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Andre Vltchek

1963 – 2020

American writer and filmmaker

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About Andre Vltchek

Lived 1963 – 2020 (aged 56). Andre Vltchek was an American and Russian journalist, playwright, photographer, novelist, writer and philosopher.

André Vltchek (, , December 29, 1963 – September 22, 2020) was a Soviet-born American political analyst, journalist, and a filmmaker. Vltchek was born in Leningrad but later became a naturalized U.S. citizen after being granted asylum there in his 20s. He lived in the United States, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Vietnam, Samoa, and Indonesia. He traveled to more than 140 countries,

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". He was raised in Plzeň, Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States. 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.

Documentaries In 2004, he produced and directed a documentary film about the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66, Terlena – Breaking of The Nation. Right after a devastating earthquake that shook Chile in February 2010, Vltchek travelled to Chile and produced a documentary titled Chile Between Two Earthquakes.

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. 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).

In 2013, Vltchek produced and directed the documentary film Rwanda Gambit, 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, and interviewed on Regina Community Radio.

Publications Non-fiction and investigative journalism

— a passionate argument against Indonesia's capital relocation

— about the rise of Western imperialism — a discussion on Western power and propaganda with Noam Chomsky — an in-depth analysis of the entire Pacific region and its "destruction" by traditional and neocolonial powers — about post–1965 Indonesia, a collapsed state — conversations with the Southeast Asian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Fiction Vltchek was the author of several novels and plays.

Nalezený, a novel published in Czech

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Important facts

People in Andre Vltchek's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Andre Vltchek's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Andre Vltchek?

American writer and filmmaker

When was Andre Vltchek born?

Andre Vltchek was born on 29 December 1963 in Saint Petersburg.

When did Andre Vltchek die?

Andre Vltchek died on 22 September 2020 in Istanbul.

What was Andre Vltchek's occupation?

Andre Vltchek was a journalist, playwright, photographer, novelist, writer and philosopher.

What nationality was Andre Vltchek?

Andre Vltchek was American and Russian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Andre Vltchek

· Wikidata: Q4754899

· DBpedia: Andre Vltchek

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Andre Vltchek. https://biography.guide/andre-vltchek/

MLA: "Andre Vltchek." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/andre-vltchek/.

Chicago: "Andre Vltchek." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/andre-vltchek/.

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