KORTUNOVA Marina Alexandrovna

A veteran media operative within the state propaganda infrastructure of Iran and russia.
Since 2014, she has worked as a correspondent for the Iranian state-owned broadcaster "Press TV" in Moscow, and in 2019 she was appointed bureau chief. Her reporting has spanned more than a decade of major geopolitical events, including russia’s invasion of Ukraine, bilateral initiatives between russia and Iran, BRICS and Eurasian summits, and peace talks on Syria.
Her assignments and broadcasts align closely with the strategic priorities of both the kremlin and the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). Fluent in both the language and ideological positioning expected of state media, Kortunova plays a key role in laundering narratives: portraying russian actions as humanitarian, Iranian objectives as peaceful, and Western responses as imperialist.
Kortunova’s reports consistently glorify russia as a peacemaker, discredit Ukrainian authorities, present fabricated or manipulated poll results (for example, claiming referendum support above 80 percent), and cite only analysts from the kremlin’s approved pool.
She participated in the launch of RT Arabic and has reported from the field for various figures in the Persian Gulf states who hold authoritarian or anti-Western positions.
On September 27, 2022, she authored a press release describing russia’s annexation referendums in Ukraine as democratic and legitimate. Her report echoed kremlin narratives of "historical justice" and framed NATO as a threat.
In 2024, she authored a report for French media on the so-called NATO exhibition in Moscow, which displayed Western military equipment allegedly captured in Ukraine. In her coverage, aimed at discrediting Western military support for Ukraine, the exhibition was presented as "putin’s mockery of the West."
Also in September 2022, she wrote a press release promoting cooperation between russia and Iran with the stated goal of "nullifying sanctions" and replacing dollar-based trade. She quoted both Lavrov and Iranian officials advocating for mechanisms to bypass Western sanctions.