Interfax (russian: Интерфакс) is a
Russian news agency
A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswi ...
. The agency is owned by Interfax News Agency
joint-stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders a ...
and is headquartered in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.
History
As the first non-governmental channel of political and economic information about the USSR, Interfax was formed in September 1989, during
Mikhail Gorbachev’s ''
perestroika and
glasnost'' period, by
Mikhail Komissar and his colleagues from
international broadcasting
International broadcasting, in a limited extent, began during World War I, when German and British stations broadcast press communiqués using Morse code. With the severing of Germany's undersea cables, the wireless telegraph station in Nauen was ...
station '
Radio Moscow', a part of Soviet
Gosteleradio
The State Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting of the Soviet Union (Russian: Государственный комитет СССР по телевидению и радиовещанию) commonly known as Gosteleradio of the USSR (Го ...
system. Interfax originally used
fax machines for text transmission, hence the company name.
Михаил Комиссар: задача «Интерфакса» — быть номером один
'. — TV-channel ' Russia-24', 9 September 2009.
By 1990, Interfax had 100 subscribers and the agency quickly began to attract the attention of conservatives within the government, who attempted to shut down the agency. This saw the agency gain prominence in major western media, a position strengthened by its coverage of the
1991 August Putsch
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
and the
collapse of the Soviet Union.
[Корпоративный бюллетень ]
Ваш Интерфакс
. — #10/2009.
![Interfax-presscentreMoscow2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Interfax-presscentreMoscow2016.jpg)
Interfax continued to expand in the 1990s, adding
subsidiary agencies for
financial,
metallurgical,
oil and gas markets, information products on
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
,
business law,
transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipel ...
,
telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than tha ...
,
and the market data terminal 'EFiR information system' for
stock market players to its general news coverage.
About
'. — Official site of EFiR system. Interfax also opened subsidiaries across the
post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
, first in Ukraine (1992), Belarus (1993) and Kazakhstan (1996), and later in Azerbaijan (2002),
Our history
'. — Official site of Interfax Group. during this time bringing the number of local offices across the
regions of Russian Federation to 50.
Михаил Комиссар: «Надеюсь, в России установится баланс между либеральным и государственным»
'. — Politcom.ru, 1 September 2006.
To promote its information products abroad, Interfax opened its first company outside the former USSR in 1991, when 'Interfax America' was opened in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
, CO. This was followed by the opening of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-based 'Interfax Europe Ltd.' (1992), 'Interfax Germany GmbH', based in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...
(1993), and the 'Interfax News Service Ltd.' in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
(1998).
In 2004, Interfax created the 'SPARK system' designed to check
business agents in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan,
Информация по юридическим лицам РФ, Украины и Казахстана
'. — Official site of Interfax Group. Interfax also launched
media monitoring services through its 'SCAN system'.
About
'. — Official site of United Credit Bureau. In 2011, the company added London-based project, 'Interfax Global Energy', which reports on the
energy markets worldwide.
Interfax Global Energy
'. — Official site of Interfax Global Energy.
Partnerships
In 1999, Interfax launched a
rating agency
A credit rating agency (CRA, also called a ratings service) is a company that assigns credit ratings, which rate a debtor's ability to pay back debt by making timely principal and interest payments and the likelihood of default. An agency may ra ...
in partnership with
Moody's Investors Service to provide rating services on the
Russian market
The economy of Russia has gradually transformed from a planned economy into a mixed market-oriented economy.
—Rosefielde, Steven, and Natalia Vennikova. “Fiscal Federalism in Russia: A Critique of the OECD Proposals.” Cambridge Journa ...
.
SPARK system became the basis for a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
with
Dun & Bradstreet, a provider of
business credit information and
credit report
:''This article deals with the general concept of the term credit history. For detailed information about the same topic in the United States, see Credit score in the United States.''
A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repa ...
s.
Информация по компаниям всего мира
'. — Official site of Interfax Group. Also in 1999, Interfax and Reuters signed a cooperation agreement.
Since 2001, Interfax has collaborated with
Business Wire
Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers ...
, which distributes
corporate regulatory disclosures and
press releases.
Interfax also offers consumer
credit report
:''This article deals with the general concept of the term credit history. For detailed information about the same topic in the United States, see Credit score in the United States.''
A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repa ...
s via a joint venture with
Experian and
Sberbank of Russia.
About
'. — Official site of United Credit Bureau.
Management
'Interfax Group'
senior management includes
Mikhail Komissar as
Chairman of the Board and
CEO, Vladimir Gerasimov,
Executive Director
Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization.
The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, thoug ...
and General Director of Financial and Business Information Service, Georgy Gulia, Executive Director of General Information Service.
Management
'. — Official site of Interfax Group.
Content
Interfax provides general and political news, business
credit information, industry analysis,
market data and
business solutions for
risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...
, compliance and
credit
Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a de ...
management. The company employs over 1,000 staff in over 70 bureaus worldwide and publishes over 3,000 stories each day.
Dissemination
Interfax controls around 50% of the Russian
corporate data market.
[Информационно-справочные системы](_blank)
. - RBC
RBC may refer to:
Media and arts
* ''RBK Daily'', a general business newspaper published in Moscow, Russia.
* RBK Group, a large Russian media group
* RBC Ministries, now Our Daily Bread Ministries, a Christian media outlet in Grand Rapdis, Mich ...
.Marketing. Subscription-based business and
financial intelligence contribute to the bulk of the revenues generated by Interfax with
IT-analytical business solutions accounting for approximately 75% of revenue.
[Комиссар М. ]
Успеть первыми
'. - Корпоративный бюллетень «Ваш Интерфакс», #16/2014.
Interfax's
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
comprises more than 30 news producing and marketing companies 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-eigh ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
(
Interfax-Ukraine
The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company pub ...
),
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...
,
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
and
China.
[Гавшина О., Товкайло М. ]
Из списка подлежащих раскрытию бенефициаров сделали исключения
'. — Vedomosti
''Vedomosti'' ( rus, Ведомости, p=ˈvʲedəməsʲtʲɪ, ) is a Russian-language business daily newspaper published in Moscow.
History
''Vedomosti'' was founded in 1999 as a joint venture between Dow Jones, who publishes ''The Wall Str ...
, January 19, 2012.
Awards
In 2015, Interfax was awarded the Runet Prize in the category "Culture, Media and Mass Communications".
In 2016, Interfax was awarded the Runet Prize in the category “Economy, Business and Investment".
References
Literature
* Boyd-Barrett O.
Interfax: Breaking Into Global News'. — Scotforth Books, 2014. — p. 184. —
* Shrivastava K. ''News Agencies: From Pigeon to Internet''. — Sterling Publishers Private Limited, 2007. — p. 208. —
* Герасимов В., Ромов Р., Новиков А., Бондаренко С., Бабиченко С.
Технология новостей от Интерфакса' / Под ред. Ю. Погорелого. — Moscow: Аспект Пресс, 2011. — 160 с. —
External links
*
* , official site
* Кондратьев В.
Героические страницы истории «Интерфакса»'. —
NTV TV-channel, 9 September 2009.
*
20 лет «Интерфаксу»'. —
Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow (russian: links=no, Эхо Москвы, translit=Ekho Moskvy) was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local r ...
radio, 9 September 2009.
{{Authority control
News agencies based in Russia
Russian news websites
Mass media in Moscow
Eastern Bloc mass media
Mass media companies of the Soviet Union
1989 establishments in the Soviet Union
Companies established in 1989