Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

Pravda / RT-aligned Russian media

Russian state

Owned byRT is run by ANO TV-Novosti, a non-profit set up by the Russian state. Margarita Simonyan is editor-in-chief and Alexey Nikolov is general director. The Pravda newspaper is owned by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF). Pravda.ru is a separate, privately owned website.
FundingRT is financed almost entirely from the Russian federal budget. The enacted 2026 budget provides about RUB 32 billion for state media like RT. The Pravda newspaper relies on the CPRF and its own sales. Pravda.ru is privately funded.
On the administrationmixed

Background

Pravda was founded in 1912 and was the official paper of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee from 1918 to 1991. President Boris Yeltsin ordered it closed in 1991, but a paper with the same name soon resumed publishing. Its editor sold the publishing house to the Greek Yannikos group. A 1996 dispute split Pravda into separate entities: the Communist Party of the Russian Federation took the print paper, and some journalists formed the online Pravda.ru. RT (formerly Russia Today) is a different organization from Pravda. It was launched as a state-backed international broadcaster and runs under ANO TV-Novosti, with funding from the Russian federal budget. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, U.S. cable carriers dropped RT America and the EU restricted RT. The U.S. State Department has described covert RT activities abroad. A U.S. indictment alleged that two RT employees covertly funneled about $10 million to pro-Trump American influencers. RT carries the Russian government's positions on Ukraine and the West, while Pravda reflects the CPRF's left-nationalist views. Both are generally treated by outside researchers as outlets with a clear political perspective. Their coverage of the second Trump administration varies by topic, based on whether U.S. actions are seen as helping or hurting Russian interests. The sources below are limited, and this profile has not independently checked each outlet's most recent coverage of the administration.

Sources

  1. RT - State Media Monitor
  2. Putin Doubles Down on Propaganda With Record Spending in 2026 Budget — UNITED24 Media
  3. Why Russia's broadcaster RT turned to covertly funding American pro-Trump influencers — NPR
  4. Alerting the World to RT's Global Covert Activities — U.S. Department of State
  5. RT (TV network) — Wikipedia
  6. Pravda — Wikipedia
  7. Pravda.ru — Wikipedia

Profile compiled 2026-10-05; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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