RT, the first Russian channel abroad, celebrates its 20th anniversary

Russia Today (RT) channel celebrates its 20th anniversary on October 17. Alexey Poltoranin, a correspondent for Izvestia, told how it was created and what became the first Russian channel abroad, broadcasting on all continents.

"We appreciate RT's efforts to create a new information space," said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

For his part, Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora expressed his admiration and gratitude to the entire team for their dedication, impartiality and objective coverage of events around the world.

RT is the first international channel originally from Russia. The channel broadcasts in six languages at once. The audience is 900 million people in more than 100 countries around the world.

"Your effective work haunts those forces abroad who are losing their monopoly on creating and distributing publicly available information, but are not ready to put up with it. RT bears its burden with dignity even when it becomes the target of destructive actions by unfriendly governments seeking to stifle the voice of truth," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed.

RT's reports from the "yellow vests" protests in France, the participants themselves urged everyone to watch and distributed the videos.

"Before I came here, he and my father John Suchet sat down with me and told me how important it is to study and absorb rich history and culture while in Russia. He was an investigator, he was a detective on screen, he taught me that," RT International presenter Rory Suchet added.

The Larry King show was also on the channel. The viewers watched the former President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. The heads of state, while in Moscow, considered it necessary to visit the channel's studios, where the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba had visited.

"RT had the opportunity to host many important figures from Latin America in their home, who will indeed go down in history. They presented a different point of view on some events, their own political project," said Maria Isabel Cevallos Simancas, RT EN Espanol presenter.

There are currently stories on the air from all continents, exclusives: from statements by heads of state to high-profile detentions.

"Content from English to Swahili for East African countries, to Amharic for Ethiopia. This allows us to deliver content even to those viewers who do not speak European languages in Africa," said Svyatoslav Shchegolev, head of RT Africa.

On October 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated RT employees on the 20th anniversary of the channel. When asked what words the president wanted to convey to the channel, Putin noted that he had not suspected the acquisition of "such a scale" of the idea of creating Russia Today. According to him, pressure is being exerted on journalists, but they do not succumb to the "global information mainstream."

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.