Pavel Lobkov never meant to be a hero.

The 48 year-old was one of Russia’s best-known TV interviewers. He was a star anchor at the most-viewed channel, NTV, for almost two decades. In 2012 he joined Dozhd (Rain) TV, one of Russia’s few remaining independent news outlets.

Last November, Lobkov was having a drink with a friend, when a producer from one of the channel’s programs called, asking him to participate in the evening talk show Hard Day’s Night.

The show was exploring how doctors should break the news about a positive HIV status to their patients, the producer said. The on-air discussion would close off an entire day of broadcast devoted to HIV in honor of World AIDS Day.