Russia local news media

Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy emerged from Mongol domination and gradually conquered and absorbed surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under Peter I hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir Lenin seized power soon after and formed the Soviet Union (USSR).

The brutal rule of Josef Stalin (1928-53) strengthened Communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost ("openness") and perestroika ("restructuring"), which by December 1991 splintered the Soviet Union into Russia and 14 other independent republics.

There are six national TV stations in Russia. The federal government owns one of these and has controlling interest in a second. Also, state-owned Gazprom maintains a controlling interest in a third national channel. Government-affiliated Bank Rossiya owns a controlling interest in two channels, and the sixth national channel is owned by the Moscow city administration. There are roughly 3,300 national, regional, and local TV stations operating. Over two-thirds of these are either completely or partially controlled by the federal or local governments. Satellite TV services are available. Two state-run national radio networks are in operation, with a third majority-owned by Gazprom. There are roughly 2,400 public and commercial radio stations.

There are 35,500 registered newspapers in Russia. Several newspapers popular in the Soviet era survived post-Soviet transitions and continue to be popular today. Among these are Komsomolskaya Pravda, Izvestia, Trud, and Moskovskiy Komsomolets. All of them have changed their editorial policies. Other popular outlets include the weekly Argumenty I Fakty and dailies Kommersant and Nezavisimaya Gazeta.