Newspapers from Russia and Russian media to read online

The Russian press is read mostly in Russian: dailies such as Kommersant, Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta, portals such as RBK and Lenta.ru, the TASS and RIA Novosti agencies, federal TV channels, and independent outlets based outside Russia, all available on websites and apps.

From Peter the Great's Vedomosti to digital media

Russia's first printed gazette, Vedomosti, appeared in 1703 on the orders of Peter the Great. Under the Soviet Union, Pravda and Izvestia, both founded in 1917, dominated a media landscape controlled by the party, until the abrupt opening of the 1990s.

Which national dailies to read in Moscow?

Kommersant, relaunched in 1989, and Vedomosti target managers and the business world. Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the government's official paper that publishes laws and decrees, follow a line close to the authorities. Moskovski Komsomolets remains a widely read popular daily in the capital.

Russian, Tatar, Bashkir: the languages of publication

The overwhelming majority of titles appear in Russian, in the Cyrillic alphabet. Republics such as Tatarstan and Bashkortostan also have newspapers and channels in regional languages, often publicly owned, while a handful of newsrooms offer English versions of their reporting.

St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and the regional press

Fontanka, based in St Petersburg, is the best-known example of a regional outlet followed far beyond its home city. From Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, regional governments often fund their own newspapers and TV stations, which shapes the editorial tone of those outlets.

Lenta.ru, RBK and the portals read on mobile

Lenta.ru, created in the late 1990s, and the business group RBK rank among the most visited news sites. The aggregators run by Russian search engines and Telegram channels also play a central role in how news spreads from day to day.

TASS and RIA Novosti, two state news agencies

TASS, heir to the Soviet agency, and RIA Novosti, part of the state-owned Rossiya Segodnya group since 2013, supply most newsrooms with wire copy. Their feeds give Moscow's official position, which is worth knowing but needs to be put in perspective.

Pervy Kanal, Rossiya 1 and public radio

Television remains the main source of news for many Russians. Pervy Kanal, Rossiya 1 from the state broadcaster VGTRK and NTV air news bulletins and political talk shows, while Radio Rossii and Vesti FM cover current affairs on the radio.

Meduza, Dozhd and newsrooms working outside Russia

Since 2022, several independent newsrooms have operated from abroad: Meduza from Riga and the Dozhd channel from the European Union. Russian speakers in Germany, Latvia and Israel follow them, alongside other titles listed on our European press online page.

Business, energy and football: the specialist titles

For markets, energy and companies, Kommersant, Vedomosti and RBK form the leading trio. On the sports side, Sport-Express and Sovetsky Sport cover Russian football, KHL ice hockey and figure skating, three disciplines with a very large following across the country.

A highly restrictive legal framework for journalists

Since 2022, laws on so-called false information about the army and the foreign agent designation have tightly constrained the work of newsrooms. Novaya Gazeta suspended publication and the radio station Ekho Moskvy was shut down that same year, removing two historic voices.

Reading in Russian behind paywalls and blocks

Some business titles such as Vedomosti keep part of their articles for subscribers. In the European Union, state media such as RT have been blocked since 2022, and the press of neighbouring countries, like the German press and its Moscow correspondents, offers an outside view.

How do you cross-check news coming out of Russia?

Always compare an official outlet such as TASS, a business title such as Kommersant and an exiled newsroom such as Meduza. Foreign correspondents and the Turkish press, a Black Sea neighbour sometimes add a third perspective on regional issues and conflicts.

Following Russian news from abroad

1. Pick a business daily such as Kommersant and a general portal such as Lenta.ru to cover both the economy and everyday news.
2. Add the TASS or RIA Novosti feed to see the Kremlin's official position on each story.
3. Follow an independent newsroom in exile at the same time, for example Meduza, which also publishes an English newsletter.
4. Install a machine translation tool in your browser if you do not read Cyrillic fluently.
5. Watch the Rossiya 1 or Pervy Kanal evening news to gauge the message delivered to the general public.
6. Always check the date, author and dateline, because the same videos often circulate out of context on Telegram.

Access to Russian newspapers and subscriptions

Practical pointers on the Russian press

• Main language: Russian in Cyrillic, with a few English editions
• Agencies: TASS and RIA Novosti (Rossiya Segodnya group)
• Public television: the VGTRK group, Rossiya 1 channel
• Leading dailies: Kommersant, Izvestia, Rossiyskaya Gazeta
• Business: Vedomosti and RBK; sport: Sport-Express
• Moscow time zone: UTC+3, in a country that spans eleven
• Subscription currency: Russian rouble

Traps when reading news from Russia

• Treating a TASS dispatch as a neutral source when it expresses the official position of the Russian state.
• Sharing a screenshot attributed to a well-known Russian outlet without checking that it actually appears on its website.
• Confusing newsrooms based in Riga or elsewhere in Europe with the press that is allowed to publish inside Russia.
• Passing on a Telegram video presented as recent when it actually dates from an earlier conflict or event.
• Using unofficial mirror sites to get around a block, at the risk of reading altered content.

Questions about the Russian press online