Find Russian newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations by city below.
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. President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has been the de facto Russian head of state since 1999.
There are 13 national TV stations in Russia, two of which are controlled by the federal government. State-owned Gazprom holds a controlling interest in 2 of the national channels and government-affiliated Bank Rossiya owns two more. Others are operated by the Moscow city administration, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian military. About two-thirds of the 3,300 TV stations in Russia are controlled by the federal or local governments.
There are about 2,400 public and commercial radio stations in the country. The Russian government operates two national radio networks and a third is owned by Gazprom.
There are about 9,000 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.
