The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper.[5] It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates, such as hotels, cafés, embassies, and airlines, and also by subscription. The newspaper was popular among foreign citizens residing in Moscow and English-speaking Russians.[6] In November 2015, the newspaper changed its design and type from daily to weekly (released every Thursday) and increased the number of pages to 24.
"Moscow Times" redirects here. For time zone, see Moscow Time.Type
Online newspaper, formerly also print
Michele A. Berdy
1992
2017 (print)
35,000 (2015)[4]
The St. Petersburg Times (1993–2014)
In 2023, the Ministry of Justice of Russia designated the paper as a "foreign agent."[7]
The newspaper became online-only in July 2017 and launched its Russian-language service in 2020. In 2022, its headquarters were relocated to Amsterdam in the Netherlands in response to restrictive media laws enacted in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. On 15 April 2022, the Russian-language website of The Moscow Times was blocked in Russia.[8][9]
Some American foreign correspondents started their careers at the paper, including Ellen Barry, who later became The New York Times' Moscow bureau chief.[10]
History[edit]
Founding[edit]
Derk Sauer, a Dutch publisher who came to Moscow in 1989, made plans to turn his small, twice-weekly paper called the Moscow Guardian into a world-class daily newspaper. Sauer brought in Meg Bortin as its first editor in May 1992, and the team used a room at the Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel as its headquarters.[11][12]
The Moscow Times was founded in 1992 by Sauer to reach US and European expats who had moved to Moscow after the fall of communism. He said: "It was a completely different time, there was no internet and there was a huge influx of Western expats who didn't speak Russian. At the time, they were the only ones with money in Moscow, so The Moscow Times was an interesting medium for advertisers".[13]
The first edition of The Moscow Times was published in March 1992.[14] It was the first Western daily to be published in Russia,[15] and quickly became "a primary source of news and opinion" quoted in both Russia and the West.[12]
It "played an important role by giving space to Russian commentators". For example, in the fall of 1993, it was able to play a role in defeating the censors:
Separate publications and special projects[edit]
Inter-country annexes The Moscow Times: Russia-France, Russia-Finland, Russia-UK, etc. These editions are dedicated to bilateral issues of cooperation and promote establishing of business and investment programs of interaction between two countries. They focus on economic, trade, and investment, as well as inter-culture project, tourism issues.
Real Estate Catalog and Real Estate Quarterly: regular specialized business editions about the real estate market.
The Moscow Times Conferences was a meeting place of Russian and foreign investors, businessmen and experts in Russia and abroad as well. In the second half of 2017, the Conferences were transferred to the Vedomosti–Practice brand.[42]