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When Pravda and Izvestia were forced to give way to the open

competition of a ’free’ media industry at the beginning of the decade,

few would have predicted that another newspaper bearing the namesake

pravda (meaning ’truth’) would establish itself as leader in the field

within a few short years.

However, while the mouthpiece of the Communist Party has sunk into

oblivion, Komsolskaya Pravda (no relation), has rocketed to the top of

the charts in Russia, becoming the fifth biggest daily seller in Europe

in the process.

The black-and-white publication comes in three editions: an eight-page

national daily, a thicker national weekly and a special Moscow

weekly.

Like most papers in Russia, Komsolskaya Pravda belongs to one of the

major banks, in this case, UnExim. Owned by the tycoon, Vladimir

Potanin, the giant export-import conglomerate is clearly established

within the reformist wing of Russian economic and political circles,

but, despite this, the paper’s focus is not overtly political. Instead,

Komsolskaya Pravda delivers a diet of gossip, political intrigue and

showbiz tittle-tattle as part of a format that has proved extremely

popular with Russians, and is borne out by circulation figures.

The daily sells 1,400,000 copies per day, the national weekly,

2,900,000, and the Moscow weekly, 134,000. Not surprisingly, most of

Komsolskaya Pravda’s revenue is generated from sales rather than

advertising, although Western companies such as Samsung and Hitachi are

often to be seen alongside local advertisers. The daily edition costs

R1,500 roubles (approximately 13 pence) which, given that the official

average income of Russians is approximately pounds 82 per month, can be

a substantial outlay.

And who reads Komsolskaya Pravda? That same ordinary Russian, it would

seem. The readership is made up of average-income earners with a state

education. Just under 55 per cent are women and the greatest number of

readers are in the 16-34 age bracket (37 per cent). Interestingly, in

the home of the old intelligentsia, Moscow’s weekly edition, with its

emphasis on showbiz and gossip, attracts a far larger proportion of

higher income readers (30 per cent) than any of its sister editions.

Komsolskaya Pravda

Circulation (daily)             1.4m

Circulation (weekly)            2.9m

Circulation (Moscow weekly)     134,000

Readers aged 16-34              37%

Source: Pravda