''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes itself now as a "national newspaper" of Russia. The word ''

izvestiya ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes i ...

'' in Russian means "bring news" or "tidings", "

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

" (an official messenger bringing news), derived from the verb ''izveshchat'' ("to inform", "to notify").

Origin

The newspaper began as the ''News of the

Petrograd Soviet The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (russian: Петроградский совет рабочих и солдатских депутатов, ''Petrogradskiy soviet rabochikh i soldatskikh deputatov'') was a city council of P ...

of Workers Deputies'' on in Petrograd. Initially, the paper expressed Menshevik and

Socialist-Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...

views. In August 1917, it took the title ''News of the Central Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies''. By October 1917 it became ''News of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Working and Military Deputies'', and was eventually re-titled ''News of the Soviets of People's Deputies''. After the Second All-Union Congress of Soviets, ''Izvestia'' became an official newspaper of the Soviet government (Central Executive Committee of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and

Sovnarkom The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...

History

1917–1991

During the Soviet period, while ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the ...

'' served as the official mouthpiece of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

, ''Izvestia'' expressed the official views of the Soviet government as published by the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Izvestia Trophy ice hockey tournament was named after the newspaper between 1969 and 1996. ''

Nedelya ''Nedelya'' was a Russian liberal-Narodnik political and literary newspaper, published in Saint Petersburg from 1866 to 1901. Nedelya was the weekend supplement of the soviet newspaper ''Izvestia''. External links "Nedelya" digital archives in " ...

'' 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 Vladimir Olegovich Potanin (russian: Владимир Олегович Потанин; born 3 January 1961) is a Russian billionaire businessman. He acquired his wealth notably through the controversial loans-for-shares program in Russia in ...

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 Gazprom-Media (russian: ОАО Газпром-Медиа) is the largest Russian media holding. Gazprom-Media was established in January 1998 as a subsidiary of the 1997 established Gazprom Media Holdings. On its founding in 1997, Gazprom Media ...

holding. According to the allegations of the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...

, 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 The Beslan school siege (also referred to as the Beslan school hostage crisis or the Beslan massacre) was a terrorist attack that started on 1 September 2004, lasted three days, involved the imprisonment of more than 1,100 people as hostages ( ...

. 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 Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

's political cartoonist. In 2008, Gazprom Media sold ''Izvestia'' to

National Media Group Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva (russian: Алина Маратовна Кабаева, ; tt-Cyrl, Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager and retired individual Rhythmic gym ...

References

External links

Official ''Izvestia'' website
* *
English translations of ''Izvestia'' articles at nonprofit WorldMeets.US

"Izvestia" digital archives in "Newspapers on the web and beyond"
the digital resource of the National Library of Russia {{DEFAULTSORT:Izvestia Newspapers published in the Soviet Union Russian-language newspapers published in Russia Eastern Bloc mass media Gazprom subsidiaries Publications established in 1917 1917 establishments in Russia Russian-language newspapers Newspapers published in the Russian Empire Newspapers published in Russia Mass media in Saint Petersburg Mass media in Moscow