Natalia Abola

Natalia Abola (February 15, 1953, Riga, Latvian SSR) – a TV presenter, a producer, a TV journalist, an owner of the company TV ALTER A.

Natalia Abola was born in Riga into a working-class family. Her father, Roberts Abols (1916–1986), was Latvian; he served in the Red Army during World War II and received several awards. Her mother, Zinaida Abola (née Kishinyova; 1926–2010), was originally from Belarus. Natalia’s parents both worked at the Riga Tobacco Factory, where they met. In 1949, the family’s first daughter, Nellija, was born, followed by Natalia four years later.

In 1960, Natalia enrolled in the 1st grade at Riga Secondary School No. 37 in Čiekurkalns. However, in the 6th grade, she decided to transfer to another school—No. 30—which she graduated from in 1970 (today, the Dubnov Jewish Secondary School is located in the same building on Miera Street).

Her next step was the History Department of the Faculty of History and Philosophy at the University of Latvia. She had to combine her studies with work. Things became even more difficult after the birth of her daughter. Nonetheless, Natalia Abola overcame these challenges and successfully graduated in 1981 with a degree in history, qualifying as a historian and teacher of history and social sciences.

It seemed that a career as a professional historian lay ahead. While working as a laboratory assistant at the Department of Social Sciences at the Riga Medical Institute, Natalia caught the attention of the department head, Konrads Sondors (1932–2019), who recommended her for full-time postgraduate studies. However, it was during her time in postgraduate school (1981–1984) that Natalia realized her true interests lay elsewhere—in television journalism. A turning point came when she was asked to present Latvia during a tourist cruise. The project was so successful that it was noticed by the Sputnik Youth Tourism Bureau, which, through the Komsomol Committee at the Latvian State University, paved the way for Natalia’s entry into television, specifically in the Latvian Television (LTV) department of propaganda and agitation. She never completed her dissertation, but she did begin a television career that would last more than 30 years.

Her path in television was far from easy: there were highs and lows, but Natalia, by nature, is a fighter who doesn't give up even in difficult times. From the start, she showed creativity—for example, in a series of programs dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the October Revolution. From 1990 to 1994, she was the anchor of the Russian-language news. However, after broadcasting critical information about one of Latvia’s leading politicians at the time, her employment contract was not renewed.

But Natalia Abola doesn’t believe in hopeless situations. In 1995, together with her partner Igor Mashkantsev, she founded the limited liability company ALTER A (renamed TV Alter A in 1997) and began buying airtime for her programs.

From 1994 to 2003, the program "Shock Show" enjoyed great success in both Latvia and Russia. From 2001 onward, Natalia co-hosted the show with her daughter Anna. It was an unusual and controversial project for its time, sparking mixed reactions and debates. In hindsight, it can be said that it was the most memorable program in the Russian-language segment of Latvian television.

In 1998, Natalia Abola completed training at the School of Television Mastery (STM) founded by Vladimir Pozner. That same year, the first Riga–Moscow telebridge aired on ORT (Russian Public Television) and Latvian Television Channel 1, took place. It was co-hosted by Natalia Abola and Vladimir Pozner.

In 1999, inspired by Pozner’s STM, Natalia founded her own school of television journalism, which trained around 300 graduates over its 16-year existence. The most talented went on to pursue their own careers in TV.

In 2004, LTV7 terminated its contract with TV Alter A after Russian journalist Mikhail Leontyev made offensive remarks about Latvia during one of their programs. Natalia had to find new ways to bring her creative ideas to life.

Over her long career in TV, Natalia Abola produced and hosted many programs remembered by Latvian viewers, such as “Bolshaya Primerka” (The Big Fitting), “From the Perspective of Power”, “Time 02”, and “Personal View”. All of these shows ended in 2004.

From 2003 to 2007, she was the producer of the news project on the First Baltic Channel (PBK). Several well-known journalists at PBK, including Olga Pilipovets, Tatyana Kovalenko, Elina Suvorova-Piliņa, and Valeria Smirnova, trained at Natalia’s school.

In 2007, Natalia left the PBK project due to disagreement with its management’s policies.

The years 2008–2010 marked a creative pause and a sense of emptiness from being away from the TV screen.

Her next project was “Morning with Natalia Abola,” which aired on LTV7 in both Russian and Latvian until 2013. From 2013 to 2017, she produced the program “Business Approach” on TV3. That was Natalia Abola’s last television project.

Since 2018, Natalia has worked as a property manager of a building in Jūrmala, where she also resides. It turned out that she was quite capable in this practical role as well. During her tenure, she overcame many challenges and achieved concrete results—for example, the renovation of the 1969-built house, which significantly reduced heating costs for residents.

In 2019, Natalia Abola became a member of the “Honor to Serve Riga” party. From October 2022 to June 2025, she served as a Riga City Council deputy (after Oļeg Burov was elected to the Saeima). She was elected Deputy Chairperson of the Housing and Environment Committee. As a deputy, she saw her main mission as advocating for the interests of "ordinary" people and their real-life problems.

In 2025, Natalia ran for the Riga City Council on the list of the social-democratic party "Harmony" (Saskaņa). However, the party failed to pass the 5% threshold and therefore did not win any seats.

Natalia Abola believes one should live by conscience, in harmony with oneself, rather than following party discipline or prevailing trends.

Family

Natalia Abola has been married three times.

Her daughter, Anna (born 1974, from her second marriage), graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). After the end of “Shock Show” in 2004, she began working in banking and, since 2010, has lived and worked in Switzerland.

Her grandson, Robert (born 2003), as of 2023, lives and studies in Vienna, Austria.

Text prepared by Tatjana Feigmane