Mykola Bagrayev

Mykola Georgiyovich Bagrayev (Ossetian: Багъӕраты Георгийы фырт Никъала, Ukrainian: Микола Георгійович Баграєв) is a Ukrainian businessman in the fields of media and show business and a social activist. He is best known as the founder of the Tavria Games, an international music festival, and the Chernomorki Games, a national charitable festival for children. He established the radio broadcasting group TAVR Media, and also played a key role in the creation of the Ukrainian music television channels M1 and M2. Bagrayev is a co-founder of TicketsBox, a ticket distribution platform, and has ownership interests in the advertising company RTM-Ukraine and the technical production firm Profi Group. Between 2000 and 2002, he served on the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine. During this time, the Council created the Teletriumph Awards, Ukraine's only national television awards, of which Bagarev is a co-founder. He was elected as a member of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) for four consecutive terms, from 2002 to 2014, and was active on the Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information Policy.

In response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mykola Bagrayev’s media enterprises discontinued the use of Russian content early on—well before the enactment of Ukraine’s Law No. 2310-IX on June 19, 2022, which imposed restrictions on the public use of music from the aggressor state. On February 27, 2022, Russian Radio Ukraine was officially shut down. Shortly afterward, a new station, Radio Bayraktar was launched. Within just three months, Radio Bayrakta” emerged as one of Ukraine’s most popular FM broadcasters.