in the
Washington studio of
Russia Today TV with
Margarita Simonyan Russia was among the first countries to
introduce radio and
television. While there were few channels in Soviet times, in the past two decades many new state and privately owned
radio stations and
TV channels have appeared. Mass media in Russia continued to develop in 2000s, as the number of periodicals, broadcasting companies and electronic media has more than doubled from 1997 to 2006. In 2005 a state-run English language
Russia Today TV started broadcasting, and its Arabic version
Rusiya Al-Yaum was launched in 2007. The allocation of advertising by governmental agencies is an important means of influence over content, as is access to subsidized state-owned printing, distribution and transmission facilities. Private businesses refrain from advertising on independent outlets. Starting from 2015, satellite and cable channels with subscription fees would be forbidden from airing advertisement, thus hindering the financial sustainability of
TV Rain and of other foreign content providers. The regional print media has been able to maintain a solid position as an information resource. However, most publishers shy away from politically charged topics in order not to endanger their business. The situation is similar in radio where journalist has set up an Internet forum in which radio journalists can publish reports that their often strictly formatted radio stations refuse to broadcast. •
TASS, founded in 1904, is a federal, state-owned news agency, working throughout Soviet times as TASS. It has over 500 correspondents and broadcasts in six languages, with 350-650 items daily. In 2010 it was among the four biggest world news agencies (with
Reuters,
AP and
AFP). It has the biggest photo archive in Russia. As of 2008 Russia had over 400 daily newspapers, covering many fields, and offering a range of perspectives. The total number of newspapers in Russia is 8,978, and they have a total annual circulation of 8.2 billion copies. There are also 6,698 magazines and periodicals with a total annual circulation of 1.6 billion copies. After television, newspapers are the second most popular media in Russia. Local newspapers are more popular than national ones, with 27% of Russians consulting local newspapers routinely and 40% reading them occasionally. For national newspapers, the corresponding figures are 18% and 38%, respectively. As of 2008, companies close to the Russian government, such as
Gazprom, had acquired several of the most influential newspapers; however, the national press market still offers its consumers a more diverse range of views than those same consumers can sample on the country's leading television channels. Major Russian newspapers with foreign owners include the
Vedomosti and
SmartMoney owned by
Rupert Murdoch's
News Corp. A number of American editions (such as
GQ) have Russian versions. An October 2014 law limited to 20% the maximum quota of foreign ownership in the Russian media by 2017. This will affect independent publications such as
Vedomosti and
Forbes Russia. However, only about half of all Russian newspapers are registered with the agency. Some leading newspapers in Russia are tabloids, including
Zhizn. The most important business newspapers are
Vedomosti and the influential
Kommersant. Many newspapers are opposition-leaning, such as the critical
Nezavisimaya Gazeta and
Novaya Gazeta, which is known for its investigative journalism. The main English-language newspapers were
Moscow Times and
The St. Petersburg Times. Six of the ten most circulated Russian newspapers are based in Moscow, while the other four are based in other cities and regions. The most popular radio stations are distributed by key nationwide radio holdings:
1. VGTRK (The Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company): •
Radio Rossii (Radio Russia) — national network. •
Radio Mayak — state-run national network. •
Vesti FM — informational radio station. •
Radio Yunost — youth station. •
Radio Kultura (Culture) — music of various genres and directions, as well as shows on cultural and social topics.
2. European Media Group: •
Europa Plus — non-government commercial station. •
Retro FM — commercial radio station. Domestic and foreign music of the 1970s-2000s. •
Dorozhnoye Radio — music of Russian and foreign hits of the 80s, 90s, chanson, pop. •
Radio 7 — 2000s hits and 1960s-1990s classics. •
Studio 21 — youth station dedicated to hip-hop culture. •
Novoye Radio — music radio station. Hits and shows.
3. GPM Radio (Gazprom Media): •
AvtoRadio — music radio station. Mostly domestic hits and less often foreign hits of the 1980s-2000s. •
Humor FM — comedy programs and pop music. •
NRJ — branch of the radio station of the common French brand
NRJ Group in Russia. Format: CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio). •
Romantica — information and music radio station. •
Like FM — radio station aimed at a young audience. Russian and foreign music. •
Comedy Radio — federal talk radio station. Format: CHR. •
Relax FM — melodic and relaxing music. •
Detskoe Radio — radio station aimed at children.
4. Russian Media Group: •
Russkoye Radio — national network with music exclusively in Russian. •
Radio Maximum — Russian-American radio station. •
Hit FM — Russian and foreign hits. •
DFM — federal non-commercial dance radio station. •
Radio Monte-Carlo — radio for a premium audience. World classics of jazz, rock and pop music.
5. Krutoy Media: •
Radio Dacha — information and music radio. •
Taxi FM — Russian and foreign rock music. •
Love Radio — modern pop Russian hits and entertainment programs. •
Vostok FM — music and information radio station. Mix of popular oriental, Russian and foreign songs. •
Vesna FM — golden classic of the Russian and foreign stage. Modern hits. •
Russkiy Hit — infotainment radio station.
6. Multimedia Holding: •
Nashe Radio — post-Soviet Russian rock. •
Rock FM — Moscow-based radio station tracing the classics of world rock. •
Radio Jazz — music of Jazz styles
7. Rumedia: •
Business FM — business radio station with news and analytics. •
Radio Chocolate — "cover radio". New sound of recognized world hits.
Other well-known radio stations: •
Kommersant FM — information radio station. •
Radio Sputnik — information and analytical radio station. •
DND Russian Radio – News/Music from South Asia and Central and Eastern Europe •
Radio Record – club/dance radio network Like the
RIA Novosti news agency, the
Voice of Russia broadcaster was merged into a new media agency
Rossiya Segodnya, officially "to save money", under a 9 December 2013 presidential decree. On 18 February 2014, a shareholders' meeting replaced the station's long-serving director, Yury Fedutinov, with former the Voice of Russia's Yekaterina Pavlova, a Kremlin-loyalist in "the latest in a series of personnel reshuffles at top state-owned media organizations that appear to point toward a tightening of Kremlin control over an already heavily regulated media landscape" the state owned RIA Novosti news agency reported the same day. The station's editor-in-chief, Alexei Venediktov, and his deputy, Vladimir Varfolomeev, were also removed from the broadcaster's board of directors. Venediktov, one of the station's founders, had written on 11 March on his
Twitter account: "Gazprommedia (owner of 66% of the broadcaster's shares) urged the early dismissal of the radio's board of directors and a change in independent directors".
Television broadcasting , chief of Russia's main state-controlled TV station
Channel One, Vladimir Putin, TV presenter
Ekaterina Andreeva and TV host
Dmitry Borisov. Television is the most popular media in Russia, with 74% of the population watching national television channels routinely and 59% routinely watching regional channels. According to 2005
television ratings, the most popular channel was Channel One (22.9%), followed by Russia-1 (22.6%). The survey responders' local TV company was third with a rating of 12.3%. The three national TV channels provide both news and entertainment, while the most popular entertainment-only channels are
STS (10.3% rating) and
TNT (6.7%). The most popular sports channel is
Russia 2 (formerly
Sport; rating 1.8%), Russia K and Russia 2 have the third and fourth largest coverage of all Russian TV channels, with Russia K reaching 78.9% of the urban and 36.2% of the rural population and Russia 2 reaching 51.5% and 15.6%, respectively. Regional television is relatively popular in Russia, and according to a 2005 report by
TNS, regional audiences rely mainly on news and analysis provided by regional channels. A new international multimedia news service called
Sputnik was launched in 2014, merging and replacing previous services. According to research conducted by Professor Sarah Oates, most Russians believe that news reporting on the three national television channels is selective and unbalanced, but view this as appropriate. The responders to the study made it clear that they believe the role of state television should be to provide central authority and order in troubled times. Vladimir Putin's close friend
Yury Kovalchuk owns shares in several of Russia's most influential TV channels, including
Channel One. In December 2021,
Alisher Usmanov's holding company USM said it had sold its stake in Russia's leading
internet group VK to state-run insurance company
Sogaz, which is partly owned by Yury Kovalchuk.
Main television channels The main TV channels are distributed through multiplexes: First Multiplex: •
First Channel — national, state-owned channel – news and entertainment •
Rossiya 1 — national, state-owned channel – news and entertainment •
Match TV — all-Russian federal sports channel. Owned by Gazprom Media. •
NTV — national 50% state-owned – news and entertainment • Channel Five — federal channel broadcasting from St. Petersburg. Owned by
National Media Group. •
Russia K — state-owned – culture and arts • Carousel — federal channel for children and teenagers. Belongs to VGTRK holding •
Russia 24 — state-owned – news channel • OTR — all-Russian federal television channel. Belongs to the Government of the Russian Federation. •
TV Center — owned by Moscow city government – news and entertainment Second Multiplex: •
Ren TV —Moscow-based commercial station with strong regional network • SPAS •
STS — commercial – entertainment:
CTC Media •
Domashny — commercial, entertainment:
CTC Media • TV-3 • Friday! • Star • Mir (World) •
TNT — state-owned, commercial • MUZ-TV Third Multiplex (Broadcast exclusively on the territory of Moscow and Moscow Region, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol): • Moscow 24 • 360 • Yuvelirochka (Jeweler) • Disney Channel • Top Shop TV • Che • Shop&Show • Super • LEOMAX 24 • STS Love
Other well-known channels: •
Zvezda — national, owned by Russian Ministry of Defense • You • Vista explore • RU.TV • Spike • TV 1000 Russkoye Kino • 2х2 • My Planet • Mult • Kinokomediya
International TV channels: •
Russia Today — state-funded, international English-language news channel • RT International • RT Espanyol • RT Arabic • RT Documentary • RTR Planet • TVKI • First channel. World Wide Web
Cinema Russian and later
Soviet cinema was a hotbed of invention in the period immediately following 1917, resulting in world-renowned films such as
The Battleship Potemkin by
Sergei Eisenstein. Eisenstein was a student of filmmaker and theorist
Lev Kuleshov, who developed the
Soviet montage theory of film editing at the world's first film school, the
All-Union Institute of Cinematography.
Dziga Vertov, whose
kino-glaz ('film-eye') theory – that the camera, like the human eye, is best used to explore real life—had a huge impact on the development of documentary film making and cinema realism. The subsequent state policy of
socialist realism somewhat limited creativity; however, many Soviet films in this style were artistically successful, including
Chapaev,
The Cranes Are Flying, and
Ballad of a Soldier. In 1969,
Vladimir Motyl's
White Sun of the Desert was released, a very popular film in a genre of
ostern; the film is traditionally watched by
cosmonauts before any trip into space.
Russian animation dates back to late
Russian Empire times. During the Soviet era,
Soyuzmultfilm studio was the largest animation producer. Soviet animators developed a great variety of pioneering techniques and aesthetic styles, with prominent directors including
Ivan Ivanov-Vano,
Fyodor Khitruk and
Aleksandr Tatarsky. Many Soviet cartoon heroes such as the Russian-style
Winnie-the-Pooh, cute little
Cheburashka, Wolf and Hare from
Nu, Pogodi!, are iconic images in Russia and many surrounding countries. The late 1980s and 1990s were a period of crisis in Russian cinema and animation. Although Russian filmmakers became free to express themselves, state subsidies were drastically reduced, resulting in fewer films produced. The early years of the 21st century have brought increased viewership and subsequent prosperity to the industry on the back of the economic revival. Production levels are already higher than in Britain and Germany. Russia's total box-office revenue in 2007 was $565 million, up 37% from the previous year. In 2002 the
Russian Ark became the first feature film ever to be shot in a single take. The traditions of Soviet animation were developed recently by such directors as
Aleksandr Petrov and studios like
Melnitsa Animation. Moscow hosts the annual
Moscow International Film Festival. In March 2013 a survey found that Russian had become the second most commonly used language on the web. Internet in Russia is also sometimes called
Runet, although that term mostly refers to the Russian-language Internet. In 2009, Internet penetration had reached 35% – mainly 18–24 year-olds in urban areas. While 15% of Russians used Internet daily, 54% had never used it. 49% of Internet users were in Moscow – where, as in St. Petersburg, connections are faster and cheaper. Penetration rate mounted to 71% in 2014, although concentrated in the main towns. Russians are strong users of
social networks, of which
Odnoklassniki.ru (used by 75% of 25-35 year-old Russians in 2009) and
VKontakte are the most popular.
LiveJournal has also been long popular. A number of Russian Internet resources provide Russian translations of the world press on a regular basis:
InoSmi, InoForum,
SMI2, and
Perevodika. ==Media organisations==