Konstantin Kisin

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Konstantin Kisin
Kisin in 2021
Born
Konstantin Vadimovich Kisin

(1982-12-25) 25 December 1982 (age 41)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality
  • British
  • Russian
EducationClifton College
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • writer
  • podcaster
  • political commentator
Notable workTriggernometry podcast
An Immigrant's Love Letter to the West (2022)
Spouse
Alina Kisina
​
(m. 2003)​
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2018–present
Subscribers1,16 million[1]
(19 December 2024)
Total views235 million[1]
(19 December 2024)
100,000 subscribers
Website

Konstantin Vadimovich Kisin (/ˈkɪsɪn/; Russian: Константин Вадимович Кисин; born 25 December 1982) is a Russian-British satirist, author, conservative pundit, and co-host (with Francis Foster) of the Triggernometry podcast. Kisin has written for a number of publications, including Quillette, The Spectator, The Daily Telegraph and Standpoint; he has also appeared on the panel of the BBC political programme Question Time, and been interviewed on TV media such as the BBC, Sky News and GB News. He speaks and writes on issues relating to tech censorship, comedy and culture war.

Early life and education

Kisin was born in Moscow in the former Soviet Union to parents Marina and Vadim, then 18 and 20 years old, respectively, and grew up in the USSR. His experiences in the country inform much of his own political worldview today.[2] He is of Russian, Greek, and Jewish descent.[3][4] Kisin's parents were semi-practising Orthodox Christians, though his paternal grandfather was a secular Jew.[5][6] Kisin has previously identified as Jewish.[7][8] At the age of 11, he moved to the United Kingdom.[9] He attended Clifton College boarding school, and subsequently Edinburgh University, which he left before finishing a degree.[10]

Career

Podcasting

Since April 2018, Kisin has been co-presenter (with Francis Foster) of Triggernometry, a YouTube channel and podcast. The primary format of the channel is the prerecorded interview; the channel brands itself as holding "honest conversations with fascinating people",[11] and has been described as "anti-woke" by The Times and "hard-right" by openDemocracy.[12][13] Guests have included Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris.[14] A 2023 interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson, on the subject of "Have We Lost Trust in Science?",[15] was widely reported upon both by other YouTube channels and the mainstream media because of Tyson's statements on the subject of transgender rights.[16][17][18]

The podcast was named one of the "best 20 escapist podcasts" in The Daily Telegraph in 2020.[19]

Stand-up comedy

In 2019 Kisin took his show Orwell That Ends Well to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to mixed reviews. The Daily Telegraph included the show in its list of best comedy shows of the Edinburgh Festival,[20] The Student described it as "hilarious and refreshing",[21] while Fest Magazine called it "ill-considered, reactionary nonsense",[22] and The Jewish Chronicle described Kisin as an "antagonist" and rated the show 2 out of 5.[23][24][25]

Politics and punditry

Konstantin Kisin speaking at Alliance for Responsible Citizenship 2023 in Greenwich, London, UK, 31 October 2023

In March 2022 Kisin appeared as a panellist on the first edition of BBC Question Time following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He described feeling shame for his birth country Russia and discussed the bombardment that his family in Ukraine was undergoing.[26]

Kisin's 2023 speech at the Oxford Union student debating society in favour of the motion that "Woke Culture HAS Gone Too Far" went viral.[27][28] A critical article by Will Lloyd appeared in the New Statesman, writing of Kisin that "when he told me, unsmilingly, not to misrepresent him, a sad thought floated into my head. Misrepresent him? There would have to be something there to represent in the first place." Describing Kisin as the "cracklingly viral man" of the moment, Lloyd added: "His speech was praised as a nine-minute interlude of sanity in an insane world ... The speech continued to ricochet around the internet, gaining millions of views, then millions more."[29]

In a keynote speech in London in late 2023 at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, Kisin argued that the moment for restoring Western civilisation is at hand, describing it as "the fight for our lives".[30] In September 2023, the New Statesman named him as the 46th most influential right-wing figure in British politics.[31]

Author

Kisin is the author of An Immigrant's Love Letter to the West, which became a Sunday Times bestseller in the first week of its publication.[32] A review in The Daily Telegraph in July 2022 has Douglas Murray writing: "Kisin asks why people in the West so often spit on their luck."[33]

Dispute with SOAS student group

In 2018, Kisin made headlines when he refused to sign a "behavioural agreement" form explaining a "no tolerance policy" with regard to racism, sexism, classism, ageism, homophobia, biphobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-religion, and anti-atheism,[34] when asked to perform, free of charge, at a fundraising gig for UNICEF at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. The form explained those topics were not banned, but stated the topics should be discussed in a "respectful and non-abusive way", and presented in a way that is "respectful and kind".[34][35]

After Kisin refused to agree to those terms and chose not to perform, the UNICEF on Campus society at SOAS apologised and clarified they did not wish to "impose that guests would have to agree to anything they do not believe in". The SOAS Students' Union said that it did not require external speakers to sign any contract before appearances, and that the UNICEF on Campus society had been "overzealous" in interpreting the guidelines.[36][37][38][39]

Justifying his actions after it was claimed that Kisin had agreed to similar restrictions for a different gig in 2017, he stated he was "absolutely certain there was nothing about religion, atheism, respect or kindness in the rules [of the 2017 contract]. Had there been, I would not have agreed."[40]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b "About Triggernometry". YouTube.
  2. ^ Manzoor, Alex (2 February 2020). "Comedy and Controversy: Interview with Konstantin Kisin". The Cambridge Student. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  3. ^ Kisin, Konstantin. "Kisin Tweet (2021)". Twitter.
  4. ^ Kisin, Konstantin. "Konstantin Kisin Tweet (2022)". Twitter.
  5. ^ @KonstantinKisin (7 October 2024). "Having listened to the arguments of both sides over the last year, I'm no longer on the fence about Israel's war. Here is why" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 October 2024 – via Twitter. This depends on what you mean by "Jewish". I am an agnostic raised by two barely practicing Orthodox Christians, one of whose parents was a militant atheist Soviet Jew.
  6. ^ Kisin, Konstantin (14 August 2024). "Konstantin Kisin EXPOSES Pro-Palestine YouTuber in Heated Debate (1:01:16 mark)". Youtube. Triggernometry.
  7. ^ Sugarman, Daniel. "Comedian Konstantin Kisin drops out of Unicef charity gig over 'safe space' contract". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  8. ^ Newhouse, Alana, ed. (11 August 2011). "Why Don't They Believe Us?". Tablet Magazine.
  9. ^ Kisin, Konstantin [@KonstantinKisin] (10 December 2020). "I came to the UK from Russia aged 11. I was picked on at school for not speaking English and not fitting in. One boy in particular orchestrated a lot of it. It was confusing – I didn't know what to do. I felt anger towards him but didn't want to get into a fight either. Then..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Will Lloyd (27 January 2023). "Konstantin Kisin: 'Being anti-woke isn't making you happy'". New Statesman.
  11. ^ "TRIGGERnometry". AudioBoom.
  12. ^ Thévoz, Seth (16 May 2023). "Assault rifles, wind farms, immigration and hormones: Inside NatCon". openDemocracy. Someone who worked for the hard-right YouTube channel Triggernometry complained ... .
  13. ^ Marriott, James (5 August 2022). "Revisionist History podcast review — Malcolm Gladwell takes the scenic route to common sense". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023.
  14. ^ White, Flat (19 August 2022). "We need to talk about Sam Harris". The Spectator Australia.
  15. ^ "Have We Lost Trust in Science? - Neil deGrasse Tyson. Podcast Episode". IMDb.
  16. ^ Grossman, Hannah (27 September 2023). "Neil deGrasse Tyson explodes during debate about trans women competing in women sports". Fox News.
  17. ^ Imamovic, Faruk (28 September 2023). "'Scientist' Neil deGrasse Has Meltdown Over Trans Women in Sports Debate". Financial World.
  18. ^ Condon, Ali (28 September 2023). "Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson stands up for trans women in sport: 'Rise to the occasion'". PinkNews.
  19. ^ Fox-Leonard, Boudicca (23 November 2020). "The 20 best escapist podcasts to get us through the next few months". The Telegraph.
  20. ^ Monahan, Mark; Saunders, Tristram Fane; Cavendish, Dominic (30 August 2019). "Best comedy shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2019: reviews of 40 of this year's must see-comedians, including Jordan Brookes, Catherine Cohen and Laura Lexx". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  21. ^ "Konstantin Kisin: Orwell That Ends Well – The Student". studentnewspaper.org. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  22. ^ "Review: Konstantin Kisin: Orwell That Ends Well". Fest Magazine. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  23. ^ "Snowflakes, lizards and baseball caps: Edinburgh Fringe round-up". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  24. ^ "The Wee Review : Konstantin Kisin". theweereview.com. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  25. ^ "Comedy Review: Konstantin Kisin: Orwell That Ends Well, Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14), Edinburgh". www.scotsman.com. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Russian-British Comic Says He Feels 'Nothing But Shame For My Country'". HuffPost UK. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Konstantin Kisin: debates for the Motion: Woke Culture HAS Gone Too Far". Oxford Union. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  28. ^ "BBC Question Time - 26 Jan 2023". BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  29. ^ Lloyd, Will (27 January 2023). "Konstantin Kisin: "Being anti-woke isn't making you happy" The podcaster is the viral man of the moment. But does he really have anything to say?". New Statesman. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  30. ^ "ARC: to boldly say what the elites dare not". The Spectator Australia. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  31. ^ "The New Statesman's right power list". New Statesman. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  32. ^ Hamilton, Matthew. "'An Immigrant's Love Letter To Love West' by Konstantin Kisin goes into the Sunday Times bestseller list at No 5 | The Hamilton Agency". Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  33. ^ Murray, Douglas (3 July 2022). "Take it from a Russian – the alternative to Western democracy is far, far worse". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  34. ^ a b "Comedian refused to sign 'behavioural agreement' before gig". BBC News. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  35. ^ Kisin, Konstantin [@KonstantinKisin] (10 December 2018). "I just received an invitation to perform *comedy* at a university... The title of this "contract" nearly made me puke. @UnleashedComedy https://t.co/4tUPCFwTLG" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023 – via Twitter.
  36. ^ Loughrey, Clarisse (12 December 2018). "Comedians asked to sign 'behavioural agreement' for London university gig". The Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  37. ^ Hill, Amelia (11 December 2018). "Comedians asked to sign 'behavioural agreement' for Soas gig". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  38. ^ "Students ask comedian to sign safe space contract". The Week UK. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  39. ^ Wills, Ella (12 December 2018). "Comedian pulls out of charity show at SOAS over 'safe space' contract". Evening Standard. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  40. ^ Bennett, Steve. "When the safe-space row comedian WAS prepared to watch what he said : News 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
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