45-year-old Margarita Simonyan Lost a Breast but Wrote a Novel 0 10

Margarita Simonyan reported a sharp deterioration in her health after the third course of chemotherapy. She admitted that she physically cannot participate in the event dedicated to her novel "In the Beginning Was the Word — In the End Will Be the Digit." Previously, Simonyan completed the third stage of chemotherapy prescribed after surgery due to breast cancer diagnosed in September 2025.

Now she struggles to find the strength even to leave her room. Despite a strong desire to attend the literary club meeting, she had to stay home: "Until the last moment, I hoped that I could be at this important event for me, but it became very difficult."

Alexander Buynov, who has already read her book, highly praised the "scale and originality of the work," calling it "a ready script for an epic movie." However, these days Margarita finds it hard to think even about creative successes — her body is weakened, and the side effects of treatment are making themselves known.

In December 2024, her husband, director Tigran Keosayan, suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma. He remained unconscious for more than nine months and passed away on September 26 — just 19 days after Margarita publicly announced her diagnosis.

The journalist herself connects the onset of her illness with the emotional shock experienced during those days. She noted that in November of last year, she underwent a complete examination, and no deviations were found. But already in December, against the backdrop of the crisis with her husband, she rapidly developed an oncological process.

After an emergency surgery to remove her breast, she was prescribed a course of chemotherapy and subsequent radiation therapy. At the same time, Simonyan emphasizes that she has been diagnosed with an early stage of the disease, which gives real chances for a complete recovery.

Covering the war in Chechnya in the 2000s as a journalist, Margarita Simonyan engaged in propaganda activities. From 2000 to 2001, she worked as the leading editor of news programs at the Krasnodar TV and Radio Company, from 2001 to 2002 — as a correspondent for VGTRK in Rostov-on-Don, and from 2002 to 2005 — as a special correspondent for the "Vesti" program. At the age of 25, she was appointed head of Russia Today (RT). She is a member of the board of directors of Channel One and a member of the Academy of Russian Television.

Due to her support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, dissemination of disinformation, and propaganda, she is under sanctions from 27 countries, including the EU, the USA, the UK, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, Ukraine, and New Zealand.