The Press in Russia

Newspapers and magazines play a great and very important role in the life of a modern man.
Together with television and radio, the press is a very important means of mass media. The main aim of the press is keeping people informed on all topical issues of the day.
Most newspapers appear daily, some of them come out weekly. As for the magazines, they are monthly as a rule.

Newspapers are the second most popular media in Russia, after television. Local newspapers are more popular than national ones, with 27% of Russians consulting local newspapers routinely and 40% reading them occasionally. For national newspapers, the corresponding figures are 18% and 38%, respectively.
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Тhe first newspaper printed in Russia
The Vedomosti was the first newspaper printed in Russia. It was established by Peter the Great's ukase dated 16 December 1702. The first issue appeared on 2 January 1703. Following along the lines of the 17th-century handwritten Kuranty, Peter's newspaper contained little other than reports of military victories and diplomatic relations

Russia has a very wide range of print media. There are over 400 daily newspapers, covering every field, and offering all kinds of perspectives. The total number of newspapers in Russia is 8,978, and they have a total annual circulation of 8.2 billion copies. There are also 6,698 magazines and periodicals with a total annual circulation of 1.6 billion copies

Russia has the largest number of newspaper journalists in the world (102,300), followed by China (82,849) and the United States (54,134), according to statistics published by UNESCO in 2005.
Russia
Chine
USA

According to figures from the National Circulation Service agency, the most popular newspaper is Argumenty i Fakty which has a circulation of 2.9 million. It is followed by Weekly Life, TV Guide (1.2 million)

Argumenty i Fakty
It was founded in 1978 by the Russian organisation "Knowledge«. In 1980 AiF was transformed into a weekly but was available only by subscription. After 1985, it was one of the leading publications in the Glasnost campaign. AiF was listed in the Guinness Book of Records with the largest circulation of any weekly publication.In 1990 it had a print run of 33.5 million. As of 2008, the circulation was about 3 million copies, with about 8 million readers.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta
Rossiyskaya Gazeta is a Russian government daily newspaper of record which publishes the official decrees, statements and documents of state bodies. This includes the promulgation of newly approved laws, Presidential decrees, and Government orders. It was founded by a decree of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR and its first issue appeared on 11 November 1990.

All newspapers cover the main topics of our life.They publish material about politics and different viewpoints on it. You can read interesting articles about economy and get acquainted with a lot of ideas of what people are to do if they want to live better. Some papers carry articles on science, engineering, medicine, and education.

Many newspapers have publications about international events, about the life of the people in all parts of the world. ". Sometimes you can read some extraordinary and sensational articles. Sportsmen and sports fans can find comments on the most exciting sporting events and matches.

The last pages of any newspaper are given, as a rule, to those readers who need some practical advice in gardening, cooking, growing flowers, etc. You can also find here some funny stories, puzzles, crosswords and all that sort of thing that may entertain you.

Most of the newspapers can boast their independence, their individual styles, their peculiarities. Usually there are four or eight pages in a newspaper, but some newspapers have a twelve or sixteen pages. There is no need to read all of the articles.

Today Russia can be proud of the variety of newspapers circulating throughout the country. One can find newspapers of all kinds: national and local, official and private, quality and popular, newspapers issued for children, teenagers

It is not an easy thing to issue a newspaper. The editor-in-chief is at the head of every newspaper. He governs the editional board, every member of which is responsible for his own section in the paper. The editional board usually writes editorials for the newspaper that deals with the topical issues of the day. As for the articles of other columns they are written by the reporters or by the special correspondents who work for this newspaper.