Alexander Faifman, the head of Channel One, is trying to dispel rumors that Malakhov+, a morning talk show about healing practices, is going to be cancelled. He explained that the channel "treasures its contract with folk healer Gennady Malakhov."
This should come as no surprise. From time immemorial, the Russian folk has praised its healers, magicians, wizards and all the other quacks who promise quick cures for any disease. Not much has changed in the 21st century. And television, that barometer of the public mood, has deftly won over a large audience consisting primarily of the elderly.
Apart from Malakhov+, Channel One broadcasts Health, hosted by Yelena Malysheva, Rossiya 1 carries Health Studio, NTV has Nonprescription Medicine and REN TV airs Be Healthy. But Malakhov+ is the most popular of all the TV shows about healing.
Russia's healthcare system provides one explanation for the show's popularity. Russian pensioners don't want to spend the rest of their lives in the stuffy waiting room of their local out-patient clinic just to see an uncaring doctor who inevitably unloads them on some other doctor.
Malakhov makes everything clear and simple. Just turn on you TV in the morning and take his ridiculous advice seriously. If you have a sore throat, this former electrician has the remedy for you: simply find a frog, breathe on it, and the disease will pass on to the frog. You'll feel better, and the frog will die. Gennady Malakhov has suggests drinking urine and kerosene on other occasions. And if you are severely constipated, the TV host suggests that you scoop out the feces with your finger or a spoon. I don't think there is a single disease that he can't handle, from a runny nose to cancer.
The show is not supposed to be a comedy, which is reinforced by the presence of certified doctors. But these doctors play only second, if not third, fiddle to Malakhov. Sometimes they even timidly call into question the bold treatments suggested by this modern-day Avicenna. Meanwhile, the vigorous host is surrounded by a bevy of servile women who prattle on about how much better they feel after reading Malakhov's countless healing books (Malakhov himself doesn't know the exact number of books he has written). It all calls to mind the cult of a self-proclaimed messiah, who keeps on spouting nonsense like: "I won't waste time on two-timing"; "Drunk parasite have a hard time settling down in our intestines"; "What a beautiful smell we have here!"; "Breathing through your mouth makes about as much sense as eating through your nose." That's just a sample.
I think Gennady Malakhov might just beat out Viktor Chernomyrdin for the title of most renowned silver-tongued orator on Russian soil. For example, in his book "I'm 50 - Spiritual Experience", Malakhov informs the reader that "getting hit in the forehead is a good sign. It means that the frontal sinuses have been cleansed of mucus and pus and that your third eye has opened."
Another important element that gives the show its epic and folksy quality is when Malakhov tries out the recipes, ointments and herbs suggested by the show's guests. They even boiled some "death caps" from extremely toxic Amanita mushrooms for the host, but he refused to taste them for some odd reason. The guests' dialogues are fantastical. An elderly woman once told the host how her potion rescued her husband from heavy drinking. Malakhov asked the woman if her husband stopped drinking after taking this potion. Well, it turns out that her husband drowned while fishing because he didn't know how to swim, but the potion proved effective on the local drunks who built her house. She added that it wasn't just the potion that helped, but also being "tender, kind and attentive": "If I saw someone who needed a shave or a haircut, I helped the best I could... Men need tenderness. I used to have up to eight men, and they all were good and capable men. They quit drinking, and I had my house built. It's all thanks to the potion."
Or how about this guest: "Mr. Malakhov, there is mold everywhere. Don't you think, since we know so little about it, that we should treat it with respect and try to find out more about it?"
"Certainly, we should treat it with respect no matter what, because you never know what you will eat and what impact it will have on your body," Malakhov replied.
This show, which has been on the air since 2006, has been the focus of repeated protests, and not just from experts and professionals. For example, Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak has written an open letter to the head of the Channel One, Konstantin Ernst, in which he wrote that Malakhov's show promotes "anti-scientific information and healing practices." Mr. Ernst has yet to respond.
However, protests and letters won't have any effect as long as ratings rule in the world of television. Advertisers keep lining up, and the TV show consistently ranks among top 100 most-watched TV series. As the author and radio host Alex Exler once put it, "Who would give up an electrician with golden urine?"
RIA Novosti commentator Sergei Varshavchik
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
