Margarita Simonyan biography why disabled. Margarita Simonyan


Biography

Margarita Simonovna Simonyan - Russian journalist, Chief Editor RT channel and international news agency"Russia Today" (from December 31, 2013).

Member Public Chamber Russian Federation third composition (2010-2012). Member of the Public Council under the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the city of Moscow.

From January to March 2012, she was a member of the "People's Headquarters" (in Moscow) of presidential candidate Vladimir Putin.

Education

In the tenth grade, to improve her English, she was sent on an exchange to New Hampshire (USA). After graduating from school No. 36 in Krasnodar with in-depth study foreign languages Graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of the Kuban State University and the V. Pozner School of Television Excellence.

Journalism and creativity

From February 1999 to January 2000, he was a correspondent for the Krasnodar television and radio company.

In January 2000, for a series of military reports, she received the Kuban Union of Journalists Award "For Professional Courage".

In May 2000 she received the II Prize All-Russian competition regional television and radio companies for reporting on Chechen children vacationing in Anapa. Appointed Leading Editor of Information Programs of TRC Krasnodar.

In September 2000, she received a presidential scholarship. In February 2001, she was appointed as a correspondent for the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company in Rostov-on-Don. Then she became a special correspondent for Vesti, in the fall of 2002 she became a member of the presidential pool of journalists. In September 2004, she covered the events in Beslan.

Since the founding in 2005 of the first Russian news channel broadcasting around the clock on English language, Russia Today (now RT) is its editor-in-chief. Subsequently, she also became the editor-in-chief of the Arabic-language (Rusiya al-Yaum) and Spanish-language (RT Español) versions of RT.

In 2010, the first book by Margarita Simonyan "To Moscow" was published.

This is a story about a country, about love, and about provincial boys and girls born in the 1980s. We all dreamed of going to Moscow for a better life, and none of us knew that we must be more careful in our desires - they can come true, - Margarita Simonyan, an interview with the Krasnodar Izvestiya newspaper

November 18, 2010 in Moscow during a meeting with a group of public and cultural figures- representatives of the Armenian community, the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan awarded Margarita Simonyan with the Movses Khorenatsi medal for "significant contribution to the development of journalism and high professionalism"

From April 2011 to February 2012, she hosted the weekly analytical program What's Going On? on the REN TV channel. In June 2011, Simonyan, as the editor-in-chief of the Russia Today TV channel, became a member of the board of directors of Channel One.

In 2012, Margarita Simonyan entered the list of the hundred most influential women in Russia, taking 33rd place in it. The rating was compiled by representatives of three media outlets - Ekho Moskvy, RIA Novosti and Ogonyok.

From October to November 2012, she led a weekly column at the Kommersant FM radio station.

From February 17 to June 23, 2013 (together with Tina Kandelaki) - host of the political talk show on NTV " iron ladies».

On December 31, 2013, Dmitry Kiselev, Director General of the Rossiya Segodnya news agency, appointed Margarita Simonyan as editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya international news agency, who also remained as head of RT.

Member of the Public Council under the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the city of Moscow.

Sanctions

In August 2014, the Ukrainian National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting published a list of 49 journalists and heads of Russian TV channels who may be banned from entering Ukraine, where Simonyan also ended up. The decision to ban entry, as well as the publication of the list of those who are prohibited from entering the country, is solely within the competence of the SBU. In May 2016, she was included in the sanctions list of Ukraine by President Petro Poroshenko, she was banned from entering Ukraine.

Personal life

Margarita Simonyan has been living in an unregistered marriage since 2005 with journalist and TV producer Andrei Blagodyrenko.

In an interview she gave in early 2012, Simonyan said that, together with members of her family, she was building a two-story restaurant in the Krasnaya Polyana area.

In August 2013, Margarita Simonyan and Tigran Keosayan had a daughter, Maryana, and in September 2014, a son, Bagrat.

Awards

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree (2014) - "for objectivity in covering events in the Crimea." The Decree itself was not published, according to the Kremlin press service there was a “closed award”

Order of Friendship (June 27, 2007) - for a great contribution to the development of domestic television and many years of fruitful work

Medal of Movses Khorenatsi (Armenia, November 18, 2010) - for a significant contribution to the development of the field of journalism and high professionalism

Order of Friendship (South Ossetia, December 25, 2008) - for objective coverage of events during the armed aggression of Georgia against South Ossetia in August 2008

Filmography

2012 - Term ( documentaries) - directors Alexey Pivovarov, Pavel Kostomarov and Alexander Rastorguev.

Russian journalist Margarita Simonovna Simonyan has been the editor-in-chief of the Russia Today TV channel since 2013. When she assumed this position, she was only 25 years old. This appointment became the most discussed topic at that time, many wondered why this twenty-five-year-old Armenian girl was entrusted with such a responsible post. What distinguished Simonyan Margarita Simonovna? Compromising evidence on her person, however, was not found. And passion subsided. Later in the article, we will talk about life path this amazing woman who was able to make such a successful career.

Simonyan Margarita Simonovna: biography, parents

The future journalist was born in early April 1980, in the southern city of Krasnodar. Margarita has a sister, Alice. After she took office in 2013 CEO RT channel, many began to wonder who Simonyan's parents were. Margarita Simonovna and her sister lived in very cramped conditions from childhood. Their father was a refrigerator repairman, and their mother was a flower girl and sold flowers in the market from morning to evening. The money my parents earned was only enough for food. Their house was very old and was located on one of the outskirts of Krasnodar, named after the great Russian writer N.V. Gogol. The house was full of rats, there were no simple living conditions: gas, sewerage and water supply. Today it is hard to believe that such terrible living conditions could exist in the USSR. The girls had to live in this horror for about 10 years, after which the family received an apartment. It was life at the “bottom” that prompted in Margarita an irresistible desire to break out of poverty and take place in life.

Academic success

Despite the fact that Margarita's parents did not pay attention to the development of intellectual and creativity children of great attention, the girls were bright and quite diligent. Little Rita was one of the first in the kindergarten group to learn to read. The teacher told her to read fairy tales to her classmates before going to bed. Later Simonyan Margarita Simonovna was admitted to the first class of the specialized school number 36 in the city of Krasnodar. Here they were engaged in in-depth study of foreign languages. It turned out that the girl has a great ability to speak English. She studied for one "five", and she was sent to the olympiads. When the girl was 16 years old, and she was in the 9th grade, she had a great opportunity to improve her English knowledge to the proper level. She was sent to study in the United States, in the state of New Hampshire, as part of a student exchange program. She settled in a very friendly and warm family, went to American school, communicated with peers and comprehended the peculiarities of life in mysterious America. She still has excellent, one might say “family” relations with this family. Margarita even thought about staying overseas, but soon realized that life was best for her in her native country.

Higher education

After graduating from school, by the way, with a medal of distinction, Simonyan Margarita Simonovna, whose biography is the topic of this article, entered the Faculty of Journalism of the Kuban State University, along with this she studied at the V. Pozner School of Television Excellence, and also wrote poetry. It so happened that the press was interested in the collection of poems of the 18-year-old Armenian woman, and a film crew came to her house to make a report about her. It was during this interview that she mentioned that she dreams of becoming a journalist. And then she was invited to work on Krasnodar television.

First steps in the media

In December 1999, she traveled to Chechnya to cover fighting. At the same time, Margarita decided to spare her parents and only told them that she was going on another business trip. At the same time, Margarita began to shoot stories for federal channels. Her fearlessness and professionalism were highly appreciated by the government, and Simonyan Margarita Simonovna was awarded many federal awards. A year later, she was appointed editor-in-chief of the Krasnodar information portal, and in 2000 she was appointed editor-in-chief on the same TV channel. Later, she moved to the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Channel in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Then Margarita decides to continue her “military” career and goes to Abkhazia, writes reports on clashes in the Kodori Gorge.

To Moscow

In 2002, Margarita Simonovna Simonyan finally receives an invitation from the directorate of the Vesti television program to work as a staff correspondent, naturally, having moved to Moscow. Of course, she accepted the invitation, and soon she was already part of the presidential pool. In September 2004 in North Ossetia, in Beslan, there was a terrible tragedy. At that time, Margarita was in Minvody. She received an assignment from the editorial office of the channel and went to the scene of the tragedy. All the time while the hostages were in the hands of terrorists, she stood at the school and went on the air every half an hour. Sometimes her voice broke because of the sobs that choked her. After that, she could not come to her senses for a long time.

First responsible post

In 2005, Russia Today TV channel was created in Moscow. He broadcast in English and was called upon to express the official Russian position on various political situations in the world. In the professional sphere, many were surprised that it was Margarita Simonyan who was appointed editor-in-chief of the channel. Nevertheless, RIA Novosti presented arguments regarding this appointment. According to them, the head of the service had to be so young that he did not remember what the news was like on Soviet television. It must have a new way of thinking, a modern look at everything. In addition, she was fluent in English and could objectively evaluate the flow of information. Later, Margarita also directed the Arabic and Spanish versions of the channel.

Career

In 2011, Margarita decided to create her own news project “What is happening” on the REN TV channel and act as its presenter. The program was broadcast weekly, on which M.S. Simonyan discussed the most important events last days, which the federal channels avoided talking about. Direct participants in these events were invited to the program. After 2 years, a new political show appeared on NTV in live, hosted by Margarita Simonyan and Tina Kandelaki - an Armenian and a Georgian. The program was called "Iron Ladies". However, due to some reasons, the show was closed.

Creation

Since childhood, Margarita dreamed of becoming a writer. She wrote poetry, and already at the age of 18 she published a collection of poems written by her. Her next book was published in 2010 and was called "To Moscow". This is a novel about the generation of the nineties, about the difficulties, the difficult fate of people whose lives coincided with the collapse of the USSR, about the unfulfilled dreams of young people who lost their present and future in an instant. A year after the release of the novel, Margarita received an award for the best book written by a journalist. Her next work was the story "Train". She published excerpts from it in the Russian Pioneer magazine, for this magazine she also writes culinary articles.

The journalist does not like to talk about herself. In 2012, in an interview, she said that for 6 years now, she and journalist Andrei Blagodyrenko have been living in civil marriage What about fixing official relations and weddings, then she is not at all ready for this. In the same year, Margarita went to Sochi, where the Simonyanov family restaurant Zharko! was under construction. It was there that she became close to her compatriot, a famous director. Tigran Keosayan and Margarita Simonyan spent more and more time in each other's company. And everyone already perceived them as a couple, despite the fact that Tigran continued to be married to actress Alena Khmelnitskaya. A year later, in the summer of 2013, Margarita gave birth to a daughter, Maryana. The following year, she and Tigran had a son, who was named by the Armenian name Bagrat. Today Simonyan Margarita Simonovna and Keosayan Tigran are a family, although they are not legally married. They have two beautiful children.

Awards and titles

In 2000, Margarita was in the arena of hostilities in Chechnya and was reporting in a bulletproof vest. For devotion to the profession, for courage and professionalism, she received a state award.

In the same year, Margarita was recognized as the winner of the II All-Russian competition of regional television and radio companies. Her TV report about the children of Chechnya was recognized as the best. Still all in the same 2000, she received a presidential scholarship.

In 2010, in Moscow, the President of the Republic of Armenia presented the well-known journalist with the “Movses Khorenatsi” medal, the highest government award of the Republic of Armenia.

She has a few more state awards RF: “For services to the fatherland, 4th degree” (2014), two “Orders of Friendship” (2007 and 2008), etc.

In 2012, the name of Margarita Simonyan was included in the list of 100 most influential women in the Russian Federation, where she took 33rd place. She is a member public council at the main department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, and since 2013, by appointment of D. Kiselev, she assumed the position of editor-in-chief of the MIA “Russia”

Compromise and sanctions

After the well-known events in Ukraine, Margarita Simonyan was included in the list of 49 journalists and media leaders who are banned from entering the territory of the republic.

Margarita Simonyan is a Russian journalist, editor-in-chief of the Russia Today TV channel, the international news agency Rossiya Segodnya and the Sputnik news agency.

Having started her career as an ordinary correspondent for a provincial television studio, she managed to take one of the leading places in Russian television journalism. Today, Simonyan is among the top 100 most influential women in the world according to Forbes.

Childhood and youth

Margarita Simonyan was born on April 6, 1980 in Russian city Krasnodar. The girl, along with her sister Alice, grew up in a poor family. Father Simon, an Armenian by nationality, made a living repairing refrigerators, and his mother Zinaida sold flowers in the market.

As the journalist later wrote from the pages of LiveJournal and "Instagram", together with their parents, the girls lived in an old house on Gogol Street, where rats constantly ran, there was no gas, water supply and sewerage. Difficult living conditions only increased the girl's desire to break out of poverty and achieve comfortable conditions life. When Margarita was about 10 years old, the Simonyan family was given an apartment in a new microdistrict of the city.


AT kindergarten the future journalist quickly learned to read, so their teacher often left Rita with a book to entertain other children: the girl read fairy tales aloud. Later, Simonyan went to a Krasnodar school specializing in the study of foreign languages, where she studied for one five, went to the Olympiad. In the 9th grade, Simonyan had a chance to go to study abroad on an exchange program. The girl came to the USA: she lived in a family, to which she still treats with warmth and gratitude, and studied in the 12th grade of the school. At one time I wanted to stay in a distant country, but love for the motherland forced me to return to Russia.


Margarita Simonyan in her youth

After graduating from school with a gold medal, Margarita entered the Kuban State University at the Faculty of Journalism. The girl also studied at the new "School of theatrical skills" under the guidance of a Russian TV presenter and journalist in Moscow.

Journalism and career

In 1999, Simonyan began working as a correspondent for the Krasnodar TV and radio channel. She managed to get this job thanks to a collection of poems. own composition, which Margarita published a year earlier. The TV channel decided to shoot a story about a talented girl. Speaking with the film crew, Simonyan mentioned that she wanted to work as a journalist, and she was offered an internship on a TV channel. The choice of the first place of work determined the future professional biography Margaret.


Margarita Simonyan has been working on television for a long time

At the age of 19, the girl went to shoot a story in Chechnya. A miniature figure (her height was 160 cm) did not prevent her from showing masculinity and firmness of character. Margarita told her parents that she was going to the war zone only upon her return, after 10 days. A series of reports in one of the hot spots of the world brought fame to Margarita Simonyan and a number of journalistic awards: "For professional courage", the first prize of the All-Russian competition of regional television and radio companies and the Russian Order of Friendship.


In 2000, Simonyan became the chief editor of the Krasnodar TV channel, and a year later, a correspondent for the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company in Rostov-on-Don. She continued her career as a military journalist, visiting Abkhazia, covering the clash between militants and the state army in the Kodori Gorge.


In 2002, Margarita Simonyan was invited to Moscow as a correspondent for the TV program Vesti. The journalist accompanied the President of Russia, being among the presidential pool of journalists. In September 2004, she traveled to Beslan to cover the school hostage-taking. The tragedy affected the worldview and views of Margarita, in an interview she does not advise young journalists to start a career as war correspondents.


In 2005, the TV channel Russia Today was created, which broadcast in English and was designed to reflect Russia's position on international events. Margarita Simonyan was appointed editor-in-chief of the Russia Today TV channel.

The appointment of such a young person to such a position, the founders of RIA Novosti argued with the position that the project should have been led by a person who had not seen Soviet news, who had his own ideas about how to show Russian news foreign viewers. Later, Margarita also began to oversee the Arabic and Spanish versions of the channel.


In 2011, the girl became the TV presenter of the news project "What's going on?" on the REN-TV channel. During the program, she discussed the most significant events of the week, which for some reason were not adequately covered on federal channels. Margarita communicated with direct participants in the events and spectators.

In 2013, Simonyan became the TV presenter of the political show "Iron Ladies" on the NTV channel. Together with a colleague on the air, the journalist asked not always convenient, but topical issues famous politicians and businessmen. In the same year, the channel's management decided to close the show.


At the end of 2013, Margarita Simonyan was appointed to the position of editor-in-chief of the international news agency Rossiya Segodnya.


Margarita from early childhood dreamed of becoming a writer and doing print journalism. At the age of 18 she published a collection of her own poems. In 2010 she published the book "To Moscow". Due to active journalism and editorial activities, the writing of the book took about 10 years. This novel tells about the generation of the 90s and hard destinies, unfulfilled dreams. In 2011, thanks to the novel, Simonyan won the award for the best book of a journalist.


In 2012, on the pages of the Russian Pioneer magazine, Margarita published an excerpt from her new story The Train. The girl also writes culinary articles for this magazine.

Personal life

Little is known about Simonyan's personal life. In an interview in 2012, she mentioned that she had been in a civil marriage with journalist Andrei Blagodyrenko for 6 years. The woman claimed that official marriage and wedding preparations did not attract her at all, she was quite satisfied with this state of affairs.


Back in an interview in 2012, Simonyan said that, together with family members, she was opening the Zharko! restaurant. resort in Sochi. At the same time, the girl was increasingly noticed in the company of the famous director and actor, who at that time was still officially married to.

According to information that later appeared in the article " Komsomolskaya Pravda”, The romance between the journalist and the director began at the initiative of Tigran. He wrote the girl a message on the social network Facebook, where he expressed support to Margarita: at that time there was harassment against her on the radio. Initially, Simonyan did not pay attention to the letter, because she did not believe that the famous director would be interested in her person. But the correspondence ended with a joint dinner at a restaurant. Soon, a relationship began between the journalist and the cinematographer, which grew into a civil marriage.


In September 2014, Margarita's son Bagrat was born. At the same time, on the page of one of the social networks, Keosayan confirmed that he had become a father. Later it turned out that this was the second child of the couple - in August 2013, Margarita gave birth to her husband's daughter Maryana. As the journalist said in an interview, she gratefully recalls the time when she was pregnant. Each time, Margarita experienced a surge of strength and never suffered from toxicosis, despite the fact that she survived the threat of miscarriage with Maryana.


Pregnant Margarita Simonyan

Simonyan is a devotee early learning children. AT game form linguists are working with Maryana and Bagrat, so already in this early age the kids speak five languages ​​- Russian, Armenian, English, French and Chinese.

Interestingly, between ex-wife Tigran Keosayan - Alena Khmelnitskaya and Margarita Simonyan established friendly relations. The women became best friends, and even together with the director created a project - the psychological thriller "Actress". In the creation of the film, which was successfully broadcast on the NTV channel, Margarita participated as a screenwriter.

Margarita Simonyan now

Margarita supports the policy of the existing political system in Russia. In 2018, she became a confidant of Vladimir Putin during the presidential election campaign. At the same time, the journalist published a post on Telegram about her friend's refusal of US citizenship. According to the editor-in-chief of RT, the girl supported the opposition and immigrated to the United States in 2013, but after 4 years she decided to return Russian citizenship. The TV journalist duplicated the information in

Margarita Simonyan is a well-known Russian journalist who is the editor-in-chief of the Russia Today TV channel and the Sputnik news agency. This woman began her career from the bottom, she was an ordinary correspondent for a provincial television studio. Now she occupies one of the leading places in domestic television journalism. Forbes magazine names Margarita one of the hundred most influential women in the world.

Childhood and youth

Margarita Simonyan was born in Krasnodar on April 6, 1980. Her parents raised two daughters, Margarita has younger sister Alice. This family did not have much wealth, Simon, the girls' father, was engaged in the repair of electrical equipment, he was famous in the city as the best refrigerator repairman. Mom, Zinaida, sold flowers at the local market. Margarita's parents, Armenians by nationality, spared nothing for their children. Girls have always had beautiful dresses, good toys

A family with young children lived in very difficult living conditions. They were waiting for an apartment, but for now they had to live in an old house on Gogol Street. One could only dream of improvement, there were no conditions for a normal life in the house, there was no running water, sewerage, there was no gas. Water had to be carried in buckets up rickety stairs.

But the biggest horror for the girls was the huge rats darting around the corners. It was at this time that Margarita appeared desire achieve success in life so that you never experience such problems again.

The girl was almost 10 years old when their family received a good apartment in the new district of Krasnodar.

Rita from early childhood was an incredibly capable child. Already in kindergarten, she knew how to read fluently. The teacher encouraged the girl, she gave her the opportunity to entertain other children, read fairy tales to them. Margarita studied at a language special school, her father insisted on this, dreaming of a good education for her daughter. Training was easy for her, the girl was an excellent student. She was often sent to the Olympics to defend the honor of the school.


In the 9th grade, a talented girl was very lucky. Under the exchange program, she was sent to study in the United States. Margarita ended up in a wonderful family, which she still remembers with great gratitude. She really liked America, there was a period when she wanted to stay in this country forever. But all this turned out to be a temporary passion for a foreign country, love for the motherland turned out to be much stronger.

Margarita graduated from school with a gold medal, entered the journalism faculty of KSU to study. This is not Simonyan's only education, she also studied in Moscow, at " new school theatrical excellence."

Journalism

Margarita has always been a very active, active person. She truly deserved her first job. It was the position of a correspondent for the Krasnodar television and radio channel, which the girl had long dreamed of. In addition to studying at the university, Margarita wrote poetry. In 1998, she published a collection of her poems, and the TV channel undertook to shoot a story about a young poetess. TV people could not ignore the fact that a real talent appeared in their city, because Simonyan's poems were talked about at all corners.


When Margarita talked with the film crew, she voiced her old dream - she admitted that she would like to work as a journalist on the TV channel. The girl was offered an internship. So in 1999, she began working on the Krasnodar TV channel.

Margarita is a very brave woman. She was only 19 years old when she went to Chechnya to film a series of reports there. In this hot spot a short, fragile girl, whose height is only 160 cm, showed all the strength of her character. So that her parents would not worry about her, Margarita did not inform them where she was going. Only after returning from where the war was blazing, the girl told her family about a business trip to Chechnya.

A series of reports that she filmed there glorified the young journalist and brought her well-deserved awards. She was awarded "For professional courage", the first prize of the All-Russian competition of regional television and radio companies and the Russian Order of Friendship.


Margarita Simonyan received the position of editor-in-chief of the Krasnodar channel

The girl's career took off, a year after she got a job, she becomes the editor-in-chief of the Krasnodar TV channel. In 2001, the girl was offered another position, she became a correspondent for the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Simonyan continues to travel to hot spots. During this period, Margarita visited Abkhazia, filming a story about a clash between militants and the state army. All these events took place in the Kodori Gorge.

Talented and fearless journalists are needed everywhere. In 2002, she was invited to the capital, offering the position of correspondent for the Vesti program. There was a moment when Margarita was part of the presidential pool of journalists, accompanied by Vladimir Putin. The tragedy in Beslan required her participation on the scene, in September 2004 she covered the hostage taking in high school. This event was very strong influence on the outlook of a young journalist. She highly discourages her young colleagues from starting their careers as war correspondents.


Margarita Simonyan Editor-in-Chief, Russia Today

The creation of the TV channel Russia Today (2005) has become an important project of domestic television. Broadcasting here was to be conducted in English in order to inform about the position of Russia, which it takes in relation to international events. Simonyan became the editor-in-chief of the new project. And this appointment raised a lot of questions.

The founders of RIA Novosti approved Margarita for the position, based on the following considerations. They needed an editor-in-chief who did not see Soviet news. At the same time, he was obliged to have his own ideas of how Russian news, which is shown to foreigners, should look like. Margarita was ideally suited for the high position of editor-in-chief of the new project. After some time, her duties also included curating the Arabic-language, Spanish-language version of the channel.

On the REN-TV channel, since 2011, Simonyan has been leading the news project “What's going on?”. This is a very interesting program during which the journalist covers the most significant events of the week. She works with those news about which the audience was not sufficiently informed through federal channels. News is always interesting to learn firsthand, from the words of eyewitnesses. "What's happening?" was built in this way, the presenter attracted direct participants in the events, spectators to the conversation.

In 2013, Margarita became the co-host of the Iron Ladies program, which was broadcast on NTV. In tandem with her, she asked live questions to famous politicians and businessmen. These were topical issues that worried the audience, and of course, they were not always convenient for the guests of the program. As a result, the channel's management decided to close the TV show. It did not last even a year on the channel. In the same year, Margarita was appointed to the post of editor-in-chief of the international news agency Rossiya Segodnya.

Writing activity

Simonyan is still early childhood dreamed of becoming a writer. This woman tries to realize all her dreams. Margarita was only 18 years old when the first collection of her poems was published. Thanks to this book, Margarita got her first job. The work schedule of this bright, active journalist and editor leaves very little free time. Despite this, Margarita wrote the book "To Moscow" (2010). It took her 10 years to create a novel, this is a story about the generation of the 90s, about people with hard fate, their unfulfilled dreams. A year after the release of the novel, Simonyan received an award for the best book of a journalist.

In the Russian Pioneer magazine for 2012, you can find an excerpt from Simonyan's new story called The Train. For the same magazine, Margarita writes culinary articles. In addition, Simonyan constantly argues with foreign media. It was she who exposed the fake pictures related to the "injury" of the boy Omran. With the help of fake frames, the enemies tried to prove how aggressively Russia is behaving on Syrian territory. Omran Daknish's father told how it really was in an interview with RT.

Margarita was invited many times to visit the program with Vladimir Solovyov. At the beginning of last year, she was the subject of an interesting interview, reflecting on freedom of speech in Western countries and in the Russian Federation. In collaboration with the journalist, she participated in the creation of the film “Crimean Bridge. Made with love!". The film was released at the end of 2018. Star actors were filmed here - Sergey Nikonenko, Yuri Stoyanov, Artem Tkachenko, Alexei Demidov.

Not so long ago, Margarita interviewed the suspects in the Skripal case - Ruslan Boshirov, Alexander Petrov. She commented on her vision of the outcome of this conversation on the Ekho Moskvy radio. The journalist got the impression that no one should be trusted in this matter - neither Western intelligence services, nor even Russian citizens suspected of being poisoned.

Personal life

Margarita is not inclined to advertise her personal life. Sometimes she talks about her, but very briefly. So, in 2012, it was from the words of Simonyan that it became known that she had civil spouse, journalist Andrei Blagodyrenko. This union was long enough, it lasted 6 years, and Margarita at that time did not worry at all about official marriage, beautiful wedding. She very reasonably approaches such issues, believing that the main thing is warm feelings, and not the surroundings.


Her family at that time was engaged in the opening of the restaurant "Zharko!" in Sochi. Around the same period, a well-known journalist began to appear more and more often in the company of Tigran Keosayan. A bright, charismatic man at that time was not free, his official wife was Alena Khmelnitskaya. The romance of Margarita and Tigran began on his initiative. At first it was virtual, Tigran supported the girl by writing her a warm message on Facebook, who at that time was going through a difficult period in her professional life.

Russian journalist Margarita Simonovna Simonyan has been the editor-in-chief of the Russia Today TV channel since 2013. When she assumed this position, she was only 25 years old. This appointment became the most discussed topic at that time, many wondered why this twenty-five-year-old Armenian girl was entrusted with such a responsible post. What distinguished Simonyan Margarita Simonovna? Compromising evidence on her person, however, was not found. And passion subsided. Further in the article, we will talk about the life path of this amazing woman who was able to make such a successful career.

Simonyan Margarita Simonovna: biography, parents

The future journalist was born in early April 1980, in the southern city of Krasnodar. Margarita has a sister, Alice. After she took over as CEO of the RT TV channel in 2013, many began to wonder who Simonyan's parents were. Margarita Simonovna and her sister lived in very cramped conditions from childhood. Their father was a refrigerator repairman, and their mother was a flower girl and sold flowers in the market from morning to evening. The money my parents earned was only enough for food. Their house was very old and was located on one of the outskirts of Krasnodar, named after the great Russian writer N.V. Gogol. The house was infested with rats, there were no simple living conditions: gas, sewerage and running water. Today it is hard to believe that such terrible living conditions could exist in the USSR. The girls had to live in this horror for about 10 years, after which the family received an apartment. It was life at the “bottom” that prompted in Margarita an irresistible desire to break out of poverty and take place in life.

Academic success

Despite the fact that Margarita's parents did not pay much attention to the development of the intellectual and creative abilities of children, the girls were smart and quite diligent. Little Rita was one of the first in the kindergarten group to learn to read. The teacher told her to read fairy tales to her classmates before going to bed. Later Simonyan Margarita Simonovna was admitted to the first class of the specialized school number 36 in the city of Krasnodar. Here they were engaged in in-depth study of foreign languages. It turned out that the girl has a great ability to speak English. She studied for one "five", and she was sent to the olympiads. When the girl was 16 years old, and she was in the 9th grade, she had a great opportunity to improve her English knowledge to the proper level. She was sent to study in the United States, in the state of New Hampshire, as part of a student exchange program. She settled in a very friendly and warm family, went to an American school, communicated with her peers and comprehended the peculiarities of life in mysterious America. She still has excellent, one might say “family” relations with this family. Margarita even thought about staying overseas, but soon realized that life was best for her in her native country.

Higher education

After graduating from school, by the way, with a medal of distinction, Simonyan Margarita Simonovna, whose biography is the topic of this article, entered the Faculty of Journalism of the Kuban State University, along with this she studied at the V. Pozner School of Television Excellence, and also wrote poetry. It so happened that the press was interested in the collection of poems of the 18-year-old Armenian woman, and a film crew came to her house to make a report about her. It was during this interview that she mentioned that she dreams of becoming a journalist. And then she was invited to work on Krasnodar television.

First steps in the media

In December 1999, she went to Chechnya to cover the fighting. At the same time, Margarita decided to spare her parents and only told them that she was going on another business trip. At the same time, Margarita began to shoot stories for federal channels. Her fearlessness and professionalism were highly appreciated by the government, and Simonyan Margarita Simonovna was awarded many federal awards. A year later, she was appointed editor-in-chief of the Krasnodar information portal, and in 2000 she was appointed editor-in-chief on the same TV channel. Later, she moved to the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Channel in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Then Margarita decides to continue her “military” career and goes to Abkhazia, writes reports on clashes in the Kodori Gorge.

To Moscow

In 2002, Margarita Simonovna Simonyan finally receives an invitation from the directorate of the Vesti television program to work as a staff correspondent, naturally, having moved to Moscow. Of course, she accepted the invitation, and soon she was already part of the presidential pool. In September 2004 in North Ossetia, in Beslan, there was a terrible tragedy. At that time, Margarita was in Minvody. She received an assignment from the editorial office of the channel and went to the scene of the tragedy. All the time while the hostages were in the hands of terrorists, she stood at the school and went on the air every half an hour. Sometimes her voice broke because of the sobs that choked her. After that, she could not come to her senses for a long time.

First responsible post

In 2005, Russia Today TV channel was created in Moscow. He broadcast in English and was called upon to express the official Russian position on various political situations in the world. In the professional sphere, many were surprised that it was Margarita Simonyan who was appointed editor-in-chief of the channel. Nevertheless, RIA Novosti presented arguments regarding this appointment. According to them, the head of the service had to be so young that he did not remember what the news was like on Soviet television. It must have a new way of thinking, a modern look at everything. In addition, she was fluent in English and could objectively evaluate the flow of information. Later, Margarita also directed the Arabic and Spanish versions of the channel.

Career

In 2011, Margarita decided to create her own news project “What is happening” on the REN TV channel and act as its presenter. The program was released weekly, on which MS Simonyan discussed the most important events of recent days, which they avoided talking about. Direct participants in these events were invited to the program. After 2 years, a new live political show appeared on NTV, hosted by Margarita Simonyan and Tina Kandelaki - an Armenian and a Georgian. The program was called "Iron Ladies". However, due to some reasons, the show was closed.

Creation

Since childhood, Margarita dreamed of becoming a writer. She wrote poetry, and already at the age of 18 she published a collection of poems written by her. Her next book was published in 2010 and was called "To Moscow". This is a novel about the generation of the nineties, about the difficulties, the difficult fate of people whose lives coincided with the collapse of the USSR, about the unfulfilled dreams of young people who lost their present and future in an instant. A year after the release of the novel, Margarita received an award for the best book written by a journalist. Her next work was the story "Train". She published excerpts from it in the Russian Pioneer magazine, for this magazine she also writes culinary articles.

The journalist does not like to talk about herself. In 2012, in an interview, she said that for 6 years now she and journalist Andrei Blagodyrenko have been living in a civil marriage, as for consolidating official relations and marriage, she is not at all ready for this. In the same year, Margarita went to Sochi, where the Simonyanov family restaurant Zharko! was under construction. It was there that she became close to her compatriot, a famous director. Tigran Keosayan and Margarita Simonyan spent more and more time in each other's company. And everyone already perceived them as a couple, despite the fact that Tigran continued to be married to actress Alena Khmelnitskaya. A year later, in the summer of 2013, Margarita gave birth to a daughter, Maryana. The following year, she and Tigran had a son, who was named by the Armenian name Bagrat. Today Simonyan Margarita Simonovna and Keosayan Tigran are a family, although they are not legally married. They have two beautiful children.

Awards and titles

In 2000, Margarita was in the arena of hostilities in Chechnya and was reporting in a bulletproof vest. For devotion to the profession, for courage and professionalism, she received a state award.

In the same year, Margarita was recognized as the winner of the II All-Russian competition of regional television and radio companies. Her TV report about the children of Chechnya was recognized as the best. Still all in the same 2000, she received a presidential scholarship.

In 2010, in Moscow, the President of the Republic of Armenia presented the well-known journalist with the “Movses Khorenatsi” medal, the highest government award of the Republic of Armenia.

She has several other state awards of the Russian Federation: “For Merit to the Fatherland of the 4th degree” (2014), two “Order of Friendship” (2007 and 2008), etc.

In 2012, the name of Margarita Simonyan was included in the list of 100 most influential women in the Russian Federation, where she took 33rd place. She is a member of the public council at the main department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, and since 2013, by appointment, she has assumed the position of editor-in-chief of the Rossiya MIA

Compromise and sanctions

After the well-known events in Ukraine, Margarita Simonyan was included in the list of 49 journalists and media leaders who are banned from entering the territory of the republic.