TASS TASS Russian News Agency TASS (), abbr. TASS () is a major news agency in Russia, founded in 1904. TASS is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide, along with Reuters, the Associated Press (AP) and Agence France-Presse (AFP). TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterprise, owned by the Government of Russia. Headquartered in Moscow, TASS has 70 offices in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as 68 bureaus around the world. The TASS name comes from the former Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (, "Tyelyegrafnoye
TASS adopted a resolution ""On approval of the Charter of the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia"", under which it operates as a central government news agency. The TASS acronym was, by this point, well-recognized around the world and so was retained after being redefined as the "Telegraph agency of communication and messages" (). The agency as a whole was referred to as "ITAR-TASS". In September 2014 the agency regained its former name as "Russian News Agency TASS". TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterprise, owned by the Government of Russia. Headquartered in Moscow, TASS has 70 offices in Russia