Russian news agency RIA Novosti closed down / Kremlin strengthens grip on Russian media

In a surprise decree published on the Kremlin's website on the 9 December 2013, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced Ria Novosti would be abolished, to be replaced by a news agency called Russia Today.

On the 31 December 2013 it was announced that Margarita Simonyan, the head of the state-funded RT satellite news network, would head the Rossiya Segodnya media conglomerate that would include Russia’s major state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

On the 14 March 2014, three major opposition news websites as well as the blog of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were blocked, the latest in a media crackdown that comes amid Moscow's standoff with the West over Ukraine.

[ESO Notice, 09.12.13: During 2012 and 2013 ESO has been indexing selected articles from RIA Novosti to offer a Russian perspective on major European developments. These links may now not be available. ESO will monitor the situation]

• Primary Source

RIA Novosti, 09.12.13: RIA Novosti to Be Liquidated in State-Owned Media Overhaul http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131209/185390572/Russia-Announces-State-Owned-Media-Overhaul.html

Wikipedia: RIA Novosti http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIA_Novosti

RIA Novosti, 31.12.13: RT Head Simonyan Appointed Rossiya Segodnya Editor-in-Chief http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131231/186117507/RT-Head-Simonyan-Appointed-Rossiya-Segodnya-Editor-in-Chief.html

BBC News, 31.12.13: RT editor Simonyan to head Kremlin-backed news agency http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25560434

EurActiv, 14.03.14: Kremlin strengthens grip on Russian media http://www.euractiv.com/global-europe/kremlin-strengthens-grip-russian-news-534145

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