[4] Maslyakov was the regular host of Soviet coverage of World Festivals of Youth and Students, held in such major world capitals as Sofia, Havana, (East) Berlin, Pyongyang, and Moscow, as well as hosting a number of popular Soviet Eurovision-style lip-synching song competitions over the years.

When?, in which teams of enthusiastic and clever young people (usually university students) compete against one another in a series of improvised and rehearsed comedic and musical skits and witty repartee (and occasionally cutting-edge politically risque satire and social commentary) in front of a live audience and a jury of stars of stage and screen.

He remained at the helm ever since, and ran the production company that owns the show itself and all spinoff rights.

Maslyakov graduated in 1966 from the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers and in 1968 he completed Higher Courses for Television Workers.

In 2006, in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of KVN, the then-president of the Russian Federation conferred the Order of Merit for the Fatherland Grade IV on Maslyakov for a significant contribution to the development of domestic television and many years of creative activity.