Media: Margarita Simonyan may step down as Russia Today chief editor Over “terrible” illness

On September 7, Margarita Simonyan, Editor-in-Chief of the media group Russia Today and the RT television channel, revealed on the program Evening with Vladimir Solovyov that doctors had diagnosed her with a “terrible, serious” illness. She said she is scheduled for surgery and gestured toward the left side of her chest.

“I felt I had to come on air today and tell the truth because it is always better to speak the truth yourself than to let the audience feed on rumours,” she said, Caliber.Az reports via The Moscow Times.

Later, Simonyan indicated that the procedure would involve a mastectomy, adding, “When we remember the girls from Young Guard, who knew they would have their breasts cut off alive—not like me, under anaesthesia…”

The 45-year-old did not specify the exact illness. A media industry source close to Simonyan told The Moscow Times that she has been diagnosed with cancer and is facing very serious health issues. The source added that her future at Russia Today is being considered, including the possibility of her stepping down.

Simonyan leads the media holding Russia Today, which includes the news agency RIA Novosti and the RT television channel—one of the Kremlin’s key propaganda tools aimed at an international audience. The channel is fully funded by the state, with the 2025 budget law allocating 31.1 billion rubles to RT. The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia Today, RIA Novosti, the media group, Simonyan herself, and her colleagues.

Simonyan’s husband, director Tigran Keosayan, has been in a coma for nine months with no improvement, she reported on her Telegram channel. Keosayan suffered clinical death in January 2025. The 59-year-old is known for directing films such as Poor Sasha, Silver Lily of the Valley, and Crimean Bridge, as well as hosting propaganda television programs Evening with Tigran Keosayan and International Pilorama.

By Khagan Isayev