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The news, with the spin made visible.
Outlet profile

The Moscow Times

Independent anti-Kremlin (exile-based, Russia-focused)

Owned byOwned by TMT LLC, operating under the Dutch nonprofit foundation Stichting 2 Oktober (also written Stichting Oktober), registered in the Netherlands
FundingReader donations, advertising, and support from the Dutch nonprofit foundation Stichting 2 Oktober, which exists to promote independent journalism in Russia and the former Soviet states
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Moscow Times was founded in Moscow in 1992 by Dutch publisher Derk Sauer as an English-language daily newspaper aimed at Western expatriates and business travelers following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was the first Western-style daily published in Russia and quickly became a widely cited source on Russian affairs. Its parent company, Independent Media, was acquired by the Finnish media group Sanoma in 2005. In 2015, Sanoma sold the paper to Russian businessman Demyan Kudryavtsev, a former head of the Kommersant publishing house, who pledged to keep it editorially independent. The paper went online-only in July 2017 and launched a Russian-language edition in 2020 to serve domestic Russian readers. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and passed laws criminalizing independent war coverage, the editorial team relocated its operations to Amsterdam. Russia's Prosecutor General declared The Moscow Times an 'undesirable organization' in July 2024, effectively banning its staff from working inside Russia and exposing any Russian citizens who cooperate with it to criminal prosecution. In December 2025, Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor seized the outlet's moscowtimes.ru domain without a court order, forcing it to operate from a subdomain. Throughout its exile period, the outlet has maintained consistent critical coverage of the Kremlin, the war in Ukraine, and, since 2025, Trump administration policies it views as favorable to Russia at Ukraine's expense.

Sources

  1. The Moscow Times – Wikipedia
  2. Russia Outlaws The Moscow Times as 'Undesirable' Organization
  3. Roskomnadzor Seizes Domains Including Moscowtimes.ru Without Court Order
  4. Moscow Times Says 'Undesirable' Label Another Effort By Russia To Suppress Independent Reporting – RFE/RL
  5. The Moscow Times Branded 'Undesirable' in Putin's Russia – OCCRP
  6. Russian Businessman Buys The Moscow Times (2015)
  7. Moscow Times – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  8. The Moscow Times – Contribute / Funding Page
  9. The Moscow Times – Eurotopics Profile

Profile compiled 2026-06-27; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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