Putin’s Call-In Show Set for April 17, Reports Say

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Spinella – April 7, 2014) President Vladimir Putin is expected to hold his annual call-in show on April 17, Russian media reports said Monday. The question-and-answer session will be broadcast on national television and radio stations and is expected to cover “Crimea, the international situation, the domestic economy and the ruble,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov […]

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Dozhd Gets 50-Day Lifeline After Telethon

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – April 1, 2014) Independent television channel Dozhd has extended its operation for at least 50 days in a fundraising campaign launched to save the channel after major cable networks refused to air it. The money was collected during a week-long telethon from March 24 to 30 that sold yearly subscriptions to Dozhd, […]

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New TV Show Turns Ethnic Tension Into Comedy

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – March 11, 2014) Russia’s largest television stations broadcast all over the country, bringing the same faces to Muscovites, Siberians and Caucasus natives alike. However, a new series is taking this a step further, representing Russia’s ethnic diversity in one sitcom family and confronting the controversial topic of race head on. A new […]

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Major Ukrainian TV provider drops Russian channels

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RIA Novosti – March 12, 2014) One of Ukraine’s largest television providers has announced it will suspend broadcasts of several major Russian channels, the UNN Ukrainian news agency said Wednesday. The TV provider Volya, with about 20 percent of the market, said it was notifying subscribers across the country about the service changes, UNN reported. On Tuesday, the National Television […]

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Rossiya Segodnya Head Given Presidential Award

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 18, 2014) State television host Dmitry Kiselyov, known for his strong opposition to gay rights in Russia, has been awarded the Order of Service to the Fatherland by President Vladimir Putin. A presidential decree published on the government’s legal documents website said the honor was bestowed on Kiselyov for his contribution to Russia’s “social […]

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NEWSLINK: Putin and the media – Dreams about Russia – Beyond the spectacle of the Sochi Olympics is a crackdown on Russia’s media

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

[“Putin and the media – Dreams about Russia – Beyond the spectacle of the Sochi Olympics is a crackdown on Russia’s media” – The Economist – February 15, 2014 – economist.com/news/europe/21596580-beyond-spectacle-sochi-olympics-crackdown-russias-media-dreams-about-russia] The Economist reports on concerns over media freedoms in Russia, including actions taken in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympics: Just as Vladimir Putin’s greatest project [the Sochi Olympics] […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia’s Top Satellite Company Drops Liberal Dozhd TV Channel

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

MOSCOW, February 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s major satellite provider stopped broadcasting Dozhd independent television channel Monday after the network became embroiled into a controversy over an opinion poll about World War II. Tricolor TV, Russia’s biggest satellite TV provider, said a week ago that its board of directors had unanimously decided to exclude the liberal Dozhd channel from all […]

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Arab Spring in Russia’s Backyard

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm – February 7, 2014) Michael Bohm is opinion page editor of The Moscow Times. For Russians watching state television news over the past several weeks, the message about the political turmoil in Ukraine is clear: The anti-government protests are a U.S. plot. Take, for example, this Jan. 22 evening news broadcast on Channel […]

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Russia’s ‘Optimistic Channel’ Fighting For Survival

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(RFE/RL  – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW – February 5, 2014) Just shy of four years ago a new private television channel appeared on the Russian media scene. With a new generation of talent, snappy and hip programming, and a politically independent line, Dozhd (Rain) TV presented a sharp contrast to the drab and predictable Kremlin-controlled media. And it […]

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Dozhd Television Faces Closure But Strives to Stay Afloat

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – February 5, 2014) Dozhd, Russia’s only opposition-oriented television channel, on Tuesday announced that the decision of large cable providers to drop it could lead to its closure and attributed the move to a Kremlin-driven campaign to get rid of them. All major cable companies, including OnLime, Akado, NTV Plus and VimpelCom, dropped […]

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Dry the rain: the disgraceful hounding of Dozhd TV

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova – January 31, 2014) The scandal surrounding the independent Dozhd TV channel has so far progressed in a predictable and chilling fashion: Media organization does something that many people find to be tactless and/or offensive, said people express their dismay, the media organization apologizes… and then surrealism begins to take over. In case […]

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Russian TV Promoting ‘Permanent Hysteria’ about Ukraine, Commentator Says

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 29, 2014) Any Russian with access to the Internet can get some idea of the dizzying and kaleidoscopic developments in Ukraine, but Russians who rely on government-controlled television are being fed a more or less constant diet of propaganda designed to promote “permanent hysteria” about that country, according to a “Novaya […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Prosecutors Check TV Channel Over WWII Poll

St. Petersburg

MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti) – Staff of an online TV station in Russia face a threat of up to two years in prison after prosecutors announced an “extremism” investigation Thursday into an opinion poll concerning World War II. The liberal Dozhd (“Rain”) channel triggered the ire of conservatives by asking on its website whether the Soviet Union should have […]

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Legal Online Video Has Inroads in Russia

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eradzh Nidoev – January 29, 2014) While online video streaming in the U.S. has shown that the Internet can be effectively monetized by film and television, the fear of piracy in Russia has limited the spread of such services here. Only now, a few companies are taking the plunge and offering online streaming services, and […]

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NEWSLINK: Putin dissolves state news agency, tightens grip on Russia media

File Photo of Little Russian Girl at Laptop Next to Globe

[Putin dissolves state news agency, tightens grip on Russia media – Reuters – Timothy Heritage – December 9 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/09/us-russia-media-idUSBRE9B80I120131209] Reuters covers Russia President Vladimir Putin’s decision to dissolve RIA Novosti and absorb its operations into new entity called Rossiya Segodnya, with a mission of promoting Russia abroad: President Vladimir Putin tightened his control over Russia’s media on Monday by […]

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Senator McCain invited to speak live on Rossiya 1 television

John McCain file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 15, 2013) Russian Journalist Vladimir Solovyov has invited U.S. Republican Senator John McCain to speak live in his evening program on Rossiya 1 television. “On behalf of the radio and television holding VGTRK, I invite Senator John McCain to speak live in the Sunday Evening program,” Solovyov wrote in his Twitter blog. Solovyov said later on […]

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TV determines perspective, if not outcome, of mayoral race

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Mark Teeter, special to RBTH – Mark H. Teeter teaches English and Russian-American relations in Moscow. He blogs daily for ‘Moscow TV Tonite’ on Facebook – September 11, 2013) Were you surprised by the results of the Moscow mayor election? The answer for Muscovites may depend on what media they consume. The unexpectedly […]

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Current Moscow TV programming

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2013 Subject: Current Moscow TV programming From: “Mark H. Teeter” in Moscow <markhteeter@gmail.com> FYI: After a nice run with the TV column “TeleMost” for the Moscow News over 2010-11 (archived at http://www.themoscownews.com/col_archive/index_7.html), I began posting daily previews/reviews of selected current Moscow TV programming last year on Facebook, where the response from my modest-sized Friends list has been […]

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Televised Mayoral Debates Go Unnoticed

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 6, 2013) Televised debates between the Moscow mayoral candidates did not stir much interest among audiences, with only half a percent of residents watching the most popular round of debates on Aug. 16. Sociologists attributed weak interest to acting Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s refusal to participate, Kommersant reported. A total of eleven debates have been […]

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Russian Pundits Say Navalny’s Pull Out From Election Debates Is Non-Fatal Error

Alexei Navalny file photo

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, August 18, 2013) The decision of Moscow mayoral candidate Aleksey Navalnyy to not take part in debates on the Moskva Doveriye TV channel and the Moskva FM radio station can be described as a certain mistake, however he can use the time he saves to maximize contacts with voters on subjects that suit him, political analysts […]

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Navalny Won’t Participate in Future Debates

Alexei Navalny file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 19, 2013) Opposition blogger Alexei Navalny has announced that he will not participate in the next rounds of mayoral debates, both televised and on the radio. The Navalny campaign criticized the decision by television channel Moskva-Doverie to air the debate at 8 a.m., Interfax reported. Last week Navalny, the RPR-Parnas candidate, participated in three […]

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RIA Novosti: Most Russians Still Trust TV News More Than Internet – Poll

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RIA Novosti – August 13, 2013) The share of Russians who trust the TV is almost three times greater than of those who regard the internet as a trustworthy source of information, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 13 August, quoting the latest opinion poll from VTsIOM, the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre. Asked which source they would […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Interview of the President by Jay Leno, The Tonight Show [excerpt re Russia]

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(The White House – Office of the Press Secretary – NBC Studios – Burbank, California – August 7, 2013) For Immediate Release Q    Now, were you surprised that Russia granted Snowden asylum? THE PRESIDENT:  I was disappointed because even though we don’t have an extradition treaty with them, traditionally we have tried to respect if there’s a law-breaker or an […]

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Edward Snowden ‘In Safe Place With Friends’ – Russian Lawyer

Edward Snowden file photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, Aug. 2, 2013) Edward Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking classified information on US surveillance programs and who was granted temporary asylum Thursday by Russia, has decided where he is going to live and is in a safe place with friends, a Russian lawyer who helped him with his asylum bid said […]

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Russians Still Get News From TV But Trust It Much Less – Poll

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RIA Novosti – July 8, 2013) Internet still trails far behind television as the main source of news for the people of Russia but their trust in TV reporting has decreased quite significantly in recent years, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 8 July, quoting the findings of the latest Levada Centre poll. In the poll carried out […]

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NBC Debuts Horror-Reality Show ‘Siberia’ Online

Siberian Natural Scenery, with River, Trees, Hills

(RIA Novosti – WASHINGTON, June 26, 2013) NBC has debuted the first episode of its horror-reality TV show “Siberia” online, TV.com reports. The series, a faux-reality show which is in fact a scripted horror series, features a group of Americans arriving in Russia to shoot a “Survivor”-type program, in which they must survive the harsh Russian winter. Little do the […]

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NTV Yukos Film Fuels Campaign Against Khodorkovsky

Mikhail Khodorkovsky file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 25, 2013) The state controlled NTV channel has aired a documentary alleging that the Yukos founders, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, were involved in the killing of the mayor of Nefteyugansk in western Siberia in 1998. The film is seen by experts as part of a campaign to set the scene for the third criminal case […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Visit to Russia Today television channel

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Kremlin.ru – Moscow, June 11, 2013) Vladimir Putin visited the new Russia Today broadcasting centre and met with the channel’s leadership and correspondents. The President toured the production control room, the sound editing booth, the English, Spanish and Arabic desks, and a visual effects studio. Russia Today is a Russian international multilingual media company, which comprises five 24-hour television channels: […]

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Turkish Turmoil Adds Unpredictability to Putin’s Creeping Coup

Turkey map

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 109 – Pavel K. Baev – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – June 10, 2013) The explosion of public protests in Istanbul makes a strong but ambivalent impression on the development of the vacillating political crisis in Russia; the state-controlled Russian television channels prefer to give them minimal and unsympathetic coverage, focusing instead on the flooding […]

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Russian Public TV denies canceling programme over Putin divorce jokes

Vladimir Putin and Lydumila Putin file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, June 8, 2013) Russian Public TV is not planning to cancel its Social Network programme, the next episode will air on 10 June. The channel’s press service told Interfax on Saturday (8 June) that the 7 June edition of the programme was not aired for technical reasons. “No-one is closing the programme, it will continue to run. […]

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Larry King (predictably) slated for joining RT

Larry King file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris – May 31, 2013) And so it starts. The articles slating US talk show icon Larry King for agreeing to do a series of shows for the Kremlin-sponsored RT (nee Russia Today) have begun to flow, full of the predictable bile and vitriol. Hey, Larry King: Have You Ever Watched Russia Today? […]

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Fresh US-Russian Translation Examines TV Attitudes

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – May 30, 2013) Russian television has often been labeled a Kremlin propaganda tool by its critics, with the intelligence of many who take it at face value being disdained by its opponents, unlike those who rely on the internet. But an American professor, whose book on Russian TV influence was recently translated […]

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Russia’s New Public TV Now Available Worldwide Online – Boss

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RIA Novosti – May 28, 2013) Russia’s Public TV (OTR), a new public service broadcaster launched on 19 May, is now broadcasting online and can be watched worldwide, Anatoliy Lysenko, the channel’s general director, told Russian state-owned RIA Novosti news agency on 28 May. Earlier, the channel’s internet broadcast was only available to IP addresses in Russia. As of 1700 […]

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Russian pundits dismiss first day of Public TV as ‘dull’, ‘old-fashioned’

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(Interfax – May 20, 2013) The first day of broadcast of the Russian Public TV (OTR), which was launched on 19 May, has received extensive feedback from pundits and journalists. The channel’s vague prospects and the coverage of non-topical issues have become the main points of criticism. “The project envisages the appearance of a discussion platform. But to make it […]

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Russia’s new ‘Public TV’ channel has a Soviet feel

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – May 20, 2013) You may have never watched Soviet television in the 1980s, but if you’re curious and would like to get a flavor, tune in to the newly launched Public TV channel. Across the political spectrum, commentators agree that many of the Russian government’s initiatives over the past […]

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Russians Not Ready To Sponsor First Public Service TV Channel – Poll

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RIA Novosti – May 16, 2013) Russian Public TV (OTR) programme director Stanislav Arkhipov has said that the television channel, which is set to launch on 19 May, will concentrate on news but will try to avoid emphasis on “know-it-all Moscow”, Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported on 16 May. According to the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), 50 per cent […]

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Game of clones: Why ‘Game of Thrones’ is a lot like Russian politics ­ except not really

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – May 6, 2013) Anna Arutunyan is a correspondent and editor at themoscownews.com When, over the long weekend, I sat down to watch “Game of Thrones,” a fantasy series set in a mythical realm where seven houses ruthlessly vie for supreme power, I was prepared to draw parallels with Russian politics. At first, […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Answers to journalists’ questions following Direct Line

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) Moscow After the Direct Line programme, Vladimir Putin met with members of the media to answer their questions. QUESTION: Mr President, 85 questions, 85 answers, 85 people ­ this is quite a lot. And all the questions were important. But there were nearly 2.5 million people who asked questions. Will all these questions be organised […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Direct Line with Vladimir Putin

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) (transcript continued) Moscow KIRILL KLEYMENOV: Thank you, Novoshakhtinsky. Thank you, Primorye. Let’s give the opportunity to ask a question to… MARIA SITTEL: Just one second. On the topic of adoption, I have a question from Marina from Vladivostok. Mr President, is it possible to look into the legislative aspects of letting the adopted children access […]

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[TRANSCRIPT:] Direct Line with Vladimir Putin

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) Moscow Direct Line with Vladimir Putin was broadcast live on Channel One, Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 TV networks and Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii radio stations. During the programme, the President answered more than 85 questions from Russians on the most pressing social and political issues. The total duration of the programme was 4 hours […]

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The King’s Speech

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – April 26, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his own record with his longest ever annual Q&A meet the people press conference. In just under five hours the president attempted to answer as many of the more than 3m questions submitted by Russians on topics covering the gamut of issues. Widely ridiculed by western […]

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Russian liberal TV channel suspends opposition activist’s political talk show

Ksenia Sobchak file photo

(Interfax – April 22, 2013) The format of Russian TV presenter and opposition activist Kseniya Sobchak’s weekly political talk show “Gosdep-3”, aired on Internet and satellite Dozhd TV channel, will be changed, Interfax news agency reported on 22 April, quoting Dozhd managing director Natalya Sindeyeva. “The programme is by no means being closed. We are suspending it in order to […]

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TV Boss Interview Sparks Uproar

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 8, 2013) A controversial interview with Konstantin Ernst, general director of state-owned Channel One, has caused a scandal in social networks and the media, raising questions of press freedom and journalist ethics. The interview was taken in 2008 by Yevgeny Levkovich, who was a freelance correspondent for the Russian edition of Rolling Stone magazine. […]

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Documentary Series Shows ‘Hairs and Wrinkles’ of Opposition Leaders

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – April 8, 2013) Anti-Kremlin leader Alexei Navalny walks methodically past a crowd of protesters standing behind metal barricades on Bolotnaya Ploshchad, heading for a stage. Two baby-faced police officers step out of his way, blank expressions on their faces. “We’re with you,” a man in sunglasses says to Navalny. “Thanks,” Navalny answers […]

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Putin Inaugurates New Home for His ‘Pet’ Humor Show

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

(RIA Novosti, MOSCOW, April 2, 2013) ­ Russian President Vladimir Putin has attended the inauguration of a building that will host the Club of the Cheerful and Sharp-Witted, or the KVN, humor show in Moscow. The ceremony took place on Monday night at the former Havana cinema building, which has been remodeled with Putin’s backing to accommodate Russia’s most popular […]

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Political Satire Returns to Russian TV

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Dmitry Romendik, special to RBTH – March 21, 2013) In recent years, all Russian political satires have gradually shifted to the Internet, though experts say Russian TV audiences want to see more. “Yes, Mr. President,” a new political sitcom on one of Russia’s main television channels, generated immediate interest in the mass media. […]

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Russian Presidential Rights Council Calls for Denationalization of TV Channels

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(Interfax – Moscow, 13 March 2013) The Presidential Council for Human Rights has called for a reform to denationalize federal TV channels in the next few years because it believes that the level of the authorities’ influence on their information policy is blocking the formation of an appropriate picture of modern Russian society. “The Council considers it necessary to recommend […]

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Five New Statistics about Russia That Say More Than a Glance Might Suggest

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 1, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/03/window-on-eurasia-five-new-statistics.html) Five new statistics about Russia this past week ­ one about Muslims in the army, a second about the state of its roads, a third about the number of illegal migrants in the country, a fourth about Russian attitudes toward religious instruction in the schools, and a […]

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‘Optimistic’ Channel Gets a Sobering Makeover

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eradzh Nidoev – February 19, 2013) More than a year after the start of marches against allegedly rigged Duma elections, the burning caldron that was the Russian protest movement cooled to a gentle bubbling, while its participants went back to their usual temperate lives. Such a turn of events poses a problem for the Dozhd […]

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Pushkin’s Grandmother Brings Russian Poetry Back to Life

Map of Russia

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eradzh Nidoev – February 11, 2013) Unless you have traveled forward in time from the beginning of the 20th century, writing rhymes might not seem like the hippest thing to do. Such an old-fashioned skill probably won’t even get you a date. But this preconception is changing thanks to a group of young poets who […]

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