Iryna Khalip: Piotr Martsau had talent of choosing best journalists

The funeral of Piotr Martseu takes place today.

Journalist Iryna Khalip, the person who was working with Martsau for many years and whom he chose to be the editor-in-chief of the Imia newspaper in the late 1990s, shared her memories of him in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belarusi.

“Petia was a unique person for his time,” she says. “If he had been born in America, France or Australia instead of the Soviet Union, he would have become a billionaire or at least a multimillionaire by the age of 30. We, the journalists who graduated from the Soviet faculty of journalism, were taught to cover assemblies of the [Communist] party instead of being taught management. Martsau with his philological education understood how to run a newspaper and make it bring profit. He founded the Imia newspaper on the money earned by the BDG newspaper.

It's a pity that the things that promised to grow into a media empire began to break up. It wasn't the fault of Martsau or journalists. It was the fault of those controlling the media processes. Martsau had a talent of choosing the best journalists. All who worked for BDG became successful. The first heads of BDG, who quit and founded their own project, Belgazeta, were also a merit of Martsau. He made them who they are. I can say that the Imia newspaper, where I had worked since the beginning till the end, is, perhaps, the best time in my life.”

Visitation will take place at the Minsk funeral home in Alseheuski Street from 12:00 to 15:00.

The famous publisher and journalist died on the evening of September 13.