RT's Margarita Simonyan's interview to 60 minutes

[Keit]

RT's Margarita Simonyan gave an interview to 60 minutes. I recommend watching the show despite really despicable and totally crazy anti-Russian propaganda. This is really insane. And yet see what a brilliant job Margarita does!

This interview is also particularly interesting because Margarita mentions a single event that caused Russians to stop dreaming about becoming similar to US. It happened when NATO bombed Yugoslavia. This one act showed Russians what US and its allies really were.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rt-editor-in-chief-on-election-meddling-russian-propaganda-label/

 

[Foxx]

I love watching Margarita speak and she was great as usual in the excerpt that they had on the website, thanks for sharing Keit! The 60 minutes interviewer was of course the standard American MSM talking head idiot.

I read through the comments and they were primarily a breath of fresh air--there were a few supporting 60 minutes, but the majority were very clear that they didn't trust the MSM and called them out for the liars that they are.

My bet is that RT just got more viewers from this interview.

 

[Alejo]

Thanks for sharing,

It was indeed nice to watch even though it had been edited out. I wonder what the full interview will look like. The cbs journalist seemed so weak in front of Margarita, her questions were devoid of content and evidence and amounted to sound bites.

 

[Arwenn]

I enjoyed watching this, thanks for posting this. I had no idea that it was NATO bombing Yugoslavia that changed the minds of the Russians against the US. The CBS journalist was way out of her depth, and I have to wonder just how much they must have edited out of the interview to fit their spin. The bit that stood out for me is when the interviewer tells Margarita that 'US Intel has confirmed Russian interference in the elections' to which Margarita replies, 'And you believe them? They also told you Iraq had weapons of mass destruction! You believe that?' Priceless :D

 

[angelburst29]

Margarita Simonyan has a very interesting background and some of her past experiences, point to a personal inner drive to document factual information.

_https://alchetron.com/Margarita-Simonyan

Born April 6, 1980 (age 35) (1980-04-06) Krasnodar, Soviet Union
Occupation journalist, the editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya

Alma mater Kuban State University

Margarita Simonovna Simonyan (Russian: Маргари́та Симо́новна Симонья́н; born 6 April 1980) is the editor-in-chief of both the English-language, television news network RT (formerly Russia Today) and the state-owned international news agency Rossiya Segodnya.

Early life

Simonyan was born in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar into an Armenian family. Both of 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 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 in the late 19th century. Her family owns a restaurant in Moldovka town in Adlersky City District, Sochi. She is from a working-class family and decided at an early age she wanted to become a journalist. She first worked for the local newspaper, and then for a local television station while studying journalism at Kuban State University.

In 1996, Simonyan spent a year in Bristol, New Hampshire, as part of Future Leaders Exchange student exchange program. She says during that time she discovered Russians and Americans "are so much alike in terms of culture, in terms of family values, ways of life, reactions, sense of humor".

Career

Simonyan covered the Second Chechen War and serious flooding in Russia's south 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. Simonyan, one of the first journalists to arrive at the scene, witnessed the killing of 334, 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 and joined the Russian pool of Kremlin reporters.

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.

Editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya

Simonyan was only 25 when appointed editor-in-chief of RT in 2005, but had been working in journalism since she was 18. She stated in a 200 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." Some sources describe her as a Kremlin loyalist who is close to Vladimir Putin. She admits that Vladimir Putin once sent her flowers. When asked about the flowers incident Simonyan explained, "At a press conference, where President Putin was talking with the President of Tajikistan. It was my twenty-fifth birthday, which is a special anniversary. The other journalists were talking about it, the President heard them, and that was how I received the flowers. It was very spontaneous. I don’t think that you can call it a presidential high regard". Simonyan has explained to reporters that after the fall of the Soviet Union many older Soviet journalists were not wanted by new media enterprises which preferred less experienced young journalists, thus the youth of most of the staffers.

RT started broadcasting on 10 December 2005 with a staff of 300 journalists, including approximately 70 from outside Russia. Simonyan frequently addresses media questions about RT's journalistic and political stands. 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. She also told a reporter that the government would not dictate content and "Censorship by government in this country is prohibited by the constitution." 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. The station has however been criticized repeatedly in the west for perceived bias. Symonyan has been quoted as saying: "There is no objectivity – only approximations of the truth by as many different voices as possible".

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.

 

[Navigator]

Thanks for sharing,

It was indeed nice to watch even though it had been edited out. I wonder what the full interview will look like. The cbs journalist seemed so weak in front of Margarita, her questions were devoid of content and evidence and amounted to sound bites.

Leslie Stahl, at least during the clip, looked outpaced by Margarita's responses, without actually having an answer or just regurgitating the standard ones we often hear in the media. It actually reveals American journalists as mere mouthpieces for the established agenda, great for Margarita!

 

[Aliana]

I enjoyed watching this, thanks for posting this. I had no idea that it was NATO bombing Yugoslavia that changed the minds of the Russians against the US. The CBS journalist was way out of her depth, and I have to wonder just how much they must have edited out of the interview to fit their spin. The bit that stood out for me is when the interviewer tells Margarita that 'US Intel has confirmed Russian interference in the elections' to which Margarita replies, 'And you believe them? They also told you Iraq had weapons of mass destruction! You believe that?' Priceless :D

Thank you for sharing that, Keit. It was a delight to watch how adept Simonyan was at countering Stahl whose main purpose for the interview appeared to be little more than another attempt to catapult the propaganda Western media has been pushing for months. I wonder if they have any clue just how ridiculous such interviews make American journalists look – it’s so obvious that Stahl and most of her American counterparts are no match for the wit and intelligence of Russian journalists. :P

 

[NormaRegula]

I enjoyed watching this, thanks for posting this. I had no idea that it was NATO bombing Yugoslavia that changed the minds of the Russians against the US. The CBS journalist was way out of her depth, and I have to wonder just how much they must have edited out of the interview to fit their spin. The bit that stood out for me is when the interviewer tells Margarita that 'US Intel has confirmed Russian interference in the elections' to which Margarita replies, 'And you believe them? They also told you Iraq had weapons of mass destruction! You believe that?' Priceless :D

Thank you for sharing that, Keit. It was a delight to watch how adept Simonyan was at countering Stahl whose main purpose for the interview appeared to be little more than another attempt to catapult the propaganda Western media has been pushing for months. I wonder if they have any clue just how ridiculous such interviews make American journalists look – it’s so obvious that Stahl and most of her American counterparts are no match for the wit and intelligence of Russian journalists. :P

Indeed! Leslie Stahl's demeanor and questions were cringe-worthy in that interview.

 

[Voyageur]

Thanks Keit.

The condensed version is a good primer for the Western 60 minute apatite, and I'm sure the full interview is somewhat different; actually hearing from Simonyan rather than having to cope with the carefully orchestrated cuts and edits we see here (not just here). One can get the impression that it's not really anything Simonyan is saying - countering Stahl's ridiculous questions accusations, it's for the viewer who is bombarded with visual spin that meshes with what Stahl is saying - no matter what Margarita could possible counter with.

Right from the get-go (it's quoted in print):

Stahl: "We arrived just as the Justice Department was insisting that RT register as a foreign agent in the United States under an 80-year-old law enacted to expose Nazi propaganda.” Oh the timing, and oh the reference to "Nazi propaganda" setting the 60 minute stage for the Western viewer to remember those four words.

Later Stahl adds to reinforce them (with timed/edited cuts):

Lesley Stahl: years ago, Russia's highest-ranking military officer wrote what's known as the Gerasimov Doctrine, saying that in warfare information can be more effective than a military weapon. An idea that was then put into action:

Lesley Stahl: Your defense minister said in February that he had formed a new branch of the military called "Information Warfare Troops."

Margarita Simonyan: I don't know if that's the case, if that's what the military is doing. We know that that's what NATO has been doing for years and years. They are military; we are not military.

Somebody forgot to tell Stahl that it was probably Sun Tzu in the 5th century, or someone like him, who coined the phrase "information warfare" - it has been military statecraft through the ages, and the Americans are particularly pernicious with its use. The 60 Minute viewer will likely just think, OMG, see, they are attacking us, steeling our elections - its Disinformation Warfare - fake news.

Lesley Stahl: Let me tell you what U.S. intelligence agencies say about RT. And I'm talking about the CIA, FBI, and NSA. They describe you as a weapon in an information war.

Wow, the CIA, FBI and NSA must really know what they are talking about; glad Stahl mentioned it, she is super smart.

Indeed! Leslie Stahl's demeanor and questions were cringe-worthy in that interview.

It's hard to watch a 13 minute counter 'Disinformation Warfare' piece of this nature full of deceptive edit/cuts and pastes to get the viewer's biases all tuned up, so it would be better to hear the whole interview without the specialized post production work for those who can't sit through 60 Minutes.

One has to hand it to Margarita though, she must of 'cringed' herself, yet Stahl was all of that and more - "cringe-worthy."

 

[Laura]

One of y'all please put a short article together about this interview for sott. Many of the comments here can be easily utilized.

 

[Keit]

One of y'all please put a short article together about this interview for sott. Many of the comments here can be easily utilized.

I can work on that. :)

 

[Beau]

One of y'all please put a short article together about this interview for sott. Many of the comments here can be easily utilized.

I can work on that. :)

That's a good idea. In the meantime, there's this for sharing: https://www.sott.net/article/373448-60-Minutes-interview-with-RTs-editor-in-chief-on-election-meddling-being-labeled-Russian-propaganda

 

[Keit]

Apparently Lesley Stahl wasn't the only one, who came to Russia to talk to Margarita. She also gave interview to NBC.

What is worth noting how they repeatedly try to assign all kind of motivations and reasons, or put words in her mouth.

Also notice Simonyan's body language. She definitely makes quite an effort to remain calm and diplomatic.

http://<iframe src="https://www.nbc...15" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

P.S. It doesn't allow to show the video for some reason. Go directly to the NBC site.

 

[Voyageur]

Apparently Lesley Stahl wasn't the only one, who came to Russia to talk to Margarita. She also gave interview to NBC.

What is worth noting how they repeatedly try to assign all kind of motivations and reasons, or put words in her mouth.

Also notice Simonyan's body language. She definitely makes quite an effort to remain calm and diplomatic.

http://<iframe src="https://www.nbc...15" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

P.S. It doesn't allow to show the video for some reason. Go directly to the NBC site.

She was truly calm, not giving an inch. This Keir Simmons guy (don't know who he is), was just the same as the rest of them and I shake my head. The video itself is only 5:34 min. yet it is worth watching as inferred. The video seems to have a number of obvious cuts, so who knows what was snipped out.

There is a Youtube of this (in German only) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSygNydlH7Q "RT-Chefin Simonyan im NBC-Interview: Wenn alle Medien das gleiche Lied singen, wird es gefährlich" - good for German SoTT.

 

[angelburst29]

"Isn't there somebody better than Putin? Why would you vote for him again?" Margarita Simonyan answers January 31, 2018
http://www.fort-russ.com/2018/01/isnt-there-somebody-better-than-putin.html

- M-simonyan.livejournal, translated by Tom Winter -
https://m-simonyan.livejournal.com/246409.html

Margarita Simonyan ...

A BBC-nik asked me:

- Among the 150 million Russians is there really no one better than Putin? How can it be understood that you would vote for him again?

I explained it for him something like this:

- To understand this, you had to live here before Putin. Just picture it, you live in a country where a civil war has going on long since, which has no end and no end in sight. Where a crisis has just struck, which has nullified all your money, again.

Where everyone understands that Chechnya will not come to an end, and there will be Dagestan, Ingushetia and even Adygeya, and then Tatarstan, until we fall apart completely in torment, hatred and blood.

Where my regional governor, for example, forbade the sale of our Kuban grain to Moscow, because this Moscow would go away, far off, along with the rest of Russia.

Where our bloody and final collapse is inevitable, and nothing can be done.

Where for months or even years salaries and pensions go unpaid. Where every year is worse than the previous one. Where all hopes have collapsed long ago.

And then a man comes, and all this stops. War, hopelessness, collapse, massive permanent non-payment.

Wages, pensions are growing. By slight increments, but growing. Mortgages can be had, unheard of before, there are some bank account savings from the population, mass TOURISM abroad:

Not shuttling to Poland with trunks loaded with alarms, like my mother, for example, (with her advanced degrees), but rather to vacation in Turkey. And then to Italy.

And in general, - I say, I do not know any person who would not live here much better under Putin than before Putin.

The problem is that you compare our life with your own. But we compare our life with our own life before Putin.

And we understand: maybe with someone else all these years it would be better. But in fact it was worse, way worse. Would you take risk the of such a situation?

"Well, indeed," the BBC-nik said, "Understood. I would not, I think. Thank you for explaining."

You're welcome.