A Moscow TV presenter and executive once dubbed Vladimir Putin 's “top television propagandist” is quitting his post and leaving Russia amid the war with Ukraine, say reports.
Ultra-loyalist Russian news site RIA FAN reported that Sergey Brilev, 49, was terminating his role as a Vesti programme host, and "will leave the post of deputy director of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company”.
He will also leave Russia, according to reports.
Mr Brilev was sanctioned by the British government for peddling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “fake news” in a move which froze his British assets despite him holding a UK passport and a flat in Chiswick.
Long seen as Russian President Putin's preferred TV interviewer, he was described by the Kremlin as an “absolute patriot” of Russia when his secretly-held British passport came to light four years ago.
Putin had used Brilev to falsely tell the world that the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) pair sent to poison Sergei Skripal in Salisbury were innocent tourists.
Since Putin invaded Ukraine in February, Brilev, a former TV correspondent in London, has not appeared in his usual news-spot on state-owned Rossiya 1 channel.
If true, his departure from his lucrative state TV role will be seen as a blow to Putin.
The report said: “The TV presenter explained his decision by fatigue and the desire to realise himself in other projects. For example, as the journalist himself said, he plans to start creating documentaries about the countries of Latin America.”
In a rambling social media post, Cuban-born Brilev, whose father was a Soviet spy, confirmed his life was dramatically changing.
As the war raged in Ukraine, he revealed he had been in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Ecuador making documentaries.
He had also undergone major surgery and was completing his PhD thesis, he said.
Confirming his departure he wrote: “On February 26, I hosted [my] last issue of Vesti on Saturday, which drew a line under the period when I had to wear the title of deputy director of the channel.
"I have finally switched to working exclusively on the things where I have, it seems, really rare knowledge and skills of my own.”
Despite being a British citizen, Brilev was listed as serving on the public council of the Russian Ministry of Defence after the annexation of Crimea 2014.
However, he has not as yet voiced his opinions on Putin’s war.
