Rossiya Segodnya (Росси́я сего́дня, meaning “Russia Today” in English) is a news agency that was created on and inherited the operation of the RIA Novosti news agency. It has no direct link with RT, the international television broadcaster run by the Russian government.
Rossiya Segodnya runs a portfolio of news portals, many of which are focused on foreign audiences. They include Sputnik News, which has news sites in a dozen of languages, RIA News, the agency’s main news portal, news websites targeting countries where Russia aims to achieve influence such as Baltnews (aimed at the Baltic countries), and Ukraina and RIA Novosti Crimea, as well as a few specialized websites covering topics such as real estate, education and financial news.
Media assets
News portals: Sputnik News, RIA Novosti, RIA Novosti Sport, RIA Rating, RIA Novosti Crimea, INOSMI, Baltnews Lithuania, Baltnews Latvia, Baltnews Estonia, Ukraina, Prime, Realty, Social Navigator, The Arctic, Russia Beyond the Headlines
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Rossiya Segodnya was established as a successor to the news agency RIA Novosti, which was shut down in 2013 as part of a larger strategy of the Kremlin to build a strong digital news operation. Rossiya Segodnya was created as a state-owned company through a presidential order. The company’s management is appointed based on loyalty to the Kremlin. Its head is Dmitry Kiselyov who is known as Putin’s unofficial spokesperson. Kiselyov’s comments that slammed gays and U.S. stirred numerous controversies during the past years.
Source of funding and budget
Rossiya Segodnya is almost entirely financed by the Federal Government, receiving one of the largest budget allocations among all state-run media. In 2020, it received a state subsidy worth some RUB 6.7bn (US$ 93m). The budget of Rossiya Segodnya increased to RUB 7.6bn in 2021 and further to RUB 9.3bn in 2022, according to media reports.
Editorial independence
Rossiya Segodnya is a propaganda organ of the Kremlin, its editorial coverage being designed solely to ensure promotion of the Russian government interests and to attack countries or groups that the Kremlin considers to be inimical. There are a vast amount of sources, including media reports, academic studies and NGO analyses, that describe Rossiya Segodnya as a leading media company in charge of Kremlin propaganda. During the war in Ukraine, Kiselyov was added to the list of people who pose a threat to Ukraine’s national security.
No domestic statute and no independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate Rossiya Segodnya’s editorial independence have been identified.
October 2023