André Vltchek (Russian:Андре Влчек,[ɐnˈdrɛˈvɫ̩t͡ɕɛk], December 29, 1963 – September 22, 2020) was aSoviet-born American political analyst, journalist, and a filmmaker.^[1][2] Vltchek was born inLeningrad but later became a naturalized U.S. citizen after being grantedasylum there in his 20s.^[3][4] He lived in the United States, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Vietnam, Samoa, and Indonesia.^[2]

Vltchek covered armed conflicts in Peru, Kashmir, Mexico, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Congo, India, South Africa, East Timor, Indonesia, Turkey, and the Middle East.^[1][2][5][6] He traveled to more than 140 countries,^[3][5] and wrote articles forDer Spiegel, Japanese newspaperThe Asahi Shimbun,The Guardian,ABC News and the Czech Republic dailyLidové noviny.^[2][6] From 2004, Vltchek served as a senior fellow at theOakland Institute.^[6][7]

Commenting on Vltchek's bookOceania, published in 2010, American linguistNoam 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".^[5]

André Vltchek was born on December 29, 1963, in Leningrad (present-daySaint Petersburg),Soviet Union.^[8][9] His father was a Czech nuclear physicist and his mother a Russo-Chinese painter.^[10] He was raised inPlzeň,Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States.^[9] 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 inIstanbul, 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.^[11][12]

In 2004, he produced and directed a documentary film about theIndonesian mass killings of 1965–66,Terlena – Breaking of The Nation.^[13][2][14] Right after adevastating earthquake that shook Chile in February 2010, Vltchek travelled to Chile and produced a documentary titledChile Between Two Earthquakes.^[15]

ForUNESCO, Vltchek wrote and directed a filmTumaini about social collapse and devastation caused byHIV pandemic in communities aroundLake Victoria in Kenya.^[16] In 2012, he wrote and directed the documentaryOne 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).^[17][18][19]

In 2013, Vltchek produced and directed the documentary filmRwanda Gambit,^[20] broadcast byPress TV. It aims at reversing the official narrative on the 1994Rwandan 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 inRegina, Saskatchewan, Canada,^[21] and interviewed on Regina Community Radio.^[22]

• New Capital of Indonesia: Abandoning Destitute Jakarta, Moving to Plundered Borneo. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2020.ISBN 978-602-509-549-8. — a passionate argument against Indonesia's capital relocation
• China's Belt and Road Initiative: Connecting Countries Saving Millions of Lives. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2019.ISBN 978-602-509-548-1.
• China and Ecological Civilization: John B. Cobb, Jr. in Conversation with Andre Vltchek. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2019.ISBN 978-602-509-545-0.
• Por Lula (Portuguese ed.). PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2018.ISBN 978-602-509-542-9.
• Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2018. 286 pp.ISBN 978-602-509-541-2.
• The Great October Socialist Revolution: Impact on the World and the Birth of Internationalism. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2017.ISBN 978-602-735-439-5.
• Exposing Lies of the Empire. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2015. 822 pp.ISBN 978-602-700-586-0.
• Fighting Against Western Imperialism. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2014.ISBN 978-602-700-582-2. — about the rise of Western imperialism
• On Western Terrorism: From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare. WithNoam Chomsky.Pluto Press. 2013.ISBN 978-0-7453-3387-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) — a discussion on Western power and propaganda with Noam Chomsky
• Oceania: Neocolonialism, Nukes and Bones. Atuanui Press. 2013.ISBN 978-0-9922453-3-7. — an in-depth analysis of the entire Pacific region and its "destruction" by traditional and neocolonial powers
• Indonesia: Archipelago of Fear. Pluto Press. 2012.ISBN 978-0-7453-3199-7. — about post–1965 Indonesia, a collapsed state
• Exile: Conversations with Pramoedya Ananta. With Rosie Indira and Nagesh Rao.Haymarket Books. 2006.ISBN 1-931859-28-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) — conversations with the Southeast Asian writerPramoedya Ananta Toer
• Western Terror: From Potosi to Baghdad. Mainstay Press. 2006.ISBN 0-9774590-3-9.

Vltchek was the author of several novels and plays.

• Aurora (1st ed.). Badak Merah Semesta. 2016.ISBN 978-602-735-436-4.
• Plays: 'Ghost of Valparaiso' and 'Conversations with James'. Badak Merah Semesta. 2014.ISBN 978-602-700-585-3.
• Point of No Return (2nd ed.). Mainstay Press. 2013.ISBN 978-0-9774590-7-0.
• Liberation Lit. with Tony Christini. Mainstay Press. 2010.ISBN 978-0-9774590-6-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
• Nalezený, a novel published in Czech

• Vltchek's World in Words and Images
• Badak Merah

• [1] What a wealth of treasures André Vltchek left to the world's left by Ramin Mazaheri on The Greanville Post

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• 20th-century American male writers
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