Izvestia (p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in February 1917, Izvestia, which covered foreign relations, was the organ of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, disseminating official state propaganda.
The word in Russian means "bring news" or "tidings", "herald" (an official messenger bringing news), derived from the verb izveshchat ("to inform", "to notify").
History
1917–1991
During the Soviet period, while
Pravda served as the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party,
Izvestia expressed the official views of the Soviet government as published by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Its full name was
Izvestija Sovjetov Narodnyh Djeputatov SSSR (in Russian,
Известия Советов народных депутатов СССР, the
Reports of Soviets of Peoples' Deputies of the USSR).
The Izvestia Trophy ice hockey tournament was named after the newspaper between 1969 and 1996.
Nedelya was the weekend supplement of Izvestia.
1992–present
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union,
Izvestia now describes itself as a "national newspaper" of Russia. The newspaper was owned by a vast holding company of
Vladimir Potanin which had close ties with the government. A controlling stake in
Izvestia was purchased by state-owned
Gazprom on 3 June 2005, and included in the
Gazprom Media holding. According to the allegations of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Raf Shakirov, editor-in-chief of
Izvestia, was forced to resign because the government officials did not like the paper's coverage of the Beslan school hostage crisis.
[ Attacks 2005: Europe and Central Asia. Committee to Protect Journalists. 16 February 2006.][ Russia, Media, Gazprom, Izvestia – JRL 6March 2005 ] Other sources informed that Potanin had asked him to leave for fear the Kremlin would be riled by the explicit photographs of the massacre published by
Izvestia. As of 2005, the circulation of
Izvestia was 240,967. Its 2007 circulation certified by TNS Gallup Media was 371,000 copies.
Until his death on 1 October 2008, the chief artist was
Boris Yefimov, the centenarian illustrator who had worked as
Joseph Stalin's political cartoonist.
In 2008, Gazprom Media sold Izvestia to National Media Group.[ – About Us National Media Group]
In May 2024, the European Union accused the newspaper of spreading propaganda and placed it on its sanctions list.
See also
-
Izvestia Moskovskogo Soveta Rabochikh Deputatov
-
Mass media in Russia
-
Pravda
Further reading
-
Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers (1980) pp 170–76
External links
