The evolution of Russian media
Abstract
In May of 2012, the official newspaper of the Communist Party in Russia celebrated its 100th anniversary of publication. Founded in St. Petersburg in 1912, Pravda prospered throughout most of the twentieth century, with a "print run of millions in its heyday." After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the publication was banned by Boris Yeltsin, only to be taken over and revived by the Russian Communist Central Party in 1997. (Heritage 2012) After this hundred-year history, Boris Komotsky, a senior member of the Communist Party with ties to Pravda, stated, "We are the only newspaper in Russia today that has not changed its form and content" (Heritage 2012). Refusal to adapt to the constantly evolving cultural climate of Russia is a bad business model, which is evidenced by the newspaper's constant stream of financial troubles and steadily declining readership. But despite its controversial mission statement and the questionable veracity of its content, Pravda is a publication that by nature of its distinct history embodies a uniquely Russian persona and perspective for its loyal readers.
Part of
Citation
Artifacts ; issue 08 (2013)
Rights
OpenAccess.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.