ITARTASS

ITAR-TASS: translation

The Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (Informatsionnoie telegrafnoie agentstvo Rossii) or, as it is more commonly known, ITAR-TASS, is Russia’s primary news agency. Currently headquartered inMoscow, the agency originated in late tsaristSt.Petersburg(where it was known as the Petersburg Telegraph Agency), before being moved to the new capital under the Soviets and renamed the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS). UnderBoris Yeltsin, the agency took its current name, abandoned its ideological orientation, and adapted to the new realities of the marketplace, though it remained state-owned. Similar to the Associated Press or Reuters, the agency distributes its stories and photos to newspapers and othermediaoutlets, which cite ITAR-TASS as the source. ITAR-TASS has more than 70 bureaus in the Russian Federation and theCommonwealth of Independent States, and a presence in 75 other countries.