''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily
broadsheet
A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...
newspaper in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. Founded in 1917, it was a
newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...
in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
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
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. Initially, the paper expressed
Menshevik
The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries.
The factions eme ...
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
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...
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 co ...
'' 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. A ...
, ''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
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, ''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
PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...
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 H ...
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 journa ...
, 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
Boris Yefimovich Yefimov (russian: Бори́с Ефи́мович Ефи́мов; ,The birth record of Boris Fridlyand (Boris Yefimov) in the metric book of the Kiev rabbinate for 1900 ( ЦГИАК Украины. Ф. 1164. Оп. 1. Д. 454. Л. ...
, 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 Secreta ...
'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 ...
Mass media in Russia
Television, magazines, and newspapers have all been operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. Even though the Constitution of Russia guarantees freedom ...
* ''
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 co ...
''
References
Further reading
* Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. ''The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers'' (1980) pp 170-76
National Library of Russia
The National Library of Russia (NLR, russian: Российская национальная библиотека}), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked amo ...