Welcome to our new column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. A mysterious toxic gas spreads across Moscow, and the Kremlin’s promise to reorganize the Russian media landscape is several steps closer to completion. Still No Clear Explanation on What Caused […]
Let’s start with the weather. Recently an exotic-looking gentleman has become a permanent fixture on the “Russia‑24” public TV channel: a catchy checkered blazer, an acid-pink shirt, and a saucy scarf. His outfit, his nervous manners, and picaresque tone, recalls Bulgakov’s Korovyev, rather than a leading specialist of the “Phobos” weather center. Up until now […]
The course towards conservatism highlighted strategic interests of Vladimir Putin. The president has had several impressive occasions to present to the society his vision of the ideological foundations of the state. In June, at the Popular Front Congress, where Putin was elected the leader of the movement, a conservative UPF manifesto was adopted, and veterans […]
The state-owned oil giant, Gazprom, will host its holiday party at an Olympic facility, paid for by Gazprom. Other state-owned corporations have not pay for holiday parties. This was originally published in the state-owned RIA Novosti, which is soon to become “Russia Today,” or Russia Segodnya. — Ed. The gas monopoly will time its Christmas corporate […]
The state-owned media giant RIA Novosti is being restructured, and its editor Svetlana Mironyuk has been replaced by a well-known Putin mouthpiece, Dmitry Kiselyov. Slon.ru, a liberal online magazine, weighs in on the recent development. — Ed. The fall of RIA Novosti is a drama that was deliberately made into a serial. Everyone saw the […]
Dmitry Kiselyov, general director of the news agency Russiya Segodnya [Russia Today] promised to preserve all of RIA Novosti’s brands on the base of which a new media will be created. He announced this at a meeting with the RIA Novosti collective, a videotape of which was published on 12 December on Youtube. On 9 December, […]
This week, the Russian government announced that it was shutting down respected news outlet RIA Novosti and rebranding it as Russia Segodnya (Russia Today). The new head of this venture will be Dmitry Kiselyov, one of the most vocal pro-Kremlin pundits in Russia, notorious for his homophobic comments. He’s said that the goal of Russia Today […]
Every Wednesday, The Interpreter’s managing editor James Miller will be speaking with Dr. Matt Sienkiewicz, a professor at Boston College, about the major headlines of the week. If you have questions you’d like Matt to address in future episodes, feel free to tweet to him: @mediastudied. If you have feedback on the content feel free to tweet to James: @MillerMENA. […]
RIA Novosti is, or perhaps “was,” a state-owned news source that was still regarded as fairly balanced and objective. Its articles, in English and Russian, were typically lacking the kind of pro-Kremlin spin often found in, say, Izvestia. Though some editorials were perhaps more clearly in this line (like the sensational article about the Washington […]
