Tatyana Mitkova
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Tatyana Rostislavovna Mitkova (; born 13 September 1955) is a Russian television journalist for
NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...
. She became famous in 1991 for refusing to read the official
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
version of the military response to the uprising in Lithuania. In 2001,
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described her as one of Russia's "best-known news presenters".


Biography

She was born on September 13, 1955, into the family of a Soviet officer, participant in the Great Patriotic War,
First Chief Directorate The First Main Directorate () of the Committee for State Security under the USSR council of ministers (PGU KGB) was the organization responsible for foreign operations and intelligence agency, intelligence activities by providing for the training a ...
officer Rostislav Leonidovich Mitkov (1924-2020). She comes from the noble Mitkov family; according to family recollections, the journalist's grandfather changed the surname to "Mitkov" for fear of persecution of his family under the Soviet regime. Tatyana spent her childhood in Switzerland, where her mother worked at the USSR embassy. Увлекалась фигурным катанием и хореографией и хотела поступать в музыкальное училище. She was fond of figure skating and choreography and wanted to enroll in a music school. In 1973, she graduated from Moscow Specialized Secondary School No. 56 with an in-depth study of the English language. Later, she studied at the School of Young Journalists at the Faculty of Journalism of
Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
, and in 1974 she entered its evening department, studying until 1980. As a student, she worked at the
Soviet Central Television The Central Television of the USSR (; abbreviated CT USSR, SCTV ">/nowiki>/nowiki>) was the state television broadcaster of the Soviet Union. Like much of the Soviet media, CT USSR regularly promoted the agendas of the Communist Party. Initi ...
, where she held positions from assistant director (her first position on TV) to special correspondent. In the 1980s, she worked on the Central Television news program
Vremya ''Vremya'' (, lit. "Time") is the main evening newscast in Russia, airing on Channel One Russia (Russian: , Pervy kanal) and previously on Programme One of the Central Television of the USSR (CT USSR, Russian: ). The programme has been on th ...
, the morning program
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and the program . In an interview, she admitted that her editorial experience at International Panorama significantly influenced her further professional growth: among her teachers were Alexander Bovin,
Genrikh Borovik Genrikh Averyanovich Borovik (; born 16 November 1929, Minsk) is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian publicist, writer, playwright and filmmaker, the father of journalist Artyom Borovik. According to Soviet defector Vasili Mitrokhin, Borovik was ...
, Vsevolod Ovchinnikov. Since 1990, she has become the presenter of news releases of the of the Soviet Central Television. In January 1991, she refused to read the official
TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...
report on
the events ''Derren Brown: The Events'' is a Channel 4 television series featuring the illusionist Derren Brown. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, this series is made up of four one-hour specials, during which Brown attempted what he had describe ...
in
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on the air. Some time after this she was fired. After her dismissal she collaborated with the German broadcaster ARD, where she was invited by journalist Gerd Ruge. In 1991, she received one of the first International Press Freedom Awards from the
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...
. In August 1991, after the failed coup of the
State Committee on the State of Emergency State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
, she returned to TV. In 1991-1993, she was the presenter of the daytime news on of the Ostankino Teleradio company. At that time, she made a report on the cooperation of the highest hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church with the KGB in the Novosti program. In October 1993, she moved to the newly created
NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...
television company and began working as the presenter of the evening news program . She hosted both the very first issue of this program (October 11, 1993), and the first issue on the frequency of Channel 4 (January 17, 1994). She remained the presenter of the evening issues of Segodnya for 11 years - from October 1993 to July 2004. At various times,
Mikhail Osokin Mikhail Glebovich Osokin (; born January 14, 1952, Kalinin, RSFSR) is a Russian journalist and TV presenter, columnist. He holds the Candidate of Historical Sciences degree. Biography He was born on January 14, 1952 in Kalinin (Tver) in Europea ...
(1993–2001, 2003–2004),
Pyotr Marchenko Pyotr Petrovich Marchenko (; born 2 January 1948) is a retired Russian politician. He was the deputy of the Stavropol Krai Duma, a chairman of the Stavropol Krai Duma committee on security, inter-parliamentary relations, veteran organizations an ...
(2001–2002) and (2002–2003) worked in turn with her as hosts of the evening broadcasts. In January 2001, she was summoned by prosecutors to discuss an alleged $70,000 loan from NTV. The summons came in the midst of an attempted takeover of the station by
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
, and Mitkova described it as "psychological pressure and a direct threat to journalists". At the end of the month, a Moscow court gave Gazprom control of NTV's owner , which was by then described by ''
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'' as "Russia's sole independent national television station" and by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as "the last nationwide voice critical of President Vladimir V. Putin". Despite a lockout of some journalists who refused to "pledge loyalty" to the new management, Mitkova was persuaded to stay with the station by new owner
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.


Awards and decorations

*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...
, 4th class (16 November 2011) * Order of Honour (22 April 2014) *
Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...
(27 November 2006) *
Russian Federation Presidential Certificate of Honour The Russian Federation Presidential Certificate of Honour () is an honorary award bestowed by the President of the Russian Federation to deserving citizens. It was established by Presidential Decree No.487 of 11 April 2008. The statute and regula ...
(26 July 2021) * Russian Federation Presidential Certificate of Gratitude (23 April 2008) * Russian Federation Presidential Certificate of Gratitude (10 July 2023) * Commemorative Medal of 13 January (11 January 1994) Mitkova later decided to forgo the medal in solidarity with
Dmitry Kiselyov Dmitry Konstantinovich Kiselyov (; born April 26, 1954) is a Russian TV presenter and propagandist. In 2013, Kiselyov was appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to head '' Rossiya Segodnya'', a Russian state-controlled media group. He ...
, who had been stripped of it "for the discredit to the name of an awarded person". On 14 April 2014, President of Lithuania
Dalia Grybauskaitė Dalia Grybauskaitė (; born 1 March 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the eighth president of Lithuania from 2009 to 2019. She is the first and so far only woman to hold the position and in 2014 she became the first President of Li ...
deprived her of the medal. *
CPJ International Press Freedom Award The CPJ International Press Freedom Awards honor journalists or their publications around the world who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment. Established in 1991, the awards are administered by ...
(1991) *
TEFI TEFI () is an annual award given in the Russian television industry, presented by the Russian Academy of Television. It has been awarded since 1994. TEFI is presented in various sectors (up to 50 nominations in 2008), such as television shows ...
in the nomination "News Programme Presenter" (25 May 1997) * Moscow City Prize in Journalism for 2001 (25 March 2002) * Olympia National Award for Public Recognition of Russian Women's Achievements in the nomination "Journalist of the Year" (3 March 2005) * TEFI Special Prize "For Personal Contribution to the Development of Russian Television" (3 October 2018)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitkova, Tatyana 1955 births Living people Journalists from Moscow Moscow State University alumni Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Russian television journalists Russian women editors 21st-century Russian women journalists 21st-century Russian journalists Russian women television presenters Soviet television presenters