Vassilev was born January 9, 1970, in
Pernik,
Bulgaria. In 1989, he graduated from the 91st German Language High School in
Sofia. He was awarded a golden medal, an honorary diploma of the Ministry of Education and won first place in the School National Olympiad of Literature. That same year, he was admitted to the
University of Sofia's faculty of Journalism, graduating in 1994. In 2001, Vassilev presented his PhD thesis in sociology, which was validated by the Supreme Attestation Commission. The topic of the dissertation was “The New Media and Utopian Perspective”; it was released also as a book. He has participated in many qualification courses that include German language and culture in
Heidelberg (1993), TV journalism in
Cardiff (1993) and the
Henri Nannen Journalism School in
Hamburg (1997). As a student, Vassilev did freelance work for various publications and media: the newspapers
Pogled and
1000 days, the
Hristo Botev programme of Bulgarian National Radio and the weekly science program
Eureka on Channel 2 of
Bulgarian National Television (BNT). He presented four editions of the television show
Formula 5 on Channel 1 of BNT. Vassilev became part of “Coo-Coo” students’ program where he authored the Nubia episode. In 1992, he started as a reporter at
Po sveta i u nas (“Home and abroad”), the prime time news show of Channel 1 of BNT, covering topics in the field of foreign policy and justice. In 1993, Vassilev acquired a full-time job at the central weekly survey
Panorama of BNT and made a name for himself as an expert in the Balkans. He was active in reporting major events on the peninsula – the
Bosnian war (1994–95) and
Kosovo war (1998–99), the
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (1999) and events in Macedonia (2001). Vassilev provided regular commentary on international topics in the framework of
Panorama. In addition, he presented several editions of the show, filling in as a host for
Ivan Garelov. In September 2000, Vassilev became the lead presenter and producer of
Panorama, while at different moments also serving as chief editor of current affairs and head of news. Together with his main occupation, he also filmed reports and documentaries. Since 2010, he has produced series on international topics for "The World Live" segment („Светът на живо”). He covered the
Syrian war (2012) and Iraq (2015). == Documentaries ==