded several times in the early 1980s.

Experts-prize winners

1. Alexander Byalko;
2. Sergey Ilyin;
3. Lyudmila Gerasimova.

Jackets

Red jacket was a sign "immortal member of the club"- a person who could remain in the club even if his team lost. It was introduced in the winter series of 1991. Jackets were received by all owners of the “Crystal Owl”, including experts who received “owls” before the introduction of the title of “immortal”. In the winter series of 1994 and in the spring series of 1995, jackets were awarded to all players of the teams of Mikhail Smirnov and Alexey Blinov. After the conclusion of the 1995 Immortal Games, the jackets were retired.

Shoulder strap of the best captain

This shoulder strap is awarded to the best captain once every five years. Introduced in 2000 by Vladimir Voroshilov. In the final game of 2000, he decided to present the club's best captain's shoulder strap to the most outstanding captains in the history of the game. He didn’t have enough time on the air in 2000, and Boris Kryuk handed over his shoulder straps in the summer of 2001, after Voroshilov’s death. Prize winners:

1. Andrey Kamorin (2001);
2. Boris Eremin (2001);
3. Vladimir Lutovinov (2001);
4. Victor Sidnev (2001);
5. Andrey Kozlov (2001);
6. Alexey Blinov (2001);
7. Ales Mukhin (2005);
8. Balash Kasumov (2010).

Cadet shoulder strap

Presented by an expert who has the shoulder strap of the best captain at the end of each episode of “Children of the 21st Century” to the best captain of this series. Shoulders of the shoulder strap:

1. Kirill Emelin (2018);
2. Artyom Savochkin (2019).

Club Master title

Since 1995, in each anniversary season of the game, one of the experts is awarded the title of Master. Currently this title is held by:

1. Alexander Druz (since 1995);
2. Maxim Potashev (since 2000);
3. Victor Sidnev (since 2005);
4. Andrey Kozlov (since 2008);
5. Elizaveta Ovdeenko (since 2018).

Club Academician title

Similarly with the masters of the club, in the 2015 finals the title of academician was introduced. It is assigned to active television viewers who:

• have either a Crystal or Diamond Owl and have achieved six victories against Experts;
• twice awarded either the Crystal or Diamond Owl, regardless of the number of victories over experts.

Academics are always invited to the club for the series finale and the year finale, regardless of whether their questions are played at the table or not. In the event of a victory among television viewers, academicians, like masters, take a collective part in choosing the winner of the final prize. Currently this title is held by:

1. Sergey Chevdar from Chernomorsk, Ukraine (winner of the “Crystal Owl”);
2. Svetlana Sumachakova from Gorno-Altaisk, Altai Republic (two-time winner of the “Crystal Owl”);
3. Tatyana Medvedeva from Saratov (winner of the “Diamond Owl”);
4. Zhanna Polyanskaya from Syktyvkar, Komi Republic (winner of the “Diamond Owl”);
5. Radik Khabibullin from the village of Popovka, Perm Territory (winner of the “Crystal Owl”), since October 28, 2018.

Prize for the brightest answer

In the final game of 2015, for the first time, a special prize was awarded for the most brilliant answer of the year. It is a gold-colored cufflink with an image of an owl. The prize is awarded annually to an expert who, thanks to insight and innovative thinking, was able to give a brilliant answer at a crucial moment. Prize winners:

1. Alena Povysheva (2015, question about the shape of the squash in the third game of the Winter Series);
2. Boris Belozerov (2016, super blitz question about Ilya Oblomov in the third game of the Summer Series);
3. Elizaveta Ovdeenko (2017, blitz question about the gregerias of Ramon Gomez de la Serna in the second game of the Winter Series);
4. Elizaveta Ovdeenko (2018, question about the parent of the rhyme in the fourth game of the Winter Series);
5. Nikita Barinov (2019, question about the pigeon in the first game of the Autumn Series).

Award for confidence in your team

In 2012, one of the envelopes on the table was a “prize” envelope. It contained two related questions from one viewer - the main one and the additional one (prize). The captain could refuse to answer the additional question (then the game went on as usual), or he could agree, in which case the host asked two questions. The correct answer to both questions brought not only a point to the experts, but also a special pin on the lapel of the captain’s jacket, which could later be exchanged on any question for an additional minute, club help, or gave the right to redeem a minute in crudit. Prize winners:

1. Balash Kasumov (second game of the Spring Series) - the prize was exchanged in the same game for the help of the club;
2. Viktor Sidnev (fourth game of the Spring Series);
3. Andrey Kozlov (third game of the Winter Series).

Other prizes and awards

• Insignia “For services to the game “What?” Where? When?” - presented on May 14, 2005 to “the best expert of all times and peoples” Alexander Druz on the occasion of his 50th anniversary, which fell on May 10. In the same game, he was given a Scottish Fold kitten.
• “For the will to win” (“Diamond Snake”) - awarded on December 24, 2005 to Andrei Kozlov, who, after losing on November 19, 2005, during the next game proved the correctness of his wrong answer - he stuffed the snake with rice according to his recipe.
• Medal for 50 games - awarded on April 15, 2018 to Viktor Sidnev for his 50th participation in the game show. On the same day, Andrey Kozlov, Alexey Kapustin and Maxim Potashev received the same medals for participating in more than 50 games. This medal could also have been received by club old-timer Alexander Druz, who had played 91 games at that time, but he was offered a new medal when he sat down as a player for the 100th time. On June 30, 2019, the medal was awarded to Ales Mukhin.

Pauses

For breaks in the game, various pauses are used to lift the spirits of the team of experts:

• Musical break - the presenter takes this break after the third round and later, except for those moments when the score is 3:0 in favor of the experts.
• Coffee break - held from March 4, 2018, connoisseurs are served Ambassador brand coffee.
• Previously, there was a Tea Break in the game, which was usually held when the time was 23:00-0:00 (earlier in winter). They served tea from the brand Ahmad, a sponsor of the game show.

Music in the game

Here is a list of all the musical themes that were used in the gameplay previously and now:

• On December 30, 2000, as part of the “Last Tour” season, a game took place that decided the fate of the club. If the experts had lost, it was unlikely that we would see the game again. ORT General Director Konstantin Ernst was even present in the hall.
• After the death of Vladimir Voroshilov, the fate of the game was under big question: who would lead the game? The program returned to air “as scheduled” - the Summer series of 2001 was held under the question “To be or not to be a game without Voroshilov?” The Club will continue to exist if the experts win the final game, and also if the audience votes by a majority for the continuation of the Club. The connoisseurs won with a score of 6:4, and 91% of the audience voted for the “Be” option. The series of games was entirely dedicated to the creator of the game, Vladimir Voroshilov.
• Since 2001, the game has been hosted by Boris Kryuk, but he spent the Summer Series of the same year with a processed low voice. No one knew who was running the game; initially it was thought that the host was Hook's cousin. Due to such uncertainty, the presenter was addressed as “Mr. Presenter.” This tradition has continued to this day.
• The 2001 Winter Series introduced the game in a completely new way. The studio has been redesigned in a more modern way, and the pundits no longer play for money. From now on, only the best experts and spectators will receive cash prizes along with the Owls.
• Since the 2002 season, four episodes have been aired: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Previously, only the Summer and Winter series were played.
• In the second game of the 2002 summer series, someone's cell phone rang in the hall.
• According to the host of the game, Boris Kryuk, if a team of experts wins in the final of the year, it is almost always with a score of 6:5, and if it loses, then most often with a score of 6:3.
• The shortest game (41 minutes) was on April 10, 2010 - then the host did not take a musical break.
• On April 17, 2010, one of the players from Andrei Kozlov’s team, Igor Kondratyuk, played for the first time on Skype, due to the inability to fly to Moscow due to the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption. The team won this game. This is the first time that a club expert participated in the discussion in absentia.
• On May 28, 1994, Alexei Vavilov’s team, with a score of 0:5 in favor of TV viewers, took 6 questions in a row and won with a score of 6:5. The situation was practically repeated in the team of Alexey Blinov on April 12, 2008, with the exception of the initial score of 1:5.
• In the final game of 2008, Game Host Boris Kryuk entered the hall for the first time to meet the experts.
• In the 2008 final, the player who had to answer the questions of the super blitz was chosen as a top.
• In the final game of 2010, in the thirteenth sector, a question was asked not from the Internet, but invented by the presenter himself. The question sounded like this: “We try the nut on the tooth - it doesn’t budge. We are looking for a heavier object nearby, but we do not find such an object. We turn the nut over, hold it up to the light until we find a small crack in the shell, and, placing the shell so that the crack is at the top, we hit it with force and either crack it, or make sure that the crack turns out to be false. “Who and what are we talking about?” said all this? It was correctly answered by Dmitry Avdeenko, and the correct answer was “This is a very beautiful metaphor for what is happening here and now. The nut in this case is a question, and we are trying to find a weak point in it, open it to find the correct answer. And, most likely, such a metaphor was proposed by Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov.”
• In 2008, at the finals of the year, the 33rd game was recognized by the masters as an anniversary game, but with one caveat, “if the 66th year of the game is recognized as an anniversary.”
• In 2011, the first game in the game's fall series featured the 13th sector, but it had to be canceled due to technical problems. For the first time in the history of the game, such an incident occurred in the final game of the 2007 summer series. The following incident occurred in the first game of the spring 2014 series - again due to technical problems, possibly related to updating the screen design.
• In the 2013 Final, before the start of the game, the team of Ales Mukhin and personally Ilya Novikov, who had previously lost a super blitz in the Decisive round, tried to appeal the fatal question. After lengthy discussions and arguments (about 15 minutes), Mikhail Barshchevsky advised to immediately replay the question. The presenter supported the idea and asked the audience in the hall whether to replay the question or not, and the decision would be made if at least 7 votes were collected. As a result, 9 spectators voted “for”, two “against”, one spectator had to abstain due to the fact that she had not seen the previous game. Only after the voting, the Presenter clarified that if Mukhin’s team plays, then those who voted “for” decided to vote for the question without a possible win. The question from the 13th sector was chosen as a question for replay. It contained a question not from the Internet, but from the Presenter himself. Unlike the 2010 Final, Boris Kryuk, like the Zero sector, went to Ilya Novikov, and the hourglass played the role of a “minute to think.” The question was lost, and Konstantin Ruder's team entered the final game.
• In the final game of 2013, a question came from Pavel Boytsov, who came to Moscow with his family; his son was in the hall with him. During the announcement of the correct answer, the youngest representative of the family began to open the black box too early, which was followed by a rather violent reaction from the Presenter. The incident became a meme and gained great popularity outside the audience of “What? Where? When?".
• On April 12, 2014, according to the results of the final game of the Spring Series, Svetlana Sumachakova from Gorno-Altaisk became the first TV viewer in the history of “What? Where? When?" - two-time winner of the Crystal Owl.
• On September 7, 2014, in the first game of the Autumn Series, Irina Nizamova became the first female expert in the history of “What? Where? When?”, who won the super blitz. The peculiarity of the fact is that Irina was a reserve player of the Rosatom team, and this game was Irina’s debut.
• On September 13, 2014, in the second game of the Autumn Series, the team of Balash Kasumov felt the effect of the “butterfly wing”. In the 13th sector, due to the limited number of lines shown on the screen, the question was not shown in full. Even so, there was a correct version at the table, but the experts gave the wrong answer. After some time, it was decided to remove the question of the 13th sector, and the sector itself to be removed from the table, although it was possible to choose another question from the Internet. Then a number of other circumstances followed: when replaying the round, the top was hit, which could decide the fate of the game; on the chosen question the team did not take an extra minute and lost a point, after which there was such a situation on the table that with a probability of 12/13 the next question would be a super blitz; on the third question of the super blitz, Elizaveta Ovdeenko makes a very offensive mistake, although she was well versed in the area of ​​knowledge of the question. As a result, the negligence of the technical editors led to defeat and the team's exit from the season.
• On April 30, 2017, singer Philip Kirkorov received a “Diamond Owl” on the occasion of his anniversary, as well as for “a whole cascade of bright musical pauses.”
• On July 2, 2017, Rovshan Askerov’s team lost with a score of 0:6. This is the first recorded case where a team finishes a game with such a score without a decisive round, that is, without answering 6 questions correctly in a row.
• In the final game of 2018, the Diamond Owl was awarded to Konstantin Bogatsky from the German city of Kempten. Konstantin was unable to come to the game, but immediately after the award ceremony they contacted him and were able to personally congratulate him live.

Parodies

• In one of the episodes of the TV show “Jolly Guys,” a parody of “What? Where? When?". The host Vladimir Voroshilov was parodied by Leonid Sergeev, and the role of the expert was played by Nurali Latypov, who later became one of the club participants and the first owner of the crystal owl.
• Numerous parodies of “What? Where? When?" were shown in KVN. In one of the parodies, Rovshan Askerov was a guest participant. And in 2018, the KVN Star Team took part in the game itself.
• A parody of the program was contained in one of the episodes of the television program “Dolls” (1997).
• Several parodies were also made by participants in the OSP-Studio program. In addition to parodies of the game itself (connoisseurs Boris Burda, Alexander Byalko and Alexander Druz were parodied), a parody of the program “Without a Tie” with the participation of connoisseurs was also shown.
• On the stage, the game was parodied by Vladimir Vinokur (in the program “Is there an extra ticket”) and Maxim Galkin. According to Galkin, the program was hosted by Vladimir Putin, who read letters from George Bush, Boris Berezovsky and Gerhard Schroeder, and the experts were Boris Yeltsin, Viktor Chernomyrdin, Grigory Yavlinsky and Valeria Novodvorskaya.
• Three parodies of the game show “What? Where? When" were on the TV show "Big Difference".
• A parody of the game consisted of an entire episode of the TV show “Cartoon Personality” (May 8, 2012), where the experts were Dmitry Dibrov, Anastasia Volochkova, Gennady Onishchenko, Tina Kandelaki and Dmitry Guberniev, the team captain was Alexander Lukashenko, and the presenter was Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
• It was parodied several times by the Comedy Club program, and on New Year's Eve 2010, some experts (including Alexander Druz) were depicted as 3D dolls in the ProjectorParisHilton program. The hosts of the programs themselves, whose broadcast often occurred right before “What? Where? When,” parodied Boris Hook’s introduction several times at the end of their program, and once the viewers actually believed what was happening.

What? Where? When?

Russian TV games