Andre Vltchek

{{Infobox person

| name = André Vltchek

| image =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1963|12|29}}

| birth_place = Leningrad, Soviet Union

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|9|22|1963|12|29}}

| death_place = Istanbul, Turkey

| nationality = American

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| occupation = {{flatlist|

Journalist
writer
filmmaker

}}

| spouse =

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| website = {{URL|http://andrevltchek.weebly.com|andrevltchek.weebly.com}}

}}

André Vltchek ({{langx|ru|Андре Влчек}}, {{IPA|ru|ɐnˈdrɛ ˈvɫ̩t͡ɕɛk|}}, December 29, 1963 – September 22, 2020) was a Soviet-born American political analyst, journalist, and a filmmaker.{{cite web |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20100906-writer-andre-vltchek-point-of-non-return-journalist-photohrapher-eve-jackson |title=André Vltchek's 'Point of No Return' |publisher=France 24 |date=2010-09-06 |access-date=2016-08-17 |archive-date=2016-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422031402/http://www.france24.com/en/20100906-writer-andre-vltchek-point-of-non-return-journalist-photohrapher-eve-jackson |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2006/rajiva300106.html|title=Getting to the Point of No Return: A Conversation with Andre Vltchek|first=Lila|last=Rajiva|author-link=Lila Rajiva|work=MRzine|date=2006-01-30|access-date=2017-01-04|archive-date=2016-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101172150/http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2006/rajiva300106.html|url-status=live}} Vltchek was born in Leningrad but later became a naturalized U.S. citizen after being granted asylum there in his 20s.{{cite web|url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/101265-freedom-of-speech-has-become-a-propaganda-slogan-andre-vltchek|title=Freedom of speech has become a propaganda slogan: Andre Vltchek|first=Kourosh|last=Ziabari|date=2012-09-05|work=Tehran Times|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714155114/http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/101265-freedom-of-speech-has-become-a-propaganda-slogan-andre-vltchek|archive-date=2014-07-14}}{{cite web |url=https://countercurrents.org/2018/12/how-i-became-a-revolutionary-and-internationalistandre-vltchek/ |last=Mathew |first=Binu |title=How I Became A Revolutionary And Internationalist:Andre Vltchek |work=Countercurrents.org |date=December 4, 2018 |access-date=2020-09-24}} He lived in the United States, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Vietnam, Samoa, and Indonesia.

Vltchek covered armed conflicts in Peru, Kashmir, Mexico, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Congo, India, South Africa, East Timor, Indonesia, Turkey, and the Middle East.{{cite news|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-10/12/content_13873914.htm|title=China offers vital alternative to West|first=Cheng|last=Guangjin|work=China Daily|date=2011-10-12|access-date=2016-04-02|archive-date=2015-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924044402/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-10/12/content_13873914.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Vltchek|first=Andre |url=https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/aceh-abandoned-second-tsunami-0 |title=Aceh Abandoned: The Second Tsunami |publisher=Oakland Institute |date=2005-02-01 |quote=Andre Vltchek, a Senior Fellow at the Oakland Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104235617/https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/aceh-abandoned-second-tsunami-0 |archive-date=2017-01-04 }} He traveled to more than 140 countries, and wrote articles for Der Spiegel, Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, The Guardian, ABC News and the Czech Republic daily Lidové noviny. From 2004, Vltchek served as a senior fellow at the Oakland Institute.{{cite news|url=http://travel.cnn.com/author/andre-vltchek/ |title=Author: Andre Vltchek |work=CNN Travel |quote=Andre is also a Senior Fellow at The Oakland Institute. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104234436/http://travel.cnn.com/author/andre-vltchek/ |archive-date=2017-01-04}}

Commenting on Vltchek's book Oceania, published in 2010, American linguist Noam Chomsky said that it evoked "the reality of the contemporary world" and that "He has also not failed to trace the painful — and particularly for the West, shameful realities to their historical roots".

Biography

André Vltchek was born on December 29, 1963, in Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg), Soviet Union.{{cite tweet|last=Vltchek|first=Andre |user=AndreVltchek|date=29 December 2019|number=1211104736981635072|title=Last night I landed in #Tokyo, and today I will travel home, to Central Japan. 29 December is my birthday. According to #Chinese calendar, 2020 is Year of Rat. It will be auspicious, but a tough year. We will have to fight for survival of our humanity. At the end, we will prevail!}} His father was a Czech nuclear physicist and his mother a Russo-Chinese painter.{{cite web|url=http://www.legrandsoir.info/Point-de-non-retour.html?var_mode=calcul |title=Point de non-retour |work=Le Grand Soir |date=September 1, 2010 |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409074659/http://www.legrandsoir.info/Point-de-non-retour.html?var_mode=calcul |archive-date=2014-04-09}} He was raised in Plzeň, Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States.{{cite book|last1=Chomsky|first1=Noam |author-link1=Noam Chomsky|last2=Vltchek|first2=Andre |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BspECgAAQBAJ&pg=PT1|chapter=Presentazione|title=Terrorismo occidentale|publisher=Ponte alle Grazie|year=2015|isbn=978-88-6833-466-6|quote=Andre Vltchek è nato a Leningrado nel 1963 ed è cresciuto a Plzeň, in Cecoslovacchia, prima di trasferirsi a New York.|language=it}} Until his death, he was based in Asia and Africa.

On September 22, 2020, he died, seemingly in his sleep, whilst being chauffeured in his car in Istanbul, Turkey. While his death was initially deemed suspicious by the police, his wife later confirmed that he had been unwell and died from complications related to diabetes.{{cite web|url=https://www.tamgaturk.com/haber/istanbulda-supheli-olay-abdli-gazeteci-andre-vltchek-aracinda-olu-bulundu-18043.html|title=İstanbul'da Şüpheli Olay: ABD'li Gazeteci Andre Vltchek Aracında Ölü Bulundu|trans-title=Suspect in Istanbul: American Journalist Andre Vltchek Found Dead in His Vehicle|work=Tamga Türk|date=22 September 2020|access-date=22 September 2020|language=tr|archive-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922203530/https://www.tamgaturk.com/haber/istanbulda-supheli-olay-abdli-gazeteci-andre-vltchek-aracinda-olu-bulundu-18043.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-probes-death-american-journalist-andre-vltchek-73163914|title=Turkey probes death of American journalist Andre Vltchek|agency=Associated Press|publisher=ABC News|date=2020-09-22|access-date=2020-09-22|archive-date=2020-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922203514/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-probes-death-american-journalist-andre-vltchek-73163914|url-status=live}}

Documentaries

In 2004, he produced and directed a documentary film about the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66, Terlena – Breaking of The Nation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribute.ca/movies/terlena-breaking-of-a-nation/14168/|title=Terlena: Breaking of a Nation {{!}} Movie Synopsis and info|website=Tribute|access-date=2020-09-22|archive-date=2019-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422034906/https://www.tribute.ca/movies/terlena-breaking-of-a-nation/14168/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/events/253645201470442/ |title=Film Screening: "Terlena: Breaking of a Nation" – Director Q&As and Book Signing with Andre Vltchek |work=Facebook Events |date=March 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923044803/https://www.facebook.com/events/253645201470442/ |archive-date=2020-09-23}} Right after a devastating earthquake that shook Chile in February 2010, Vltchek travelled to Chile and produced a documentary titled Chile Between Two Earthquakes.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2krn2JibS2s |title=Chile Between Two Earthquakes |publisher=Asia-Africa Kappa Productions |via=YouTube |date=April 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130154622/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2krn2JibS2s |archive-date=2018-01-30}}

For UNESCO, Vltchek wrote and directed a film Tumaini about social collapse and devastation caused by HIV pandemic in communities around Lake Victoria in Kenya.{{cite AV media |people=Vltchek, Andre (Director)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEFUv730PuQ |title=Tumaini |publisher=UNESCO / Asia-Africa Kappa Productions |via=YouTube |date=2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804170817/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEFUv730PuQ |archive-date=2016-08-04}} In 2012, he wrote and directed the documentary One Flew Over Dadaab to depict the 20-year long tragedy of Somali refugees in the largest refugee camps in the world (Dadaab, in Northern Kenya).{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va4ULssN87s |title='One Flew Over Dadaab' Trailer|publisher=Asia-Africa Kappa Productions |via=YouTube |date=October 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415202410/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va4ULssN87s |archive-date=2016-04-15}}{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Nairobi/pdf/Dadaab%20Refugee%20Camp.pdf |title=One Flew Over Dadaab |publisher=UNESCO |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105084524/http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Nairobi/pdf/Dadaab%20Refugee%20Camp.pdf |archive-date=2017-01-05}}{{cite web|url=http://www.wherevent.com/detail/Collective-Intelligence-Film-Screening-One-Flew-Over-Dadaab-followed-by-discussion-with-film-director-Andre-Vltchek |title=Film Screening: 'One Flew Over Dadaab', followed by discussion with film director, Andre Vltchek |work=Wherevent |date=January 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105083803/http://www.wherevent.com/detail/Collective-Intelligence-Film-Screening-One-Flew-Over-Dadaab-followed-by-discussion-with-film-director-Andre-Vltchek |archive-date=2017-01-05}}

In 2013, Vltchek produced and directed the documentary film Rwanda Gambit,{{cite AV media |people=Vltchek, Andre (Director)|url=https://vimeo.com/ondemand/rwandagambit|title=Rwanda Gambit|publisher=Asia-Africa Kappa Productions |via=Vimeo|date=2013 |access-date=2019-01-29|archive-date=2019-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330185219/https://vimeo.com/ondemand/rwandagambit|url-status=live}} broadcast by Press TV. It aims at reversing the official narrative on the 1994 Rwandan genocide, exposing the Rwandan and Ugandan plunder of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on behalf of Western imperialism.

In March 2019, Vltchek was the keynote speaker for the "No to NATO and War — Yes to Peace and Progress" meeting and rally, held in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada,{{cite web |last=Tarasoff |first=Koozma J. |title=No to NATO and War — Yes to Peace and Progress |url=https://spirit-wrestlers.blogspot.com/2019/03/no-to-nato-and-war-yes-to-peace-and.html |website=Spirit-Wrestlers Blog |via=Blogger |date= March 3, 2019 |access-date=6 April 2019 |archive-date=6 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406193011/https://spirit-wrestlers.blogspot.com/2019/03/no-to-nato-and-war-yes-to-peace-and.html |url-status=live }} and interviewed on Regina Community Radio.{{cite podcast |last=Morgan |first=Dave |title=Listen Up! |url=http://cjtr.ca/podcasts/download.php?filename=2019-04-03_listenup-april2pod.mp3 |publisher=91.3FM CJTR Regina Community Radio |access-date=6 April 2019 |date=April 2, 2019 |time=11 a.m. – noon (minutes 25 to 54) |archive-date=2019-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406193013/http://cjtr.ca/podcasts/download.php?filename=2019-04-03_listenup-april2pod.mp3 |url-status=live }}

Publications

=Non-fiction and investigative journalism=

{{cite book |title=New Capital of Indonesia: Abandoning Destitute Jakarta, Moving to Plundered Borneo |year=2020 |publisher=PT Badak Merah Semesta |isbn=978-602-509-549-8}} — a passionate argument against Indonesia's capital relocation
{{cite book |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative: Connecting Countries Saving Millions of Lives |year=2019 |publisher=PT Badak Merah Semesta |isbn=978-602-509-548-1}}
{{cite book |title=China and Ecological Civilization: John B. Cobb, Jr. in Conversation with Andre Vltchek |year=2019 |publisher=PT Badak Merah Semesta |isbn=978-602-509-545-0}}
{{cite book |title=Por Lula |edition=Portuguese |year=2018 |publisher=PT Badak Merah Semesta |isbn=978-602-509-542-9}}
{{cite book |title=Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism |year=2018 |publisher=PT Badak Merah Semesta |pages=286 pp |no-pp=y |isbn=978-602-509-541-2}}
{{cite book |title=The Great October Socialist Revolution: Impact on the World and the Birth of Internationalism |year=2017 |publisher=PT Badak Merah Semesta |isbn=978-602-735-439-5}}
{{cite book |title=Exposing Lies of the Empire |year=2015 |publisher=PT Badak Merah Semesta |pages=822 pp |no-pp=y |isbn=978-602-700-586-0}}
{{cite book |title=Fighting Against Western Imperialism |year=2014 |publisher=PT Badak Merah Semesta |isbn=978-602-700-582-2}} — about the rise of Western imperialism
{{cite book |title=On Western Terrorism: From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare |year=2013 |others=With Noam Chomsky |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=978-0-7453-3387-8}} — a discussion on Western power and propaganda with Noam Chomsky
{{cite book |title=Oceania: Neocolonialism, Nukes and Bones |year=2013 |publisher=Atuanui Press |isbn=978-0-9922453-3-7}} — an in-depth analysis of the entire Pacific region and its "destruction" by traditional and neocolonial powers
{{cite book |title=Indonesia: Archipelago of Fear |year=2012 |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=978-0-7453-3199-7}} — about post–1965 Indonesia, a collapsed state
{{cite book |title=Exile: Conversations with Pramoedya Ananta |year=2006 |others=With Rosie Indira and Nagesh Rao |publisher=Haymarket Books |isbn=1-931859-28-0}} — conversations with the Southeast Asian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer
{{cite book |title=Western Terror: From Potosi to Baghdad |year=2006 |publisher=Mainstay Press |isbn=0-9774590-3-9}}

= Fiction =

Vltchek was the author of several novels and plays.

{{cite book |title=Aurora |edition=1st |year=2016 |publisher=Badak Merah Semesta |isbn=978-602-735-436-4}}
{{cite book |title=Plays: 'Ghost of Valparaiso' and 'Conversations with James' |year=2014 |publisher=Badak Merah Semesta |isbn=978-602-700-585-3}}
{{cite book |title=Point of No Return |edition=2nd |year=2013 |publisher=Mainstay Press |isbn=978-0-9774590-7-0}}
{{cite book |title=Liberation Lit |year=2010 |others=with Tony Christini |publisher=Mainstay Press |isbn=978-0-9774590-6-3}}
Nalezený, a novel published in Czech

References

External links

[http://andrevltchek.weebly.com Vltchek's World in Words and Images]
[https://badak-merah.weebly.com Badak Merah]

[https://www.greanvillepost.com/2020/09/29/what-a-wealth-of-treasures-andre-vltchek-left-to-the-worlds-left/] What a wealth of treasures André Vltchek left to the world's left by Ramin Mazaheri on The Greanville Post

Category:1963 births

Category:2020 deaths

Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights

Category:21st-century American journalists

Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers

Category:21st-century American novelists

Category:American investigative journalists

Category:American male dramatists and playwrights

Category:American male journalists

Category:American male non-fiction writers

Category:American male novelists

Category:American people of Chinese descent