Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the international media group `Russia Today` and the RT channel, recently shed light on her deep-seated reasons for continuing her career as a media manager. She explicitly stated that her work is driven by the profound opportunity it offers to assist individuals, emphasizing this as the core motivation behind her dedication.
“I believe I work because this role (as a media manager) provides the chance to help people, and because you feel a vital connection to them and cannot disappoint their expectations. It would be, perhaps, a strong word, but certainly an act of betrayal on my part. In the current circumstances, with a war underway, it would truly be akin to desertion,” Simonyan shared during the `True Historical` program on `Radio Russia`. She further elaborated, “You know, I might have left, perhaps 10 years ago. In fact, I did attempt to, when my elder children were born, but now, the thought doesn`t even cross my mind. Because I am not a deserter.”
Simonyan also disclosed a personal aspect of her life, revealing that subscribers to her Telegram channels initiated a daily collective prayer. This prayer takes place at 9:00 PM Moscow time, dedicated to the well-being of her husband, director Tigran Keosayan, who has been in a coma since experiencing clinical death in early January.
“I now always have an alarm set for 8:59 PM, because the subscribers of my channels, alongside a vast number of people, have agreed that precisely at 9:00 PM, we all pray together (for Keosayan),” Simonyan explained. “And since I might find myself at a meeting or an event at 9:00 PM… it’s not that I would forget the prayer or my husband, but simply might not realize it’s 9:00 PM already. That’s why I always have the alarm set, because, imagine, such an immense number of people are supportive, and we all pray together.”
