Russian film director and television presenter Tigran Keosayan has died at the age of 59, his wife Margarita Simonyan confirmed. Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the RT television channel and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, announced his passing on her Telegram channel, writing: “Tonight Tigran went to be with the Creator.”
In January 2025, Simonyan had revealed that Keosayan suffered clinical death and had fallen into a coma due to long-standing heart issues. “I didn’t want to [share this] until the very end, but since reporters have already started calling, I’ll write myself,” she said at the time.
Keosayan was known for directing several Russian films, including Poor Sasha, The President and His Granddaughter, Lily of the Valley, and the controversial romantic comedy Crimean Bridge. Made with Love!—written by Simonyan. According to the BBC Russian Service, the film received 100 million rubles in funding from the state Cinema Fund without a public competition. Simonyan denied involvement in the financing, and Keosayan declined to comment.
Beginning in 2007, Keosayan also worked as a television presenter. From 2016 to 2024, he hosted the political satire show International Sawmill on NTV, which faced criticism for promoting hate speech and offensive content. In 2021, journalism students at Moscow State University filed a formal complaint about the show. In 2020, an investigation by Alexei Navalny’s team alleged that Keosayan’s studio, Gold Vision, received inflated payments for the program, producing episodes at a fraction of their billed cost.
Simonyan recently disclosed she is undergoing cancer treatment. The Moscow Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that RT leadership is considering her departure in light of her health. RT has been banned in multiple countries and labeled a state propaganda outlet.
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