The All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (Всероссийская государственная телевизионная и радиовещательная компания), known as VGTRK, is a state-run broadcast company that runs a portfolio of television and radio channels, including nationwide, regional and international ones. Key television channels include Russia-1, the main and most popular television channel in Russia, the all-news channel Russia-24, Russia-K specialized in cultural programming, Carousel (co-owned with Channel One) focused on children’s programs, and the international channel RTR Planeta. The broadcaster also runs five radio channels and a network of some 80 regional channels.
Media assets
Television: National- Russia-1 (Россия-1), Russia-24 (Россия-24), Russia-K (Россия-К), Carousel (Карусель), RTR-Planeta (РТР-планета); Region-focused: 90 regional TV channels (including Moscow 24); Euronews on Russian language (Euronews на Русском языке)
Radio: Radio Kultura, Radio Mayak, Radio Rossii, Radio Yunost, Vesti FM
News portal: Vesti.ru
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
VGTRK is a key propaganda machine in the service of the Kremlin. RTR Planeta, the VGTRK is a company fully owned by the federal government of Russia, as stated in media reports and academic studies.
Source of funding and budget
Most of VGTRK’s financing comes from the federal budget. In 2020, the budget proposal from the Russian Ministry of Finance for the state allocation planned for VGTRK was a total of RUB 24.2bn (US$ 336m). In 2022, VGTRK had revenue of RUB 23.5bn (US$ 379m), according to an MJRC report. The broadcaster had a loss of RUB 1.4bn (US$ 22.6m) the same year.
Between 2021 and 2024, VGTRK is to receive a total of RUB 107bn (US$ 1bn at the current prices in March 2022).
Editorial independence
VGTRK is a key propaganda machine in the service of the Kremlin. RTR Planeta, the international channel of the group, has stirred adverse reactions from many governments that accused the station of being a propaganda channel of the Russian government. The Lithuanian regulator in 2018 suspended the channel for “inciting discord” and “spreading biased information.” According to Russian experts and journalists VGTRK’s editorial coverage is shaped by orders coming directly from the Russian government. Former employees of the broadcaster who left their jobs described how Kremlin officials instructed the broadcaster’s management how to cover various events.
According to the Media and Journalism Research Center, VGTRK has no internal statute that establishes the editorial independence of its media outlets.
No internal statute and no independent assessment and oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of the VGTRK’s media outlets have been identified.
October 2023