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, newswir ...

. The agency is owned by Interfax News Agency joint-stock company 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 Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...

’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 (Г� ...

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 and the

collapse 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 ...

.Корпоративный бюллетень
Ваш Интерфакс
�. — #10/2009. Interfax-presscentreMoscow2016

Interfax continued to expand in the 1990s, adding

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...

agencies for financial, metallurgical,

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...

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 people ...

, business law, transport,

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 that ...

, and the market data terminal 'EFiR information system' for

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, ...

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 Unit ...

, 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 it ...

(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 List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

(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 rat ...

in partnership with

Moody's Investors Service Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides internationa ...

to provide rating services on the Russian market. 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 acces ...

with Dun & Bradstreet, a provider of business credit information and credit reports.
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, which distributes corporate regulatory disclosures and press releases. Interfax also offers consumer credit reports 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 The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, Vladimir Gerasimov, Executive Director 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 environm ...

, compliance and credit 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
. - RBC.Marketing. Subscription-based business and

financial intelligence Financial intelligence (FININT) is the gathering of information about the financial affairs of entities of interest, to understand their nature and capabilities, and predict their intentions. Generally the term applies in the context of law enfo ...

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-ei ...

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 inva ...

(

Interfax-Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company publishes i ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

.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 ...

, 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 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