Russian Kremlin Dismisses Head of TASS News Agency Reporting on Wagner Rebellion

Russian Media "Seems to Consider Pro-Government Coverage Insufficient"

Last June, the head of the Russian state-owned news agency TASS was reportedly dismissed for reporting on the military rebellion of the mercenary company Wagner Group.

On the 4th (local time), according to a report by the U.S. political media outlet Politico citing the Moscow Times, the Kremlin dismissed Sergey Mikhailov, head of TASS, in July. This was just ten days after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group who participated in the Ukraine war on June 24, launched an armed rebellion against the Russian Ministry of Defense and the command.

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

During the rebellion, TASS was reportedly the first to report photos of Wagner Group fighter jets occupying the city center of Rostov-on-Don. A Russian government source told the Moscow Times, "TASS covered everything in too much detail and without delay," adding, "They forgot that their mission was not just to report the news but to provide ideologically correct narratives for the Kremlin."

Andrey Kondrashov, a former spokesperson for Vladimir Putin's presidential campaign and from the state broadcaster All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), was appointed as the successor.

Meanwhile, the Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin advanced as far as Moscow, the Russian capital, but stopped the rebellion and returned to eastern Ukraine following mediation by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who promised amnesty. However, Prigozhin died two months later in a plane crash.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.