It is difficult to imagine any propaganda event in Russia without Tara Reade, who solemnly tells Russians how bad life is in the United States and how wonderful it is under the Kremlin’s wing. The American regularly appears on television talk shows, performs at political rallies, and during the recent Valdai Forum, she even had the honor of talking to Vladimir Putin about her love for Moscow. Her special contributions have been recognized by the Kremlin: just two years after moving, she received a Russian passport.
From Washington with love
Tara Reade, also known as Alexandra McKay according to documents, arrived in Russia in 2023. She claims that the move was forced: she was allegedly in danger in the United States. In Moscow, she requested political asylum, and at the end of September 2025, Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting her Russian citizenship.
Tara received assistance at the highest level. The issue of her legalization was personally handled by State Duma deputy Maria Butina, known for her past as a spy, for which she served time in an American prison. Margarita Simonyan, the star of Russian propaganda, hired Reade as a political commentator for the English-language branch of Russia Today. Tara now promises to learn Russian and “serve Russia.”
Who is Ms. Reade?
Until 2020, Tara Reade was unknown not only in Russia but also in the United States. She was born on February 26, 1964, in California. She was a professional alpine skier and even made it through the selection process for the junior Olympic team, but was forced to give up the sport after her parents divorced and she moved to another state.
Dreaming of an acting career, Reade moved to Los Angeles, but was unsuccessful in this field. She enrolled in the political science department at a community college in Pasadena. During her studies, she interned in Congress and later moved to the Senate, where she took a position as an assistant to then-Senator Joe Biden.
Reade worked in the office of the future US president for about a year. However, this was enough for her to accuse Biden of sexual harassment and assault in 2020, in the middle of the presidential campaign. Biden and his team categorically rejected these allegations, which were also not confirmed by journalistic investigations. What’s more, journalists investigating Reade’s past found many inconsistencies, including regarding her education and work.
In response, Tara stated that she was in danger in the United States, and in the spring of 2023, she was already descending the steps of a plane in Moscow.
A long-standing love for Russia
Tara’s love for Russia began long before she received her passport. In 2018, she published a post in which she called Vladimir Putin “a man who turned chaos into order and revived a creative nation.” The post was later deleted.
In 2021, Reade started a YouTube channel (currently with over 3,000 subscribers), in the description of which she claims that “she has spoken the truth her entire life to protect those who have no voice, and she continues to do so by speaking about the trauma she has experienced.” One of her guests was Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN.
In February 2023, RIA Novosti quoted Tara Reade’s remarks during a protest against support for Ukraine in Washington: “Russia is not the enemy, China is not the enemy. The enemy is the military-industrial complex and the corrupt Biden regime.” These words were eagerly disseminated by leading Russian propaganda media outlets.
After moving to Russia, Tara’s popularity skyrocketed. Now her statements receive airtime that is unavailable even to many Russian politicians. She is a real treasure for propaganda: an American who suffered from the “dictatorship of democracy” and found “refuge” with Putin.
Reade’s story fits perfectly into the Kremlin’s narrative: the West is a lie, hypocrisy, and persecution of dissidents. Russia is an island of truth and spirituality, where even former Americans find peace.
In reality, Reade has become a living symbol of how Russian propaganda can turn personal dramas into ideological weapons. And it looks like she will remain in this role for a long time.
VS
