Russian media: a call for theorising the economic change

ABSTRACT This article attempts to analyse and discuss the nature of economic change in Russian media. For this purpose, the author uses the influential conceptual approaches to the Russian media industry, elaborated on by the Russian and foreign media scholars, considering both media economic tradition and a transitional media approach, focusing on the classical concept of cultural industries and the latest econometric data analysis as well. Beyond this theoretical overview, the Russian media industry is explored in the last decades, with a view to the major market indicators. The present state of the Russian media industry is discussed by focusing on the current trends and processes, such as commercialisation, digitalisation, and de-regulation, taking into account its national specificities. The author argues that the media’s economic change in post-Soviet Russia produces an interesting research case of the media industry characterised both by universal market-driven and nationally determined features.