Rossiya Segodnya
Rossiya Segodnya (Россия Сегодня), literally translated as “Russia Today,” is a state-owned news agency created in 2013, inheriting the operations of the now-defunct RIA Novosti. Despite its name, it is not affiliated with RT, the international television broadcaster also funded by the Russian government.
Rossiya Segodnya oversees a sprawling portfolio of news portals, many of which are tailored to international audiences. Chief among them is Sputnik News, which operates websites in over a dozen languages, alongside RIA News, the agency’s flagship portal. The group also runs outlets with targeted geopolitical missions, such as Baltnews (aimed at audiences in the Baltic states), Ukraina and RIA Novosti Crimea, both designed to shape narratives around contested Ukrainian territories. In addition, Rossiya Segodnya maintains specialized platforms covering niche sectors including real estate, education, and finance.
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
Ownership and governance
Rossiya Segodnya was established by presidential decree in December 2013, replacing RIA Novosti as part of a Kremlin strategy to consolidate and strengthen its digital news and international propaganda apparatus. The organization remains fully state-owned and operates under the direct authority of the Russian presidency.
The company’s management is appointed for its political reliability and loyalty to the Kremlin. Since its inception, Dmitry Kiselyov has served as the director-general. Widely seen as an unofficial spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin, Kiselyov is a controversial figure whose public statements, particularly his inflammatory remarks about the LGBT community and the United States, have attracted sustained criticism both domestically and abroad. As of mid-2025, Kiselyov continues to head the agency, despite persistent calls from Western governments and advocacy groups for sanctions against him personally.
Source of funding and budget
Rossiya Segodnya is one of the most generously financed of Russia’s state-run media holdings. Its budget is drawn almost entirely from federal subsidies.
In 2020, the agency received approximately RUB 6.7bn (around US$ 93m). In 2021, its subsidy rose to RUB 7.6bn. In 2022, the figure climbed further to RUB 9.3bn, according to media reports.
Independent Russian media monitoring groups reported that in 2023–2024, despite Russia’s war expenditures, Rossiya Segodnya remained a funding priority, receiving allocations among the top tier of state-owned broadcasters. In 2023, the agency’s financing remained more or less unchanged at RUB 9.4 billion, according to Debunk.
Preliminary budget data for 2025–2026 indicate that allocations will remain stable or increase modestly, ensuring the agency’s financial security at a time when other state entities have faced cutbacks.
Editorial independence
Rossiya Segodnya functions explicitly as a propaganda arm of the Kremlin. Its editorial line is crafted to advance Russian state interests, promote Moscow’s foreign policy positions, and discredit countries, institutions, and groups deemed hostile to the regime.
A wide body of evidence, from academic research to reports by international NGOs, underscores the agency’s role in orchestrating Kremlin propaganda campaigns. Its foreign-language portals, particularly Sputnik, have been repeatedly cited by European Union institutions and NATO for spreading false or misleading content, including narratives designed to sow division in Western democracies.
In the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, Kiselyov and Rossiya Segodnya have been described by Ukrainian and Western security agencies as threats to national and regional security. The EU and several Western governments have banned Sputnik content since 2022, a prohibition that has continued into 2025, limiting the group’s visibility in Europe but not curbing its influence in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where it has ramped up operations.
To date, no domestic legislation and no independent oversight mechanisms exist to safeguard editorial independence at Rossiya Segodnya. Its coverage remains wholly aligned with Kremlin directives, with no institutional checks on content, governance, or accountability.
August 2025