Russian Federation

[RU] Executive Control over Media Restructured

IRIS 2008-6:1/25

Andrei Richter

Comenius University (Bratislava)

By a decree of Dmitry Medvedev, the President of the Russian Federation, a new Government structure has been introduced in Russia. In particular, point 5 of the decree of 12 May 2008 moved the issues of developing and implementation of the state policy and regulation in the sphere of mass communications and the mass media (including audiovisual media) from the hands of the former Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications (now - Ministry of Culture) to the newly established Министерство связи и массовых коммуникаций (Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications) of the Russian Federation (formerly - Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications). Cinema affairs will remain under the Ministry of Culture, although the Federal Agency on Culture and Cinematography has now been disbanded and its powers passed to the Ministry itself.

The Federal Service on Control in the Sphere of Mass Communications, Communications and Protection of Cultural Heritage has been split into two services, one of them being the Федеральная служба по надзору в сфере связи и массовых коммуникаций (Federal Service on Control in the Sphere of Communications and Mass Communications). This service will now be the main watchdog with regard to implementation of media law (including issuing warnings for its violation and demanding closure of the media outlets). It will also license broadcasters and issue registrations to the mass media outlets. The Federal Service was transferred from being under the control of Government in general to being under the Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications, thus its status was significantly demoted.

Issues of copyright protection will now be under the second federal service established as a result of the split: Федеральная служба по надзору за соблюдением законодательства в области охраны культурного наследия (Federal Service on Control over Implementation of Law in the Sphere of Protection of Cultural Heritage).

The Federal Agency on the Press and Mass Communications – a body dealing with the state property and state subsidies in the sphere - has been transferred from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications.

By separate decrees the President appointed new Ministers of Culture and of Communications and Mass Communications.