formerly TASS in full Telegrafnoe Agentsvo Sovetskovo Soyuza (Russian: "Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union")
As TASS, the official news agency of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991.
It was renamed ITAR-TASS in 1992. The main source of news for all Soviet newspapers and radio and television stations, it was also a major international wire service. After the Soviet Union's 1991 breakup, TASS was reorganized into the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR), reporting on news of Russia, and the Telegraph Agency of the Countries of the Commonwealth (TASS), reporting on news of other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States . ITAR-TASS dispatches on matters of public policy and international affairs reflect the official position of the state.