REGNUM News Agency is a Russian nationwide online news service disseminating news from Russia and abroad from its own correspondents, affiliate agencies and partners. REGNUM covers events in all regions of Russia as well as neighboring countries in Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus. REGNUM press centers are located in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Pskov, Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Kaluga, Yerevan (Armenia).

REGNUM News Agency
Company typeNews agency
IndustryNews media
Founded22 July 2002; 22 years ago (2002-07-22)
FoundersBoris Sorkin, Modest Kolerov [ru]
Headquarters
2 Bersenevsky Lane, Balchug Island, Yakimanka District, Moscow
,
Russia
Key people
Yulia Krizhanskaya (CEO)
Modest Kolerov (editor-in-chief)
Websiteregnum.ru

REGNUM is licensed under mass media service, registration certificate No. El 77-6430 issued on 6 August 2002. REGNUM is a registered trademark, certificate No. 262482.

History

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The REGNUM family of agencies started functioning on 19 June 1999. REGNUM was founded by Boris Sorkin and Modest Kolerov [ru][a] on 22 July 2002.[2]

Editors-in-chief

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Kolerov served as editor-in-chief until 2005[3] when he was replaced by Konstantin Kazenin. Modest Kolerov served again as editor-in-chief from 2007 to 2012.[4]

Vigen Hakobyan became editor-in-chief again in 2012.[5]

Editorial policies

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It is rumored that[weasel words] Regnum editorial office employees greet each other with a special greeting, "СФО", which in Russian means "Death to the Fascist Occupiers". In an interview by editor-in-chief of Regnum, Vigen Akopyan to the Russian portal Gorod.lv [ru], the principal claimed "anti-fascist" position of the agency was explained as to oppose Russian investment in any country whose politics are hostile to Russia or which is promoting the rehabilitation of World War II–era Nazism and fascism. Although Akopyan did not say what country he had in mind, Russian journalists figured out it was Estonia.[6]

Regional bureaus

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The system of REGNUM News Agency includes regional bureaus in the Russian territory and abroad:

Correspondents

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REGNUM News Agency has an extended correspondent network (about 400 correspondents) in Russia and neighboring countries.[citation needed]

Audience

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According to TNS Gallup Media[7] survey of Moscow audience of Russian online news services, managers and specialists prevail among REGNUM audience – 72% (Yandex News – 63%, NEWSru – 64%).[8] In November–December 2006, MASMI-Russia[9] company conducted the 11th survey of Runet audience Online Monitor. REGNUM newsline is read more by managers (28.3% of REGNUM audience comparing to 20.3% of Runet average).[10]

Controversy

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Estonia's Security Police (KaPo) in its 2005 yearbook laid a claim according to which REGNUM had been designed as a tool in Russia's state propaganda machine operating under direction of Modest Kolerov, at the time the head of an agency within President Vladimir Putin's administration. The claim stated that in essence, REGNUM is not a news outlet as it presents itself, but an umbrella for Russia's secret services operations in countries of the so-called "near abroad", which efforts are directed to promoting Russia's geopolitical agenda.[11]

As Russia's foreign policy tool REGNUM has been instrumental in encouraging opposition to energy independence plans in the Baltic states, contributing to the negative popular vote on the question of a new nuclear power plant in Lithuania.[12]

Since 2011, the agency has become unpopular in Turkmenistan. In a report circulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Turkmen diplomats repeatedly expressed their dislike of the agency, claiming that it systematically disseminates inaccurate, biased information about their country.[13][14][15]

In December 2016, three REGNUM journalists were arrested in Belarus, accused of "inciting enmity between the Belarusian and Russian peoples", extremism, negative assessments of the Belarusization policy pursued by Alexander Lukashenko's government. Citizens of Belarus Dmitry Alimkin, Yury Pavlovets and Sergey Shiptenko spent 14 months in pre-trial detention center No. 1. In February 2018, they were sentenced to five years in prison under Part 3 of Art. 130 of the Criminal Code of Belarus, "Extremism" with a three-year suspension of sentence and a ban on leaving Belarus.[16][17][18]

Awards

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In 2006, REGNUM was awarded the National Prize of Russia "Runet Prize".[19]

In 2008, REGNUM was awarded the "Media-Peacemaker-2008" of the Guild of Interethnic Journalism in the category "Internet".[20]

Notes

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  1. ^ On 28 February 2022, the European Union blacklisted him in connection with the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and froze all his assets.[1]

References

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  1. ^ "Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/336 of 28 February 2022 implementing Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine". Official Journal of the European Union. L (58): 12. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Об Агентстве". REGNUM News Agency (in Russian). Archived from the original on 13 October 2002. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Колеров Модест Алексеевич — Президент Издательского Дома "Регнум" / Досье / Справка". Newslab (in Russian). Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  4. ^ "В агентстве Regnum сменился главный редактор". Radioportal (in Russian). 2 October 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Редактор ИА REGNUM уволился из-за цензуры". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Russian). 17 October 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Информагентство "Регнум" не станет рекламировать Эстонию даже за деньги". Baltija.eu (in Russian). 15 July 2012. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  7. ^ "TNS". tns-global.ru. Archived from the original on 21 October 2004.
  8. ^ "Gallup: Среди читателей ИА REGNUM 72% - руководители и специалисты". REGNUM News Agency (in Russian). 28 December 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  9. ^ "MASMI Research Group - Home Page". 18 July 2007. Archived from the original on 18 July 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Аудитория ИА REGNUM: взрослые, образованные и обеспеченные - данные МАСМИ". REGNUM News Agency (in Russian). 18 December 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  11. ^ Kaitsepolitsei aastaraamat 2005 (PDF) (in Estonian). Estonian Internal Security Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011.
  12. ^ Satter, David (8 January 2014). The Last Gasp of Empire: Russia's Attempts to Control the Media in the Former Soviet Republics (PDF) (Report). Center for International Media Assistance. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  13. ^ "МИД Туркменистана распространил сообщение для средств массовой информации". Turkmenistan.ru. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  14. ^ "МИД Туркменистана обвиняет агентство "Regnum" во лжи и провокациях". Turkmenistan.ru. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  15. ^ МИД Туркмении ответил на публикацию ИА REGNUM [Turkmen MFA responded to the publication of REGNUM News Agency]. REGNUM News Agency (in Russian). 22 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  16. ^ Tolkachyova, Yelena (18 December 2017). Суд над авторами "Регнума". Все трое вины не признали [Trial of "Regnum" authors. All the three did not plead guilty]. Tut.By (in Russian). Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  17. ^ Petrovskaya, Galina (18 December 2017). Суд над авторами Regnum в Беларуси: факты без политики [Trial of Regnum authors in Belarus: facts without politics]. Deutsche Welle (in Russian). Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  18. ^ Белорусский суд вынес приговор авторам российского информагентства [Belarusian court sentences authors of Russian news agency]. RBC (in Russian). 2 February 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Премия Рунета вручена агентству Regnum". Lenta.ru (in Russian). 29 November 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  20. ^ Smertin, Anton (27 November 2008). "Портал ЮГА.ру вошел в число победителей конкурса "СМИротворец-2008"". Yuga.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 1 September 2020.
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