'''Tigran Edmondovich Keosayan''' ({{lang-hy|Տիգրան էդմոնդի Քեոսայան}}, {{lang-ru|Тигран Эдмондович Кеосаян}}; born 4 January 1966) is a Russian film director, actor and television presenter of [[Armenians|Armenian]] origin. He is a winner of film festival prizes including [[TEFI]], [[Kinotavr]] and {{Ill|Window to Europe Film Festival|ru|Окно в Европу (кинофестиваль)}} 2001.<ref name=rus1>[https://russia.tv/person/show/person_id/14 Тигран Кеосаян. Биография и фильмография] // russia.tv</ref>
'''Tigran Edmondovich Keosayan''' ({{lang-hy|Տիգրան էդմոնդի Քեոսայան}}, {{lang-ru|Тигран Эдмондович Кеосаян}}; born 4 January 1966) is a Russian film director, actor and television presenter of [[Armenians|Armenian]] origin. He is a winner of film festival prizes including [[TEFI]], [[Kinotavr]] and {{Ill|Window to Europe Film Festival|ru|Окно в Европу (кинофестиваль)}} 2001.<ref name=rus1>[https://russia.tv/person/show/person_id/14 Тигран Кеосаян. Биография и фильмография] // russia.tv</ref>
Described{{By who|date=December 2022}} as a pro-Kremlin television presenter, the [[European Union]] and [[United Kingdom]] imposed sanctions on Keosayan as a result of the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]].
Described{{By who|date=December 2022}} as a pro-Kremlin television presenter, the [[European Union]], [[United Kingdom]] and [[Armenia]]<ref name="arm">{{cite web|date=10 жовтня 2022|title=Zatulin and Simonyan banned from Armenia|url=https://jam-news.net/zatulin-and-simonyan-banned-from-armenia/|website=jam-news.net|access-date=}}</ref> imposed sanctions on Keosayan as a result of the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]].
Tigran Edmondovich Keosayan (Armenian: Տիգրան էդմոնդի Քեոսայան, Russian: Тигран Эдмондович Кеосаян; born 4 January 1966) is a Russian film director, actor and television presenter of Armenian origin. He is a winner of film festival prizes including TEFI, Kinotavr and Window to Europe Film Festival [ru] 2001.[1]
Keosayan was included in the list of Russians under personal sanctions by the United Kingdom in March 2022.[11]
On 24 June 2022, Kazakhstan reported that Keosayan was denied entry. On 10 October, Armenian authorities declarated Keosayan and his wife Margarita Simonyanpersona non grata as a "agents from different countries with Armenian surnames" who allow themselves a disrespectful attitude towards Armenia.[2]
Controversy
Blackface segment about Barack Obama
On 30 November 2020, Keosayan's TV show "International Sawmill", for which Keosayan and his wife Margarita Simonyan are co-writers, aired a segment featuring Keosayan, and an actress in blackface posing as former United States President Barack Obama. In the segment, Keosayan, referring to Obama's book A Promised Land, asks the actress: "Do you consider this book your achievement?", to which the actress in blackface replies: "Of course."[12]
Keosayan then asks: "Because none of your relatives have written books?", after which the actress answers: "Because none of my relatives that came before me could write." Keosayan then states "you should have a rap musician, not the president". In the segment, the actress wears a bandana and gold chains and behaves in a way regarded as stereotypical to rappers.[13] The segment was widely deemed as being racist.[14][15]
Media related to Tigran Keosayan at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Tigran Keosayan at Wikiquote
