Lenta.ru (Russian: Лента.Ру; stylised as LƐNTA.RU) is a Russian-language online newspaper. Based in Moscow, it is owned by Rambler Media Group. In 2013, the Alexander Mamut-owned companies "SUP Media" and "Rambler-Afisha" merged to form "Afisha.Rambler.SUP", which owns Lenta.ru.[1] The online newspaper is one of the most popular Russian language online resources with over 600 thousand visitors daily.[2]

Lenta.ru
Type of site
Online newspaper
Available inRussian
OwnerRambler Media Group (subsidiary of Sberbank)
Created byAnton Nossik
URLlenta.ru
CommercialYes
RegistrationFree/Subscription
LaunchedSeptember 18, 1999; 25 years ago (1999-09-18)
Current statusActive

History

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In 1999 Anton Nosik launched Lenta.ru together with the Foundation for Effective Politics.[3] It was (like vesti.ru) a sister e-news project under the brand Gazeta.Ru.[4] Nosik served as its chief editor till 2004.[3]

A Berkman Center 2010 study found it to be the most cited news source in the Russian blogosphere.[5]

In 2013, Alexander Mamut through his ownership of the Afisha-Rambler-SUP Group acquired Lenta.ru.[1]

In 2013, Lenta.ru was ranked by comScore-study the 5th in terms of traffic among European news websites (in all languages).[6]

In January 2013, the website was relaunched with a new design and significant changes to the rubricating system. This was the most serious update of the site since 2004.[7]

In 2020, Mamut sold Rambler to Sberbank.[8]

Replacement of the leadership and staff in 2014

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Following a March 10, 2014, Lenta.ru interview by Ilya Azar[a] of Andriy Tarasenko [uk][b] from the Right Sector's Kyiv branch,[9] Russian censorship organization Roskomnadzor accused Lenta.ru of violating Russian media censorship and "counter-extremism" laws.[10] [9][11][12][13][14][c] Since the warning by Roskomnadzor was the second issued in a 12-month period, Roskomnadzor could ask the courts to terminate Lenta.ru's mass media license.[10][13] Both the BBC and The Economist called Russian state response to the publications by Lenta.ru a censorship.[1][15]

On March 12, 2014 the owner, Alexander Mamut, fired the Editor-in-Chief Galina Timchenko and replaced her with Alexey Goreslavsky. Thirty-nine employees out of the total 84, including Director-general Yuliya Minder, lost their jobs. This includes 32 writing journalists, all photo-editors (5 people) and 6 administrators.[16] The employees of Lenta.ru issued a statement that the purpose of the move was to install a new Editor-in-Chief directly controlled by the Kremlin and turn the website into a propaganda tool.[17] Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, referred to the move as a manifestation of censorship.[18]

Galina Timchenko, together with a team of around 20 journalists who resigned from their jobs at Lenta.ru, started the new internet newspaper Meduza.[19][20]

Incident during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

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On 9 May 2022, the Russian Victory Day, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lenta.ru briefly displayed information about the Russian war against Ukraine in a way that did not comply with government regulations or the enforced guidelines of Lenta.ru. Articles were published regarding the mass killing of civilians, looting, abandoned bodies of Russian troops, the destruction of Mariupol, censorship, governmental lies to relatives of deceased soldiers, attacks against the freedom of press, and more. Lenta.ru journalists Egor Polyakov and Alexandra Miroshnikova have stated that they were the authors of these articles, and reported that they now need new jobs, lawyers, and political asylum. The content was quickly removed, but can be found in Wayback Machine.[21][22]

Chief editors

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  • Anton Nosik (1999–2004)
  • Galina Timchenko (2004–2014)
  • Alexey Goreslavsky (2014–2016)
  • Alexander Belonovsky (2016–2017)
  • Vladimir Todorov (since 2017)[23]

Management

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Awards and recognitions

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Lenta.ru has taken first place four times in the Rotor contest in the category "Information site of the year" and once, in 2000 in the category "News site of the year".[26][27]

Maxim Moshkov has won the Rotor twice (in the categories "Programmer of the Year" in 1999 and "Man of the Year" in 2005).[28]

Notes

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  1. ^ Russian: Илья Вильямович Азар Ukrainian: Ілля Вільямович Азар
  2. ^ Russian: Андрей Иванович Тарасенко Ukrainian: Андрій Іванович Тарасенко
  3. ^ On March 5, 2014, Dmytro Yarosh received Basmanny Justice (Russian: Басманное Правосудие) and was charged in absentia by Moscow's Basmanny court for his actions.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Russia Lenta.ru editor Timchenko fired in Ukraine row". BBC. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Rambler's Top 100 usage statistics for Lenta.Ru". Rambler. 20 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Фото: Два года без Антона Носика". Газета.Ru (in Russian). 9 July 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  4. ^ Goscilo, Helena; Strukov, Vlad (2010-10-04). Celebrity and Glamour in Contemporary Russia: Shocking Chic. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-92435-4.
  5. ^ "Public Discourse in the Russian Blogosphere: Mapping RuNet Politics and Mobilization". Berkman Center for Internet & Society. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Сайт РИА Новости вошел в двадцатку самых посещаемых сайтов в Европе". РИА Новости (in Russian). 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  7. ^ Антон Благовещенский (21 January 2013). "Lenta.ru обновила дизайн без "Студии Лебедева"". Российская газета (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  8. ^ Анастасия Якорева; Татьяна Лысова (3 March 2021). "Человек без костей Спецкор «Медузы» Анастасия Якорева рассказывает, как отличный юрист и удачливый переговорщик Александр Мамут сломался на медийном бизнесе" [A man without bones Meduza special correspondent Anastasia Yakoreva tells how an excellent lawyer and successful negotiator Alexander Mamut broke down in the media business]. Meduza. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b Азар, Илья (Azar, Ilya) (10 March 2014). ""Мы — не вооруженные силы": Интервью с одним из лидеров украинского "Правого сектора"" ["We — are not armed forces": Interview with one of the leaders of the Ukrainian Right Sector]. Lentka.com (in Russian). Kyiv. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b "Роскомнадзор вынес предупреждение электронному периодическому изданию "Лента.ру" за распространение материалов экстремистского характер" [Roskomnadzor issued a warning to the electronic periodical Lenta.ru for distributing extremist materials]. Roskomnadzor (in Russian). 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Правый сектор объявил срочную мобилизацию и вооружение" [Right Sector Announces Urgent Mobilization and Armament]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Russian). 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Коллектив Ленты.ру не согласен со сменой главного редактора: В опубликованном коллективом письме, подписи под которым поставили 70 сотрудников редакции, журналисты назвали смену главного редактора прямым давлением на редакцию "Ленты.ру" и нарушением закона о СМИ" [The Lenta.ru team does not agree with the change of the editor-in-chief: In a letter published by the team signed by 70 editorial staff, the journalists called the change of the editor-in-chief a direct pressure on the Lenta.ru editorial office and a violation of the media law.]. RIA Novosti (in Russian). Moscow. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  13. ^ a b c ""Лента.ру" получила предупреждение от Роскомнадзора за интервью с одним из лидеров "Правого сектора"" [Lenta.ru received a warning from Roskomnadzor for an interview with one of the leaders of the Right Sector]. Echo Moscow (in Russian). Moscow. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Роскомнадзор предупредил "Ленту.ру" за экстремистское интервью" [Roskomnadzor warned Lenta.ru for extremist interviews]. Свободная Пресса (Svobodnaya Press) (in Russian). 12 March 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  15. ^ "We have ways of making you talk: Russia's stranglehold on journalists has become rather plain lately". The Economist. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  16. ^ "В Lenta.ru сменился гендиректор и уволились 39 сотрудников". RBK Group. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Lenta.ru" Дорогим читателям от дорогой редакции [To dear readers from a dear publisher]. Lenta.ru (in Russian). 12 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2019. See invisible text, also talk page
  18. ^ Olga Razumovskaya (12 March 2014). "Russian News Editor Fired Over Ukrainian Nationalist Interview". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  19. ^ "I was 'fired' because of the Kremlin". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
  20. ^ Beard, Nadia (23 October 2014). "Russian journalists set up shop in Latvia after Kremlin crackdown". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  21. ^ "Lenta.ru briefly filled with anti-war, anti-Putin content - Two employees claimed responsibility for the protest", Meduza, 9 May 2022
  22. ^ "'Paranoid dictator': Russian journalists fill pro-Kremlin site with anti-war articles", The Guardian, 9 May 2022
  23. ^ "В Lenta.ru сменился главный редактор". РБК (in Russian). 8 February 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  24. ^ "Кто делает Lenta.ru". Lenta.ru. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  25. ^ "Maksim E. Moshkow". Lib.ru. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  26. ^ "Подведены итоги ежегодного профессионального конкурса Российский Онлайн ТОР за 2008 год" [The results of the annual professional competition Russian Online TOP for 2008 have been summed up] (in Russian). REGNUM. 2008-03-22. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  27. ^ "Професcионалы профессионалам: Подведены итоги конкурса РОТОР++ 2007" [Professionals for professionals: The results of the ROTOR++ 2007 competition have been announced]. Lenta.ru. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  28. ^ "Панорама высоких технологий. Объявлены результаты интернет-конкурса РОТОР 2005" [High technology panorama. The results of the Internet competition ROTOR 2005 are announced]. Радио Свобода (in Russian). 2005-04-26. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
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