Margarita Simonyan

Margarita Simonovna Simonyan (born 6 April 1980) is an Armenian media executive and propagandist. She is the editor-in-chief of the Russian broadcaster RT, as well as the media group Rossiya Segodnya.

Simonyan covered the Second Chechen War in the 2000s while working as a journalist. Subsequently, she worked at Krasnodar television, was VGTRK's own correspondent in Rostov-on-Don, and worked as a special correspondent for the Vesti TV news program. She is a member of the board of directors of Channel One Russia and a member of the Academy of Russian Television. At the age of 25, she was appointed head of Russia Today, now known as RT.

In 2022 and 2023, Simonyan was sanctioned by the European Union as "a central figure of the Russian Government propaganda". She was sanctioned by the United Kingdom and Ukraine in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2024, she was sanctioned by the United States for alleged interference in the 2024 United States elections. Simonyan is the widow of film director and actor, Tigran Keosayan.

The Financial Times placed her in its list of the most influential people of 2025 in the Leaders category. It described her as "Putin’s most devoted envoy” and a “Valkyrie of propaganda".