The Russian media environment in the first decades of the 21st century has been marked by a number of turbulent developments triggered by technological advancement, economic issues, and political pressure. Having enjoyed an era of [Page 1506]freedom of speech and ownership throughout the 1990s, Russian media have since been drifting toward a restricted media model. The media market of the 2010s has been marked by two main trends: the rise of new media and the introduction of the state legislative measures that impose control over freedom of speech in all types of media. Technological advancement has challenged the power relations of the media market over the course of two decades. The fast-growing Internet is now becoming a primary source of information for the younger generation ...