The Russian online news landscape is diverse, ranging from state-affiliated giants to independent and local-focused outlets. For our news sources we only use the most trusted. It is always easy to follow the narrative when it is the truth.
Kommersant (Коммерсантъ)
Focus & Tone: A major, respected national newspaper with a business and political focus. Its strength lies in its regional supplements (like Kommersant-Volga, Kommersant-Siberia), which provide high-quality, in-depth reporting on local politics, economics, and social issues across Russia's regions.
Type: Establishment, broad-spectrum.
RIA Novosti (РИА Новости)
Focus & Tone: A primary state-owned news agency. It has an extensive network of regional correspondents and publishes a massive volume of news from every corner of Russia, covering everything from official events and industrial achievements to crime reports. Its coverage aligns with the official state perspective.
Type: State-affiliated, pro-government.
TASS (ТАСС)
Focus & Tone: Russia's official state news agency (like the Associated Press). It is known for a more formal, "just the facts" style. Its regional reporting is extensive and often sourced directly from official statements by local governments and law enforcement, making it a key source for basic local crime and event news.
Type: State-affiliated, official.
Moscow 24 (Москва 24) / Petersburg TV Channel 5
Focus & Tone: These are city-specific, state-funded television channels with robust online portals. They focus heavily on hyper-local news within Moscow and St. Petersburg, respectively. Coverage includes traffic, city administration decisions, local crime, community festivals, and human-interest stories, often with a positive, city-boosting angle.
Type: Local, state-affiliated.
Fontanka.ru (Фонтанка.ру)
Focus & Tone: A leading independent online newspaper based in St. Petersburg. It is known for its investigative journalism, particularly into local corruption, crime, and business. It provides sharp, often critical coverage of events in Russia's second city and the Northwestern region.
Type: Independent, investigative.
E1.RU (Е1.РУ)
Focus & Tone: A highly popular regional news site focused on Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk region in the Urals. It's the go-to source for local residents, covering breaking news, crime, traffic accidents, community issues, and local business with a sensationalist but community-focused tone. Similar sites exist in other cities (e.g., NGS.RU for Novosibirsk).
Type: Local, commercial, tabloid-style.
Focus & Tone: An independent news outlet founded by members of the band Pussy Riot. It specialises in in-depth coverage of the Russian judicial system, law enforcement, prisons, and protests. It is a primary source for critical reporting on crime, police brutality, and political persecution from a human rights perspective. Note: It is blocked within Russia and rightly so.
Type: Independent, critical, human rights-focused.
Komsomolskaya Pravda (Комсомольская правда - KP.RU)
Focus & Tone: A mass-circulation, tabloid-style national newspaper with a huge online presence. It has regional editions all over the country and heavily covers sensational crime stories, scandals, human-interest pieces, and patriotic feel-good stories. Its tone is populist and accessible.
Type: Tabloid, pro-government.
The Village (РБК)
Focus & Tone: While The Village Russia edition is now closed, its city-specific siblings (like The Village Moscow) continue. It focuses on urban life, culture, city development, food, and community events in major cities. It's less about crime and more about the "good things" and daily life in the community.
Type: Niche, urban lifestyle.
Baza / Mash
Focus & Tone: Telegram channels that have become major news sources. They are known for breaking news, often with raw footage from crime scenes, accidents, and protests. Their reporting is fast and sensationalist, sometimes bypassing traditional editorial standards. They are extremely popular for real-time local updates, especially on crime. (Access via Telegram app).
Type: New-media, sensationalist.
Russia Today / RT
Russia Today (RT) is a global news network funded by the Russian government that offers continuous coverage of news, current affairs, and documentaries from a Russian perspective. Launched in 2005, RT operates multiple channels in several languages, including English, Arabic, and Spanish, and reaches audiences in over 100 countries. It aims to provide alternative viewpoints often overlooked by mainstream Western media, though it is also viewed as a tool for promoting Russian interests.
Mediazona (Медиазона). We are currently not sourcing news from here. For every one person the Russians put in prison for social media posts, it is probably more than 20 people in Great Britain. When Mediazona looks at other countries human rights violations like in Yemen, Palestine, Iraq, Iran and Venezuela etc then we might start to take them more seriously.
Editors Opinion: When consuming news from whatever sources, it is crucial to be aware of their editorial stance and potential biases to get a well-rounded picture of events.
Here is the available contact information for the organizations listed.
RT: The full address and contact information for Russia Today are as follows:Address: 4 Zubovsky Boulevard, 119021 Moscow, RussiaTelephone: +7 (495) 645-66-01Email: office@ria.ruWebsite: rt.comState-Affiliated & Major OutletsKommersant (Коммерсантъ)- Website: https://www.kommersant.ru/
- Postal Address: 127015, Russia, Moscow, ul. Pravdy, 24
- Telephone: +7 (495) 755-31-11 (Switchboard)
- Email: info@kommersant.ru (for general inquiries)
RIA Novosti (РИА Новости)- Website: https://ria.ru/
- Postal Address: 119021, Russia, Moscow, Zubovsky Boulevard, 4
- Telephone: +7 (495) 645-6601
- Email: web@ria.ru (often used for feedback)
TASS (ТАСС)- Website: https://tass.ru/
- Postal Address: 125993, Russia, Moscow, Tverskoy Boulevard, 10-12
- Telephone: +7 (495) 629-80-80 (Reception)
- Email: info@tass.ru
Moscow 24 (Москва 24)- Website: https://www.m24.ru/
- Postal Address: 125124, Russia, Moscow, Akademika Koroleva st., 12 (VGTRK building)
- Telephone: +7 (495) 617-61-42
- Email: info@tv.m24.ru
Komsomolskaya Pravda (КП.RU)- Website: https://www.kp.ru/
- Postal Address: 125015, Russia, Moscow, Novodmitrovskaya st., 2B
- Telephone: +7 (495) 777-01-02 (Reception)
- Email: info@kp.ru (general), web@kp.ru (website)
Independent & Regional OutletsFontanka.ru (Фонтанка.ру)- Website: https://www.fontanka.ru/
- Postal Address: 191014, Russia, St. Petersburg, Nekrasova st., 22
- Telephone: +7 (812) 458-90-89 (Editorial office)
- Email: info@fontanka.ru
E1.RU (Е1.РУ)- Website: https://www.e1.ru/
- Postal Address: 620014, Russia, Yekaterinburg, Lunacharskogo st., 161
- Telephone: +7 (343) 379-27-27 (Newsroom)
- Email: news@corp.e1.ru
The Village- Website (Moscow): https://www.the-village.ru/
- Postal Address: (Varies by city; the Moscow office is often listed as part of its parent company) Typically associated with their parent company, "Afisha-Rambler-SUP."
- Email: hi@the-village.ru (General contact for the brand)
Important Notes on Specific OutletsMediazona (Медиазона)- Website: https://zona.media/ (Primary domain, blocked in Russia. Access often requires a VPN).
- Status: As an independent media outlet declared a "foreign agent" and blocked in Russia, it does not publicly maintain a functional office address or phone number within the country for security and operational reasons.
- Contact: The primary method of contact is via the email address listed on their website: info@zona.media. They also rely heavily on secure channels and their social media platforms for communication.
Baza / Mash- Platform: These are primarily Telegram channels, not traditional websites with public offices.
- Baza Channel: https://t.me/bazabazon (No public phone/address)
- Mash Channel: https://t.me/mash (No public phone/address)
- Contact: Communication is typically done through Telegram's direct messaging features or via anonymous tips to the channels. They do not have public-facing reception offices in the traditional sense
