ITAR-TASS

   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 in Moscow, the agency originated in late tsarist St. 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). Under Boris 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 other media outlets, which cite ITAR-TASS as the source. ITAR-TASS has more than 70 bureaus in the Russian Federation and the Commonwealth of Independent States, and a presence in 75 other countries.