The history of the Moskovskiye Novosti (MN) as a weekly newspaper begins with the English-language Moscow News, which was established in 1930 under the aegis of the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries for the benefit of foreign professionals working in the Soviet Union. Fifty years later, in the run-up to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the Politburo of the Communist Party Central Committee decided to launch publication of a Russian-language version of The Moscow News, to be called Moskovskiye Novosti, or “Moscow News” in Russian. The Novosti Press Agency (which would later become RIA Novosti) and the Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries were charged with overseeing the new weekly’s publication. A series of “pilot” issues were published from March through May 1980, and regular publication began on July 6, 1980.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Vyatkin
The history of the Moskovskiye Novosti (MN) as a weekly newspaper begins with the English-language Moscow News, which was established in 1930 under the aegis of the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries for the benefit of foreign professionals working in the Soviet Union. Fifty years later, in the run-up to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the Politburo of the Communist Party Central Committee decided to launch publication of a Russian-language version of The Moscow News, to be called Moskovskiye Novosti, or “Moscow News” in Russian. The Novosti Press Agency (which would later become RIA Novosti) and the Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries were charged with overseeing the new weekly’s publication. A series of “pilot” issues were published from March through May 1980, and regular publication began on July 6, 1980.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Vyatkin
The newspaper’s heyday was in the 1980s, when the paper was published in several different languages and distributed in 140 countries.
People visited the Moskovskiye Novosti publishing office both to read their favorite newspaper from stands and discuss current political and economic events in the Soviet Union and the world. Photo: the Moskovskiye Novosti publishing office, located at the intersection of Moscow’s Strastnoi Bulvar and Tverskaya Street. The building was demolished on December 12, 2009.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Vyatkin
Moskovskiye Novosti became an independent newspaper on September 5, 1990. Photo: the front page of Moskovskiye Novosti for the week of July 20 through July 26, 1999.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Vyatkin
In the mid 1990s, the newspaper began publishing the complementary supplements Moskovskiye Novosti: Sunday Supplement and Moskovskiye Novosti Collection, which covered a variety of subjects from predictions for the future and development of the computer business, to travel and family and women’s issues. In 1994, Moskovskiye Novosti was registered as a joint stock company. Photo: the front page of Moskovskiye Novosti for the week of July 27 through August 2, 1999.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Vyatkin
In September 2003, the publishing rights for Moskovskiye Novosti were sold to the Yukos-financed Open Russia Foundation. (Source: Vedomosti, September 5, 2003) Photo: the front page of Moskovskiye Novosti for the week of August 10 through August 16, 1999.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Vyatkin
In July 2005, Media International Group (MIG) president Vadim Rabinovich acquired the company Moskovskiye Novosti, which owns the Moskovskiye Novosti and The Moscow News trademarks. Photo: the front page of Moskovskiye Novosti for the week of August 17 through 23, 1999.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Vyatkin
In October 2005, Israeli businessman Arkady Gaydamak bought the newspaper, which became part of his holding company United Media. Photo: the front page of Moskovskiye Novosti for the week of July 13 through 19, 1999.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Vyatkin
On January 1, 2008, Moskovskiye Novosti went out of print. Photo: the front page of Moskovskiye Novosti for the week of June 29 through July 5, 1999.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Vyatkin
In the April of 2008, the Russian News and Information Agency RIA Novosti reached an agreement with United Media whereby RIA Novosti would gain control of The Moscow News and the Mosckovskiye Novosti trademarks. The agreement came as the result of the two companies’ successful cooperation in joint publication of The Moscow News weekly. Photo: the front page of Moskovskiye Novosti for the week of June 22 through June 28, 1999.
