Margarita Simonyan has said the broadcaster will not bow to foreign pressure

RT has achieved tremendous success and is only getting stronger despite Western sanctions, Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said, marking the broadcaster’s 20th anniversary. 

“It is a privilege to work in service of our convictions,” Simonyan said onstage during a reception in Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater on Friday, which was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“I want to bow to the people who work at RT,” she added, thanking the staff, including those “risking their lives” in the field. 

Simonyan said RT continues to broadcast despite the “ridiculous” campaign in the West to take the channel off the air and take down its accounts online. “We are only getting stronger and feel more emboldened.”

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“For all of us, the [Western] sanctions are such minor inconveniences compared to the great honor and pride of serving our country,” she added. 

Simonyan once again thanked everyone later at a staff meeting. “In some parts of the world, we are loved, we are believed, and we are missed. In other parts of the world and in some offices, they hate us, they envy us, which is also a great achievement.”

Launched in 2005, RT operates TV channels and websites in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, German, Serbian, and Russian, reaching audiences in more than 100 countries. RT has won multiple awards for its news coverage and documentaries.