Anisimova has worked as a television news journalist for Russian media outlets such as Teleinform and Moscow Doveriye (Moscow Trust), as well as a travel host and creator for Russian Travel Guide TV.
Born in Volgograd, Russia Liliya Anisimova began her journalism career at 13-years-old as a freelance writer for the national newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda's Volgograd regional edition, Volgogradskaya Pravda and Vecherniy Volgograd aka Evening Volgograd.
From an early age her ultimate goal was to become a television journalist and news anchor, and she did everything in her power to make it happen. Little did she realize that actually having her work published in several newspapers at such a young age would give her the advantage she needed.
Her early articles served as a necessary stepping-stone, which helped her gain acceptance to Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), where she would receive a bachelor's and a master's degree in broadcast journalism, as well as her second bachelor's degree in translating for communications.
Established in 1755, MSU is one of the county's most prestigious and competitive universities, which means getting one's foot in the door is not an easy task.
"We had what's called “creativity contest”. Before you are actually allowed to take an entrance exam we had to pass this contest where the professors evaluated our “previous work experience”. Which is pretty crazy when I think about it now," explains Anisimova about the process of being accepted to MSU. "16 and 17 year old kids had to bring already published materials from newspapers, radio pieces or TV programs that they had already worked on that were aired or published!"
While at MSU, Anisimova began working as a news reporter for Teleinform, a regional cable television channel in Moscow. During her time at Teleinform, Anisimova wrote bulletins and news stories for the channel's anchors to deliver, and gained extensive experience conducting live and pre-recorded interviews, using her editorial judgment to decide the best angle to approach a story from, and managing technical crews for news shoots. But, the young journalist was hungry for a job that would give her a shot at being an anchor.
After working for the media group for two years she left and landed the opportunity of a lifetime through the news station Moscow Doveriye. Within a year of starting her work with Moscow Doveriye Anisimova was living her dream as a full-fledged news anchor with a handsome salary to boot. However, as time went on she was faced with a series of hard choices regarding her personal beliefs and the ethics of being a news anchor in Russia, where the station she worked for was run predominantly by the government and held views she didn't agree with.
Although she had accomplished her dream, sacrificing her morals and her dedication to delivering the truth to her audience was a non-negotiable matter.
As a news anchor Anisimova covered a vast range of topics, but the stories she had always had the most passion for were travel related. So, when she decided to leave Moscow Doveriye, and landed a job as a host for the Russian Travel Guide channel she was ecstatic.
"It was more than experience, it was a life changing job. We travelled a lot, we shot a lot, it was just beautiful," recalls Anisimova. She adds, “RTG was an independent privately owned channel and has nothing to do with politics or state money at all, which is very rare for Russia.”
Travelling to a long list of interesting places including the Russian cities of Tyumen, Yaroslavl, Nizhniy Novgorod, Ulianovsk, Surgut, Yekaterinburg, Suzdal, Vladimir, St. Petersburg and many more, Anisimova exposed RTG's audience to some of the country's most beautiful hidden gems. While at RTG, Anisimova also represented the RTG team at national and international exhibitions including the World Travel Market and the Association for International Broadcasting Awards in London, the Hot Bird TV Awards in Venice, Italy and others.
While Liliya Anisimova's reputation as an honest and well-known news anchor and television host was not built over night, her success proves that anything is possible for those who dedicate themselves to making their dreams a reality.