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In December 1998, the Federal Service for Television and Radio Broadcasting (FSTR) of the Russian Federation issued two decrees directed at introducing strict control over operations of the broadcasting companies. The first is "On strengthening state control over broadcasters' compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation relating to television and radio broadcasting, mass media and conditions of the broadcasting licence ". Under the new form of control, the Department of State Inspection of Television and Radio Broadcasting of the FSTR would issue a warning to broadcasting companies...

On 13 January 1999 wide-ranging breaks intended to revive the national film industry went into force as part of the federal statute amending current tax legislation. The changes in the regulation of taxation were adopted by the parliament in December 1998 and signed by the President on 6 January 1999. Under the new law every contract for the production, copying and exhibition of a Russian film including the sale of rights is exempt from the 20% value-added tax (Art.1). Furthermore, profit tax is lifted from profits invested in film production and exhibition, as well as in the construction of cinemas...

On 31 July 1999, on an order from the new head of the Russian Federal Office for Television and Radio ( Federalnaya Slushba Rossii po Televideniyu i Radiovetschaniyu, - FSTR), Michail Seslavinskiy, the licence of the Udmurt television station Alwa in the city of Ishevsk was revoked. The FSTR had received letters from major American film studios like Paramount and 20th Century Fox demanding that the presentation of feature films should not be authorised without the requisite permission of the copyright-holder. Until then, there had been no precedents involving the revocation of a television broadcasting...

The Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation in its decision of March 24, 1998 rules that listings of TV programmes shall be treated as "informational reports on events and facts" and therefore shall not be viewed as objects protected by copyright law. The Arbitration Court, that deals with economic disputes between legal entities, made this ruling basing itself on Article 8 of the 1993 Statute On Copyright and Neighbouring Rights of the Russian Federation. The case itself started in 1997 when a municipal TV station in Yurga, Kemerovo Region, sued the local newspaper...

Russian Parliament adopted a new licensing Act ("On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities"). From the moment of its entering into force, all regulation concerning licensing of any type of activity to be adopted by the Parliament or by the Government shall correspond to this act. The Act enumerates activities on Russian territory, for which the licence is needed. These activities include: television and radio broadcasting; broadcasting of additional information (teletext); provision of services in the field of informational encoding; manufacture and distribution (except retail trade)...