The Russian press has travelled down a long and winding road in the 20 years since the fall of Communism, stretching from the unfettered freedom of speech of the early 1990s to the iron grip of Vladimir Putin’s power vertical in the 2000s. During these years few media outlets managed to remain both commercially viable and relatively independent, with balanced reporting and investigative journalism. One by one, television stations and major newspapers were cornered into striking an unspoken deal with the authorities: free entrepreneurship as long as the key political figures remain untouchable. This led to what some call a “dumbing down” of the media, as light entertainment became the safe, preferred programming choice for many media managers.

However, as is true elsewhere in the world, the Russian media industry is now faced with another sharp turn – the spread and popularization of the Internet, which brings social networks and new media with it, is revolutionizing not just the way Russians consume information, but the actual way that news is defined and delivered. As the line between journalists, bloggers, social activists, reporters and even spin doctors gets blurred, what will the Russian media landscape of the future look like?