Margarita Simonyan

Simonyan was born in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, into an Armenian family. Both her parents are descendants of Armenian refugees from the Ottoman Empire. Her father's family, originally from Trabzon, settled in Crimea during the Armenian genocide of 1915. During World War II, they were deported by Stalin's NKVD secret police to the Urals along with thousands of other Hamshen Armenians. Her father was born in Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk). Her mother was born in Sochi to an Armenian family that had fled the massacres of the Armenians by the Turks in the late 19th century.{{cite web|title=Armenians of the World-Margarita Simonyan|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X2LbR8gk6w|publisher=Shant TV|access-date=23 March 2014|language=hy|date=6 February 2012|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528012836/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X2LbR8gk6w|url-status=live}} ([https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/6X2LbR8gk6w archived]) Her two grandfathers were World War II veterans.{{cite web |title=Сегодня мы будем вспоминать. |url=https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/status/1523577961571848192 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220511135553/https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/status/1523577961571848192 |archive-date=11 May 2022 |language=ru |quote=Адама Маркаряна, отца моей мамы, раненного под Сталинградом. [...] Саркиса Симоньяна, отца моего отца, сражавшегося в Крыму. |access-date=11 May 2022 |url-status=live }} Simonyan has described herself as both Armenian and Russian.{{cite web |last1=Simonyan |first1=Margarita |title=На Западе не понимают нас. [They don't understand us in the West] |url=https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0Xu6hvRamgC41ZRWxvUZ5ULC2WAudYeUshs4VwMT2fTomJddoUfCAg68mgeahyFWJl&id=651382304&mibextid=Nif5oz |publisher=Facebook |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230704101947/https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0Xu6hvRamgC41ZRWxvUZ5ULC2WAudYeUshs4VwMT2fTomJddoUfCAg68mgeahyFWJl&id=651382304&mibextid=Nif5oz |archive-date=4 July 2023 |language=ru |date=July 1, 2023 |quote=Я армянка чистокровная, во мне нет ни капли другой крови. И я русская, понимаете? [I am a purebred Armenian, there is not a drop of other blood in me. And I'm Russian, you know?]}}

Her family owns a restaurant in the town of Moldovka in Adlersky City District, Sochi.{{cite web|title=30 January 2014 tweet|url=https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/status/428881370744885248|publisher=Twitter|access-date=2 February 2014|language=ru|quote=Диар френдз, если вы уже в Сочи и хотите ОЧЕНЬ вкусно поесть, напоминаю про наш семейный ресторан 'Жарко!' - Молдовка, Костромская, 133.|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140202014947/https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/status/428881370744885248|archive-date=2 February 2014|url-status=live}} Simonyan has stated that she is from a working-class family and decided at an early age that she wanted to become a journalist, first working for the local newspaper, and then for a local television station while studying journalism at Kuban State University.

She spent a year as an exchange student in Bristol, New Hampshire, in 1995 under the FLEX Program (Future Leaders Exchange Program).{{Cite web |date=2023-02-08 |title=U.S. needn't fear Russia, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan says |website=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-needn-t-fear-russia-rt-editor-chief-margarita-n831736 |access-date=2023-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208012515/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-needn-t-fear-russia-rt-editor-chief-margarita-n831736 |archive-date=8 February 2023 }}

Simonyan, as a correspondent, covered the Second Chechen War, and also serious flooding of the Krasnodar region, for her local television station, receiving an award for "professional courage". In 2002, she became a regional correspondent for Russia's national Rossiya television channel and covered the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis.{{cite news|last=Zagorodnov|first=Artem|title=Today's woman who needs to be heard|url=http://rbth.ru/articles/2008/09/25/250908_rt.html|newspaper=The Moscow Times|date=25 September 2008|access-date=25 October 2012|archive-date=9 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709235116/http://rbth.ru/articles/2008/09/25/250908_rt.html|url-status=dead}}

Simonyan, one of the first correspondents to arrive at the scene, witnessed the killing of 334 people, 186 of them children. She told an interviewer "It was the worst thing that ever happened to me," and that she 'cried frequently' while trying to write about it. She then moved to Moscow where she joined the Russian pool of Kremlin reporters.{{cite news |last=Rowland |first=Kara |date=27 October 2008 |title=Russia Today: Youth served |newspaper=The Washington Times |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/27/russia-today-youth-served/?page=all |access-date=25 October 2012 |archive-date=4 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604194711/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/27/russia-today-youth-served/?page=all |url-status=live }}

She was the first vice-president of the Russian National Association of TV and Radio Broadcasters and a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. In 2010, her first book, Heading to Moscow! was published.[http://visualrian.ru/en/site/feature/53340/ Margarita Simonyan book event photographs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223030936/http://visualrian.ru/en/site/feature/53340 |date=23 February 2013 }}, Ria Novosti media library.

In 2018, Simonyan wrote the script for The Crimean Bridge. Made with Love!, a film directed by her husband, Keosayan.{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181106-crimea-bridge-backdrop-russian-propaganda-rom-com|title=Crimea bridge backdrop for Russian 'propaganda' rom-com|work=France 24|agency=AFP|date=6 November 2018|access-date=19 April 2020|archive-date=2 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602184126/https://www.france24.com/en/20181106-crimea-bridge-backdrop-russian-propaganda-rom-com|url-status=live}} The film attracted scathing reviews, and was the lowest-rated film on several film review aggregators, with Simonyan's script widely panned.{{cite news|date=25 March 2020|title=A Crimea Rom-Com Brought Scathing Reviews -- And Good Money For The Head Of RT, Report Says|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/crimea-rom-com-simonyan-navalny--report-scathing-reviews-state-money-for-the-head-of-rt/30509292.html#:~:text=Simonyan%20denied%20that%20she%20or%20her%20husband%20had,to%20incorporate%20the%20peninsula%20into%20the%20Russian%20economy.|access-date=10 August 2022|archive-date=10 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810064332/https://www.rferl.org/a/crimea-rom-com-simonyan-navalny--report-scathing-reviews-state-money-for-the-head-of-rt/30509292.html#:~:text=Simonyan%20denied%20that%20she%20or%20her%20husband%20had,to%20incorporate%20the%20peninsula%20into%20the%20Russian%20economy.|url-status=live}} Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny released a video in March 2020, alleging serious corruption during the production of the film, with state funds intended for film production being siphoned off to Simonyan's relatives.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LAdAV-jHhw|title=Крымский мост. Украдено с любовью!|website=YouTube|date=24 March 2020 |access-date=30 April 2022|archive-date=2 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202211447/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LAdAV-jHhw|url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Made with nepotism |url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2020/03/24/made-with-nepotism |work=Meduza |date=24 March 2020 |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430221540/https://meduza.io/en/feature/2020/03/24/made-with-nepotism |url-status=live }}

File:Medvedev - Russia Today.jpg visits RT offices with Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan in April 2010.]]

Simonyan was only 25 when appointed editor-in-chief of RT (then known as Russia Today) in 2005, but had been working in journalism since she was 18.{{cite news|last=Heyman|first=Stephen|title=A Voice of Mother Russia, in English|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/arts/television/18heym.html|access-date=24 March 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=18 May 2008|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528055455/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/arts/television/18heym.html|url-status=live}} She stated in a 2008 interview that "her age often leads people to make assumptions about how she got her job." Andrei Richter, the director of the Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute and a journalism professor at Moscow State University, suggests that she was "appointed because she is well-connected." She is a Kremlin loyalist{{cite news|last=Elder|first=Miriam|title=WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's TV show to be aired on Russian channel|url=http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=30993|newspaper=The St Petersburg Times|date=25 January 2012|access-date=25 October 2012|archive-date=2 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302054349/http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=30993|url-status=live}} who is close to President Vladimir Putin.{{cite news|last=Barry and Schwirtz|first=Ellen and Michael|title=Arrests and Violence at Overflowing Rally in Moscow|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/world/europe/at-moscow-rally-arrests-and-violence.html|newspaper=New York Times|date=6 May 2012|access-date=22 February 2017|archive-date=18 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618113329/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/world/europe/at-moscow-rally-arrests-and-violence.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Walker|first=Shaun|title=Why the Russian revolution is being televised at last|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/why-the-russian-revolution-is-being-televised-at-last-6276518.html|date=14 December 2011|access-date=1 November 2017|archive-date=14 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114020839/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/why-the-russian-revolution-is-being-televised-at-last-6276518.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Osborn|first=Andrew|title=Russia's 'CNN' wants to tell it like it is|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/russias-cnn-wants-to-tell-it-like-it-is/2005/08/15/1123958007022.html|newspaper=The Age|date=16 August 2005|access-date=25 October 2012|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141407/https://www.theage.com.au/news/world/russias-cnn-wants-to-tell-it-like-it-is/2005/08/15/1123958007022.html|url-status=live}}

RT began broadcasting on 10 December 2005 with a staff of 300 journalists, including approximately 70 from outside Russia.Julian Evans, [https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2005/11/30/spinning_russia Spinning Russia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118122946/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2005/11/30/spinning_russia |date=18 November 2014 }}, Foreign Policy, 1 December 2005. Simonyan frequently addresses media questions about RT's journalistic and political stance. At its launch, Simonyan stated that RT's intent was to have a "professional format" like the BBC, CNN and Euronews that would "reflect Russia's opinion of the world" and present a "more balanced picture" of Russia.{{cite web | url=https://www.digitalspy.com/media/a21644/russia-to-launch-international-news-channel/ | title=Russia to launch international news channel | website=Digital Spy|date=7 June 2005| archive-date=22 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522201819/https://www.digitalspy.com/media/a21644/russia-to-launch-international-news-channel/ | url-status=live|access-date=22 May 2023}} She told a reporter that the government would not dictate content and that "Censorship by government in this country is prohibited by the constitution."Beth Knobel [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-news-english-accent-11-12-2005/ "Russian News, English Accent: New Kremlin Show Spins Russia Westward"], CBS News, 12 December 2005.

She later told The Moscow Times that RT started to grow once it became provocative and that controversy was vital to the station. She said that RT's task was not to polish Moscow's reputation.[http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/03/23/230310_rt.html "Russia Today courts viewers with controversy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711093924/http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/03/23/230310_rt.html |date=11 July 2012 }}. The Moscow Times. 23 March 2010. The station has however been criticised repeatedly in the West for perceived bias. Simonyan has been quoted as saying: "There is no objectivity – only approximations of the truth by as many different voices as possible".{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/02/guardian-view-russian-propaganda-truth-out-there | title=The Guardian view on Russian propaganda: the truth is out there | date=2 March 2015 | newspaper=Guardian | access-date=3 March 2015 | archive-date=26 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526220912/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/02/guardian-view-russian-propaganda-truth-out-there | url-status=live }}

In an interview with The Washington Times, she discussed RT's coverage of the 2008 South Ossetia war, in which Russia supported South Ossetia against Georgia. She stated that among English speaking channels, only RT was giving the South Ossetian side of the story. She rejected former RT correspondent Will Dunbar's allegations that RT was downplaying Russian bombing raids and applied censorship. She stated that compared to some other stations, "We are not making a secret out of the fact that we are a Russian station, and, of course, we see the world from a Russian point of view. We are being much more honest in that sense."

File:Vladimir Putin visited the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency (2016-06-07) 03.jpg and television presenter Dmitry Kiselyov in June 2016]]

On 31 December 2013, she was cross-appointed as the editor-in-chief of the new government owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya and serves as editor-in-chief of both organizations concurrently. In May 2016, after she was included in the sanctions list of Ukraine by President Petro Poroshenko, she was denied entry to Ukraine.[https://www.mk.ru/politics/2016/05/27/poroshenko-vvel-sankcii-k-glavam-rossiyskikh-smi-ernst-simonyan-gusev.html Порошенко ввёл санкции к главам российских СМИ: Эрнст, Симоньян, Гусев ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601083317/https://www.mk.ru/politics/2016/05/27/poroshenko-vvel-sankcii-k-glavam-rossiyskikh-smi-ernst-simonyan-gusev.html |date=1 June 2022 }} // Московский комсомолец

In April 2022, Simonyan proposed removing the article on the prohibition of censorship from the 1993 Russian Constitution. According to her, freedom of speech will lead to "the collapse" of Russia. She called for emulating the People's Republic of China, which is a "non-free but prosperous country".{{cite news |title=Simonyan demanded to revive censorship to prevent the collapse of Russia |url=https://hindustannewshub.com/russia-ukraine-news/simonyan-demanded-to-revive-censorship-to-prevent-the-collapse-of-russia-the-moscow-times-in-russian/ |work=Hindustan News Hub |date=15 April 2022 |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430221541/https://hindustannewshub.com/russia-ukraine-news/simonyan-demanded-to-revive-censorship-to-prevent-the-collapse-of-russia-the-moscow-times-in-russian/ |url-status=live }}

On 30 November 2020, Simonyan defended an NTV satirical segment that was roundly criticized as racist, which contained Simonyan's partner, Tigran Keosayan, and an actress in blackface posing as former United States President Barack Obama. In the segment, Keosayan, referring to Obama's book A Promised Land, asks: "Do you consider this book your achievement?", to which the actress in blackface replies: "Of course."{{Cite news|last1=O'Grady|first1=Siobhán|last2=Dixon|first2=Robyn|author-link2=Robyn Dixon (journalist)|date=30 November 2020|title=Pro-Kremlin TV ridicules Obama with blackface skit|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/11/30/obama-blackface-russia-kremlin-tv/|url-access=limited|access-date=13 January 2022|archive-date=15 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215130819/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/11/30/obama-blackface-russia-kremlin-tv/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=30 November 2020|title=Obama Blackface Skit on Kremlin-Funded TV Sparks Outrage|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/11/30/obama-blackface-skit-on-kremlin-funded-tv-sparks-outrage-a72176|website=The Moscow Times|access-date=13 January 2022|archive-date=26 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526021709/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/11/30/obama-blackface-skit-on-kremlin-funded-tv-sparks-outrage-a72176|url-status=live}} Keosayan then asks: "Because none of your relatives have written books?", after which the actress answers: "Because none of my relatives that came before me could write." Keosayan then states "you should have been a rap musician, not the president".

{{See also|Disinformation in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

Speaking on Russian State television in April 2021, Simonyan said that in a 'full-scale war', Russia would defeat Ukraine 'in 2 days'.{{cite web |title=Симоньян 11.04.2021: В горячей войне мы Украину победим за два дня|website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eE3m2j0z5s|date=11 April 2021|access-date=24 July 2024}} In December 2021, Simonyan stated in a TV debate that the war in Donbas "is ongoing and if a small war can stop this butchery that's gone on for seven years perhaps it's a way out."{{Cite web|date=21 December 2021|title=No time for war: Russians see no chance of conflict|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59738548|last=Aksenov|first=Pavel|access-date=28 February 2022|work=BBC|archive-date=27 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527212656/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59738548|url-status=live}} On 15 February 2022, Simonyan rejected speculation that Russia was preparing for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite news|date=19 February 2022|title=Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine also damages Russia|url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2022/02/19/vladimir-putins-attack-on-ukraine-also-damages-russia|last=|first=|access-date=28 February 2022|newspaper=The Economist|archive-date=5 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705062217/https://www.economist.com/briefing/2022/02/19/vladimir-putins-attack-on-ukraine-also-damages-russia|url-status=live}} In mid-February 2022, she stated that "Russia cannot but stop this war. What are we waiting for?"{{Cite web|date=21 February 2022|title='Dumb and lazy': the flawed films of Ukrainian 'attacks' made by Russia's 'fake factory'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/21/dumb-and-lazy-the-flawed-films-of-ukrainian-attacks-made-by-russias-fake-factory|last=Harding|first=Luke|work=The Guardian|archive-date=22 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222222430/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/21/dumb-and-lazy-the-flawed-films-of-ukrainian-attacks-made-by-russias-fake-factory|url-status=live|access-date=28 February 2022}}

On 23 February 2022, Simonyan was included in the European Union sanctions list for promoting "a positive attitude to the annexation of Crimea and the actions of separatists in Donbas." She is barred from entering EU countries and any assets she owns in them are frozen.{{cite news |last1=Rettman |first1=Andrew |title=Russian media darlings hit by EU sanctions |url=https://euobserver.com/world/154417 |work=EU Observer |date=24 February 2022 |access-date=25 February 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319101431/https://euobserver.com/world/154417 |url-status=live }}

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022, Simonyan expressed support for the invasion, including posting a Tweet saying that "This is a standard parade rehearsal, It's just that this year we decided to hold the parade in Kyiv," and mocking speculation that she would be targeted with further sanctions.{{Cite news|date=26 February 2022|title='Dumb and lazy': the flawed films of Ukrainian 'attacks' made by Russia's 'fake factory'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/02/26/rt-america-putin-ukraine/|last=Farhi|first=Paul|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=4 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604000648/https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/02/26/rt-america-putin-ukraine/|url-status=live|access-date=28 February 2022}} She opposed the 2022 anti-war protests in Russia, stating that "If you are ashamed of being Russian now, don't worry, you are not Russian."{{Cite web|date=26 February 2022|title=Russia's Anti-War Lobby Goes Online|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/26/russias-anti-war-lobby-goes-online-a76616|last=Popov|first=Maxime|access-date=28 February 2022|work=The Moscow Times|archive-date=28 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228012840/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/26/russias-anti-war-lobby-goes-online-a76616|url-status=live}} She claimed that "Nobody is fighting against Ukrainians! We're liberating Ukraine! No one is bombing peaceful Ukrainian cities!"{{cite news |title=Sanctioned Russian TV Host Cries About Losing His Italian Villa |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sanctioned-russian-tv-host-cries-033357258.html |work=Yahoo News |date=27 February 2022 |archive-date=27 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527223722/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sanctioned-russian-tv-host-cries-033357258.html|url-status=live|access-date=1 March 2022}}

On Your Own Truth, presented by Roman Babayan on NTV on 26 March, Simonyan made multiple unsupported assertions, including a claim that Ukrainian doctors have called for Russian prisoners to be castrated and Ukrainian "Nazis" are "prepared to pluck children's eyes out based on their ethnicity."{{cite news|last=Coalson|first=Robert|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-tv-brainwashing/31776244.html|title='Military Brainwashing': Russian State TV Pulls Out The Stops To Sell Kremlin's Narrative On The War In Ukraine|website=RFE/RL|date=29 March 2022|access-date=7 April 2022|archive-date=14 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514032853/https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-tv-brainwashing/31776244.html|url-status=live}} She also claimed that Ukrainian forces were attacking children in Mariupol with banned cluster munition. On 26 March, she said that to her "horror," a "considerable portion of the Ukrainian people have turned out to be engulfed in the madness of nazism."{{cite news |title=Fears genocidal language in Russian media may prompt more war crimes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/07/russian-media-coverage-ukraine-genocidal-streak |work=The Guardian |date=7 April 2022 |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422071450/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/07/russian-media-coverage-ukraine-genocidal-streak |url-status=live }}

She said that Russia was at war with NATO. On 26 April, while discussing the possibility of World War III and nuclear war with Vladimir Solovyov on The Evening with Vladimir Solovyov, Simonyan said, "Personally, I think that the most realistic way is the way of World War III, based on knowing us and our leader Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, knowing how everything works around here, it's impossible—there is no chance—that we will give up ... We're all going to die someday."{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Emma |date=27 April 2022 |title=Russian state TV comforts viewers on nuclear war: "We all die someday" |url=https://www.newsweek.com/russian-state-tv-comforts-viewers-nuclear-war-we-all-die-someday-1701580 |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=Newsweek |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430090843/https://www.newsweek.com/russian-state-tv-comforts-viewers-nuclear-war-we-all-die-someday-1701580 |url-status=live }} Igor Albin, former Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg, wrote on his Telegram channel: "Crazy 'propagandists' will burn in hell. You don't scold your own in times of war, but you shouldn't be proud of them either. There will be no winners in a nuclear war!"{{cite news |title=Russian Pop Icon Feuds With RT Chief Editor Over Exiled Anti-War Star |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/02/russian-pop-icon-feuds-with-rt-chief-editor-over-exiled-anti-war-star-a77558 |work=The Moscow Times |date=2 May 2022 |access-date=6 May 2022 |archive-date=6 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506152511/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/02/russian-pop-icon-feuds-with-rt-chief-editor-over-exiled-anti-war-star-a77558 |url-status=live }}

File:Kyiv after Russian shelling, 2022-10-10 (073).webp following Russian missile strikes on 10 October 2022. Simonyan called for retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian cities.{{cite news |title='Just the Beginning': Russian Pro-War Voices Hail Ukraine Strikes |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/10/10/moscow-stock-exchange-down-nearly-12-at-opening-a79039 |work=The Moscow Times |date=10 October 2022 |access-date=22 May 2023 |archive-date=22 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522212134/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/10/10/moscow-stock-exchange-down-nearly-12-at-opening-a79039 |url-status=live }}]]

She suggested that Russia should "disable" Ukrainian nuclear power plants.{{Cite web |last=Kuznetsov |first=Sergei |date=12 September 2022 |title=Ukrainian surge throws Kremlin propagandists into disarray |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/kremlin-propaganda-into-disarray-war-zelenskyy-putin-ukraine-russia-kharkiv-kherson/ |access-date=13 September 2022 |website=Politico |language=en |archive-date=13 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913175252/https://www.politico.eu/article/kremlin-propaganda-into-disarray-war-zelenskyy-putin-ukraine-russia-kharkiv-kherson/ |url-status=live }}

She asked Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev about Kazakhstan's position on the "special military operation" in Ukraine. He replied that "we recognize neither Taiwan, nor Kosovo, nor South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In all likelihood, this principle will be applied to quasi-state entities, which, in our opinion, are Luhansk and Donetsk."{{cite news |title=President Tokayev Answers Tough Questions at Economic Forum in Russia |url=https://astanatimes.com/2022/06/president-tokayev-answers-tough-questions-at-economic-forum-in-russia/ |work=Astana Times |date=18 June 2022 |access-date=18 September 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171405/https://astanatimes.com/2022/06/president-tokayev-answers-tough-questions-at-economic-forum-in-russia/ |url-status=live }} Simonyan believes that the 2022 food crisis, partly caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, will force the West to lift sanctions.{{Cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/famine-force-west-lift-sanctions-putin-ukraine-war-russian-state-tv-host-1717544 |title=Famine Will Force West To Lift Sanctions, Russian State TV Host Claims |website=Newsweek |date=21 June 2022 |access-date=29 June 2022 |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629161729/https://www.newsweek.com/famine-force-west-lift-sanctions-putin-ukraine-war-russian-state-tv-host-1717544 |url-status=live }}

Pointing to chaotic partial mobilization and reports of old, disabled or otherwise unfit men being drafted into the army, Simonyan complained why the "millions of security officers and guards" who are being used in Russia are not sent to the front.{{cite news |title=Fact Check: Did Pro-Putin TV Host Get Mobilized into Russian Army? |url=https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-pro-putin-tv-host-get-mobilized-russian-army-1747062 |work=Newsweek |date=28 September 2022 |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=20 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020095538/https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-pro-putin-tv-host-get-mobilized-russian-army-1747062 |url-status=live }} She also complained that some recruits were receiving inadequate equipment.{{cite news |title=Russia's mobilization drive devolves into chaos |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/09/27/russia-mobilization-centers-protests-errors |work=Axios |date=27 September 2022 |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=20 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020102704/https://www.axios.com/2022/09/27/russia-mobilization-centers-protests-errors |url-status=live }}

On 17 March 2023, in response to the ICC issuing a warrant for Putin, Simonyan posted on Twitter saying that "I’d like to see a country that would arrest Putin under the ruling of The Hague. In about eight minutes, or whatever the [missile] flight time to its capital."{{cite news |title=Russian Hawks Threaten Nuclear Strikes Over Putin Hague Warrant |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/03/20/russian-hawks-threaten-nuclear-strikes-over-putin-hague-warrant-a80544 |work=The Moscow Times |date=20 March 2023 |access-date=22 May 2023 |archive-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523145928/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/03/20/russian-hawks-threaten-nuclear-strikes-over-putin-hague-warrant-a80544 |url-status=live }}

On 2 October 2023, on her own internet show, she said that Russia could produce a nuclear explosion "somewhere over Siberia" which she believed would have no adverse results on the ground and would act as a "nuclear ultimatum" to the West. She said the explosion would kill off all electronics and satellites, and return Russia to a gadget-free time like 1993 in which "we lived wonderfully". Simonyan was strongly criticised by a number of Siberian politicians, and the Russian government distanced itself from her comments. In response to the criticism, Simonyan backtracked, and said she had not suggested a nuclear strike on Russian territory.{{Cite web |title=RT executive Margarita Simonyan launches defamation suit after suggesting Russia should blow up nuclear bomb 'somewhere over Siberia' |url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2023/10/04/rt-executive-margarita-simonyan-launches-defamation-suit-after-suggesting-russia-should-blow-up-nuclear-bomb-somewhere-over-siberia |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Meduza |language=en}}{{Cite web |title="Дура-баба": депутат Госдумы отправила Маргариту Симоньян на кухню после её слов о "термоядерном взрыве" над Сибирью |trans-title=“Stupid woman”: State Duma deputy sent Margarita Simonyan to the kitchen after her words about a “thermonuclear explosion” over Siberia|url=https://fishki.net/4499954-dura-baba-deputat-gosdumy-otpravila-margaritu-simonyjan-na-k.html |access-date=2023-12-05 |date=4 October 2023 |language=ru}} There were calls from Russian politicians for Simonyan to either apologise, or face criminal proceedings for her words, and she was called a "stupid woman with no understanding of such things" in the Russian parliament.

On 19 October 2023, Simonyan criticized Israel's airstrikes in the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war, saying that the "one who answers barbarity with barbarity is a barbarian."{{cite news |last1=Smirnov |first1=Oleg |title=Russian Propaganda Seizes on West's 'Double Standards' as Israeli Strikes Pound Gaza |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/10/24/russian-propaganda-seizes-on-wests-double-standards-as-israeli-strikes-pound-gaza-a82850 |work=The Moscow Times |date=25 October 2023}} She praised the war for diverting the West's attention from Ukraine and warned that "the world is on the brink of World War III."{{cite news |title=Three Putin allies warn of imminent 'world war', 'global jihad' against West |url=https://www.wionews.com/world/three-putin-allies-warn-of-imminent-world-war-global-jihad-against-west-649168 |work=WION |date=20 October 2023}}

On 1 March 2024, she posted the German Taurus leak on Russian social media, the recording of an intercepted web conference between top German air force officers discussing the possible supply of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine along with operational scenarios in the Russian-Ukrainian War.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-04 |title=Gleeful Russia relishes German Taurus leak scandal |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/the-russian-mfa-summoned-germanys-ambassador-in-moscow-amid-a-leaked-bundeswehr-audio-scandal/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Sabbagh |first=Dan |date=2024-03-04 |title=How significant is Russia's apparent interception of military talks on Ukraine? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/04/what-are-the-implications-of-russias-apparent-interception-of-military-talks-on-ukraine |access-date=2024-03-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Simonyan was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to the Russo-Ukrainian War.{{cite web |title=CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1150217/Russia.pdf |access-date=16 April 2023 |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414200727/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1150217/Russia.pdf |url-status=live }}

In 2022, Simonyan was sanctioned by the European Union as "a central figure of the Russian Government propaganda" responsible for "actions and policies which undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine".{{Cite web|date=23 February 2022|title=COUNCIL DECISION (CFSP) 2022/265 of 23 February 2022 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.LI.2022.042.01.0098.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2022%3A042I%3ATOC|access-date=24 February 2022|website=EUR-Lex|archive-date=31 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531214805/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.LI.2022.042.01.0098.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2022:042I:TOC|url-status=live}}

In January 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Simonyan for her support of 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{cite web | title=Zelensky imposes sanctions against 119 Russian cultural and sports figures | publisher=Meduza | date=2023-01-07 | url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2023/01/07/zelensky-imposes-sanctions-against-119-russian-cultural-and-sports-figures |archive-date=13 January 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113081902/https://meduza.io/en/news/2023/01/07/zelensky-imposes-sanctions-against-119-russian-cultural-and-sports-figures|url-status=live|access-date=7 January 2023}}

in September 2024, she was sanctioned by the USA, along with RT, for interference in the 2024 elections.{{cite web|url=https://babel.ua/en/news/105526-propagandists-of-the-russian-federation-reported-that-simonyan-was-suspected-of-calling-for-the-killing-of-ukrainian-children|title=Propagandists of the Russian Federation reported that Simonyan was suspected of calling for the killing of Ukrainian children|publisher=babel.ua}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8rx28v1vpro |title=US accuses Russia of 2024 election interference|publisher=BBC News}}

During the 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani war, Simonyan accused the Armenian authorities of provoking Russia by arresting former-president Robert Kocharyan and refusing to recognize the annexation of Crimea. She suggested that the CSTO's response was appropriate given Armenia's "anti-Russian sentiment." The CSTO later stated: "The opinion of [Simonyan] is completely contrary to the official position of the CSTO Secretariat."{{Cite web|url=https://armenianweekly.com/2020/07/22/armenian-forces-repel-yet-another-azerbaijani-assault-in-tavush/|title=Armenian forces repel yet another Azerbaijani assault in Tavush|first=Raffi|last=Elliott|date=22 July 2020|website=The Armenian Weekly|access-date=25 July 2020|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528055455/https://armenianweekly.com/2020/07/22/armenian-forces-repel-yet-another-azerbaijani-assault-in-tavush/|url-status=live}} Her words were widely criticized in Armenian society.{{Cite web|url=https://jam-news.net/margarita-simonyan-russia-today-sputnik-accused-armenian-authorities-of-anti-russian-stance/|title=Russia Today, Sputnik head accuses Armenian gov't of being anti-Russian|date=19 July 2020|archive-date=29 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529002009/https://jam-news.net/margarita-simonyan-russia-today-sputnik-accused-armenian-authorities-of-anti-russian-stance/|url-status=live|access-date=25 July 2020}}

She said, "Any Armenian who dares to criticize Russia should go and cut out his dirty tongue. They brought the national traitor Nikol Pashinyan to power, who created the prerequisite for war."{{cite news |title=A harsh response from Margarita Simonyan to Armenians criticizing Russia: Go and cut off your dirty language! |url=https://turkeygazette.com/a-harsh-response-from-margarita-simonyan-to-armenians-criticizing-russia-go-and-cut-off-your-dirty-language/ |work=turkeygazette.com |date=11 November 2020 |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=23 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523042738/https://turkeygazette.com/a-harsh-response-from-margarita-simonyan-to-armenians-criticizing-russia-go-and-cut-off-your-dirty-language/ |url-status=live }} Political commentator Sergey Parkhomenko also criticized her, saying that Simonyan is posing as "a powerful representative of the Armenian people, while not being such at all from any point of view."[https://echo.msk.ru/programs/sut/2681035-echo/ Сергей Пархоменко, Суть событий] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725061410/https://echo.msk.ru/programs/sut/2681035-echo/ |date=25 July 2020 }}, 24 ИЮЛЯ 2020, Эхо Москвы

In October 2022, Simonyan stated that she was banned by Armenian authorities from entering the country.{{Cite web |date=25 October 2022 |title=Margarita Simonyan banned from entering Armenia |url=https://westobserver.com/news/europe/margarita-simonyan-banned-from-entering-armenia/ |access-date=26 October 2022 |website=West Observer |language=en-US |archive-date=26 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026030635/https://westobserver.com/news/europe/margarita-simonyan-banned-from-entering-armenia/ |url-status=live }}

File:Margarita Simonyan (2017-07-17).jpg

Bobroedka ({{langx|ru|Боброедка|lit=beaver-eater}}) is a pejorative nickname for Simonyan, which has become an internet meme in Russia and the post-Soviet countries. This nickname was given to Simonyan when, at the end of 2012, apparently in honor of the New Year 2013, Simonyan decided to try beaver meat. Simonyan told her subscribers on social media: "For the first time in my life I will cook beaver. Interviewed experts. As a result, I will cook a beaver's head with onions, carrots and lavrushka [bay leaf] for broth. The rest of the meat will be marinated overnight in garlic, juniper berries and black pepper, tomorrow I will fry and therefore I will stew in broth until soft".{{Cite news|last=Коц|first=Александр|author-link=Alexander Kots(journalist)|title=Маргарита Симоньян: "Сварю бобриную голову с луком, морковью и лаврушкой" |url=https://www.kp.ru/daily/26009/2934350/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Комсомольская правда |language=ru |publication-date=2012-12-31}} Users found such tastes specific, since the beaver is a non-common animal for eating.{{Cite web|last=Ставицкий|first=Андрей|title=Почему Симоньян называют боброедкой? И при чем тут Навальный?|url=https://click-or-die.ru/2021/03/pochemu-simonyan-nazyvayut-bobroedkoj-bezobidnaya-istoriya-kotoraya-stala-memom/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Палач |publication-date=2021-03-13}}{{Cite web|title=Почему Маргариту Симоньян называют боброедкой|url=https://pronedra.ru/pochemu-aleksej-navalnyj-nachal-nazyvat-bobroedkoj-margaritu-simonyan-540296.html|date=2021-02-07|access-date=2023-01-09|website=Пронедра|language=ru}}

After that, the nickname "bobroedka", which literally means "beaver-eater", became firmly attached to Simonyan. The nickname has a negative connotation and is used disparagingly against Simonyan, to insult or troll. Many memes have been made on the "bobroedka" theme, commonly combining images of Margarita and beaver. Simonyan responded to the public reaction by joking that she would next cook hamsters, which fuelled more public interest in her culinary tastes. The nickname was often used by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, with whom Simonyan had a long-running conflict, and his supporters. After Simonyan's first post about consuming a beaver, Navalny published a photo of a beaver on his social media, with the caption: "Most recently, he was eating grass and enjoying life. And tomorrow Margarita Simonyan will devour him with vodka".{{Cite web |date=2021-04-24 |title="Чистый сатанизм": Симоньян отправила голодавшему Навальному в колонию мясо бобра |url=https://www.9tv.co.il/item/28060 |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Девятый канал |language=ru}} Navalny and Simonyan would frequently clash over the years, with Navalny regularly bringing up the "bobroedka" theme. {{Cite news |title="Чучундрики и свинобомжи": схватка Навального и Симоньян |url=https://www.svoboda.org/a/30197672.html |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Радио Свобода |date=3 October 2019 |language=ru |last1=Пономарёва |first1=Аля }}{{Cite web |title=Симоньян ответила Навальному про "свинобомжей" |url=https://www.mk.ru/politics/2019/10/03/simonyan-otvetila-navalnomu-pro-svinobomzhey.html |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Московский комсомолец |date=3 October 2019 |language=ru}}

{{Cite web |title=Симоньян отреагировала на слова Навального про "поедание бобров" |url=https://news.ru/society/simonyan-otreagirovala-na-slova-navalnogo-pro-poedanie-bobrov/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=NEWS.ru |language=ru}} In April 2021, Simonyan sent beaver meat to the prison colony where Navalny was being held. She wrote "Navalny is on a hunger strike. Just in time, I sent him a yummy package," posting photos of packages of beaver sausage and its smoked meat on social networks. Simonyan's act caused sharp criticism on social media.{{Cite web|title=Симоньян осудили за копченого бобра, которого она послала Навальному, вышедшему из голодовки |url=https://online812.ru/2021/04/25/116781/index.html|website=Online812.ru|language=ru|archive-date=13 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113102115/https://online812.ru/2021/04/25/116781/index.html|url-status=dead|access-date=9 January 2023}}

Simonyan herself doesn't like her nickname, and has complained on her social media when she has been referred to as "bobroedka" in the media. She sometimes uses the nickname in her social media posts, but regards it as hopelessly outdated.{{Cite web |title=Симоньян пожаловалась, что The Times назвала ее «боброедкой»|trans-title=Simonyan complains that The Times called her "bobroedka"|url=https://www.business-gazeta.ru/news/622060|website=business-gazeta.ru|language=ru|access-date=17 July 2024}}

Simonyan was formerly married to the journalist and producer Andrey Blagodyrenko, giving birth to the couple's daughter, Mariana, in August 2013.{{cite news|last=Alperina|first=Susanna|script-title=ru:Маргарита Симоньян родила дочь Марьяну|url=http://www.rg.ru/2013/08/12/simonyan-site-anons.html|access-date=23 March 2014|newspaper=Rossiyskaya Gazeta|date=12 August 2013|language=ru|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201105602/https://rg.ru/2013/08/12/simonyan-site-anons.html|url-status=live}} She is now married to Russian-Armenian film director, Tigran Keosayan, with whom she regularly collaborates.{{cite web |url= http://www.kp.ru/daily/26288.7/3165538 |title= Тигран Кеосаян и Маргарита Симоньян назвали сына Багратом |author= Елена ЛАПТЕВА, Сайт «Комсомольской правды» |date= 27 September 2014 |website= kp.ru |access-date= 17 March 2018 |archive-date= 1 December 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211201110225/https://www.kp.ru/daily/26288.7/3165538/ |url-status= live }} They have three children together. Simonyan is fluent in Russian and English. She stated in a 2012 interview that she regrets not knowing Armenian, but explained that it is because her family never spoke Armenian at home due to dialectal differences.

On 15 July 2023, TASS wrote that seven people were arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill Simonyan and Ksenia Sobchak, a journalist and television host.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/15/russia-says-foiled-assassination-attempts-on-top-media-figures|title=Russia says it foiled assassination attempts on top media figures|website=www.aljazeera.com|access-date=15 July 2023|archive-date=15 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715222114/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/15/russia-says-foiled-assassination-attempts-on-top-media-figures|url-status=live}}

• Ranked fifth in Forbes' 2017 list of Most Powerful Women In Media/Entertainment.{{cite web |last1=Howard |first1=Caroline |title=15 Most Powerful Women In Entertainment And Media 2017: Effecting Change, Tackling Sexual Harassment |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2017/11/01/15-most-powerful-women-in-entertainment-and-media-2017-effecting-change-tackling-sexual-harassment/ |website=Forbes |access-date=18 July 2024 |language=en |date=1 November 2017}}

File:Маргарита Симоньян и Владимир Путин.jpg in May 2019]]

• {{flag|Russia}}:
• 60px Medal "For Strengthening the Combat Commonwealth" (2005){{cite web|url=https://www.vesti.ru/article/2325259|title=Сергей Иванов вручил награды Маргарите Симоньян и Ольге Кирий|author=|date=9 March 2005|website=vesti.ru|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=4 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704213903/https://www.vesti.ru/article/2325259|url-status=live}}
• 60px Order of Friendship (2007){{cite web|url=http://lib.consultant.ru/doc.asp?ID=98223&PSC=1&PT=3&Page=1|title="Консультант Плюс" - законодательство РФ: кодексы, законы, указы, постановления Правительства Российской Федерации, нормативные акты|author=|date=|website=lib.consultant.ru|access-date=17 March 2018}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• 60px Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (2010){{cite web|url=http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/30879|title=Распоряжение Президента Российской Федерации от 06.04.2010 г. № 216-рп|author=|date=|website=kremlin.ru|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=30 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730054808/http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/30879|url-status=live}}
• 60px Order For Merit to the Fatherland, 4th class (2014){{Cite web|url=http://news.mail.ru/politics/18077759/?frommail=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321180652/https://news.mail.ru/politics/18077759/?frommail=1|url-status=dead|title=СМИ: 300 журналистов получили от Путина награды за Крым|archive-date=21 March 2017}}
• 60px Order of Alexander Nevsky (2019){{cite web|url=http://kremlin.ru/supplement/5407|title=Награждённые государственными наградами Российской Федерации|author=|date=23 May 2019|website=kremlin.ru|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809081045/http://www.kremlin.ru/supplement/5407|url-status=live}}
• {{flag|Armenia}}:
• 60px Movses Khorenatsi Medal (2010){{Cite web|url=http://www.president.am/en/press-release/item/2010/11/18/news-1312/|title=President Sargsyan met in Moscow with a number of representative of public and cultural circles of the Armenian community - Press releases - Updates - The President of the Republic of Armenia [the official site]|last=LLC|first=Helix Consulting|website=www.president.am|language=en|access-date=22 September 2017|archive-date=21 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421132617/https://www.president.am/en/press-release/item/2010/11/18/news-1312/|url-status=live}}
• {{flag|South Ossetia}}:
• 60px Order of Friendship (2008){{Cite web|url=http://www.rso-a.ru/vlast/head/activity/detail.php?ID=4173|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128211219/http://www.rso-a.ru/vlast/head/activity/detail.php?ID=4173|url-status=dead|title=Награды Южной Осетии – российским журналистам|archive-date=28 November 2011}}

• Mikhail Lesin
• Russian information war against Ukraine

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Sister project links|c=Category:Margarita Simonyan|d=yes|q=yes|n=no|s=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|species=no}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140104045535/http://www.ibc.org/page.cfm/Action=Visitor/VisitorID=3795 Margarita Simonyan biography], IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) website, accessed 20 September 2012.
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• {{Twitter}} {{in lang|ru}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonyan, Margarita}}

Category:1980 births

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