Censorship and the issue of media freedom in Russia have been main themes since the era of the telegraph. Radio was a major new technology in the 1920s, when the Communists had recently come to power. Soviet authorities realized that the "ham" operator was highly individualistic and encouraged private initiative– too much so for the totalitarian regime. Criminal penalties were imposed but the working solution was to avoid broadcasting over the air. Instead radio programs were transmitted by copper wire, using a hub and spoke system, to loudspeakers in approved listening stations, such as the "Red" corner of a factory. Due to the enormous size of the country Russia today leads in the number of TV broadcast stations and repeaters. There were few channels in the Soviet time, but in the past two decades many new state-run and private-owned radio stations and TV channels appeared.
MTS, headquartered in Moscow, is the largest mobile network operator in Russia, operating on GSM, UMTS and LTE standards. Apart from cellular network, the company also offers local telephone service, broadband, mobile television, cable television, satellite television and digital television.
Beeline, earlier Bee Line GSM is a telecommunications brand by company PJSC VimpelCom, founded in Russia.
MegaFon, previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator and the third largest telecom operator in Russia. It works in the GSM, UMTS and LTE standard. As of June 2012, the company serves 62.1 million subscribers in Russia and 1.6 million in Tajikistan. It is headquartered in Moscow.
Novolipetsk Steel, or NLMK, is one of the four largest steel companies in Russia. NLMK's share of domestic crude steel production is about 21%. It primarily produces flat steel products, semi-finished steel products and electrical steels. NLMK also produces specialty coated steels, plus high-ductility and micro-alloyed steels. It's the 21st-largest steel maker in the world.
Wimm Bill Dann OJSC is one of Europe's largest dairy products companies. The company is headquartered in Moscow, Russia. WBD produces yogurt, milk, flavored milk, fruit juices, and other soft drinks. It holds a 34% share in all dairy products in Russia, and a 20% share of the fruit drink market.
CenterTelecom was a fixed-wire telecommunications service provider and Internet service provider in Russia. It was ranked 5th among Russian telecom companies, after Rostelecom, MTS, Vympelcom and MegaFon. 50.69% of Centertelecom's voting stock was held by the Svyazinvest Holding Company. CenterTelecom was listed on the MICEX and RTS stock exchanges under the symbol ESMO.
Sibirtelecom, a former subsidiary of Svyazinvest Holding Company, is a regional telecommunications and Internet service provider in Siberia. It is responsible for providing service to over 29% of Russia's territory.
OJSC Svyazinvest was Russia's largest telecommunications holding company. Based in Moscow, it was founded according to Order №1297 of the Russian government on November 25, 1994, and was registered on September 18, 1995. It was an entirely state-owned company until but some shares were privatized in the late 1990s. Its operation including brand and subsidiaireis were fully incorporated to Rostelecom, the former long-distance telephony monopoly. In late September 2013 Rostelecom completed the final stage of its reorganization, under which state-run telecom holding Svyazinvest and 20 other firms were integrated into Rostelecom. The government's combined common stake in the merged company amounted to 51.12% after the reorganization.
OJSC Dalsvyaz is a telecommunications service provider active in the Russian Far East. It is part of Svyazinvest Holdings, which is Russia's largest telecommunications holding company, and which owns many large regional telecommunications service providers in Russia.
Rostelecom is Russia's leading long-distance telephone provider. Domestic long-distance service provides about 50% of the company's revenue; and international long-distance calls provide about 25%.
VolgaTelecom is one of the Russian telecommunications companies that were formed after the Svyaz'invest Company in Moscow decided to reorganise 72 different regional service providers into seven large interregional companies.
North West Telecom is part of Rostelecom, providing telecommunications service to northwest Russia.
Uralsvyazinform is one of the former 7 RTO's, or regional telecommunications operators, formed by the company Svyazinvest. The company serves the Urals Federal District and the Perm Krai.
Leonid Dodojonovich Reiman is a Russian businessman and government official, former Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of the Russian Federation. Leonid Reiman has been numerously rated most influential person in Russian telecom business with personal wealth over $1 bln., according to Finance magazine.
A public joint-stock company, abbreviated PJSC or open joint-stock company, abbreviated OJSC, is a type of company in many successor states of the Soviet Union, in particular in Russia. Its distinguishing feature is the right of stockholders to trade in stocks without the permission of other stockholders.
LSR Group, is a Russian real estate development, construction and building materials company, one of the leaders in the real estate and building materials in Russia. The company is headquartered in St. Petersburg. The total number of employees is about 11,000 people (2019).
PJSC VimpelCom is a Russian telecommunications company started in 1992 when its co-founders, Dr. Dmitry Zimin and Augie K. Fabela II came together to pioneer the Russian mobile industry. Augie Fabela, who was then a young entrepreneur from the US, and Dr. Zimin who was a Russian scientist in his 50s, together launched the Beeline brand.
Finam Holdings is a financial services company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. It is the parent company of Finam Investment Company. In April 2017 it was the third largest brokerage firm in Russia, and ranks second among providers of individual investment accounts in the country.
National Cable Networks was a Russian company which provides Pay-TV. It was fully owned by Rostelecom, and headquartered in Moscow. The company merged with Rostelecom in 2013.
