Russian TV is dominated by channels that are either run directly by the state or owned by companies with close association with the Kremlin. Beginning with the government-owned or operated TV stations, Channel One and Russia One were two of the three main federal channels while the state-controlled energy company Gazprom owns the other major TV station NTV. Other TV stations in Russia were Centre TV which is owned by the Moscow city government; Ren TV which is a Moscow-based commercial station with strong regional network, majority of which is owned by media holding NMG; and RT, which is a state-funded, international English-language news channel (Russia profile – Media, 2015).

At present time, TV is the main source of news information for majority of Russians. As such, the pay-TV market experienced fast growth in recent years, with satellite broadcaster Tricolor leading the market. Additionally, the government is also in the process of bringing in digital TV to every Russian home. There are also hundreds of radio stations in Russia with state-run networks competing against music-based private FM radios. The market leader is privately-owned music station Russkoye Radio (Russia profile – Media, 2015).

The internet domain in Russia is .ru (Russia Country Profile, 2014). About 87 million Russians have access to the internet in 2014. However, though still less tightly controlled than traditional media, the Kremlin has engaged in efforts to restrict online freedom (Russia profile – Media, 2015). In 2016, the number of active internet users climbed to 103.1 million representing a penetration rate of 72% (Rosabel, 2016). The leading social media website in Russia is VKontakte, with active social media users estimated at around 68.5 million (Rosabel, 2016). Meanwhile, mobile connection was estimated at around 247.2 million suggesting that people in the country owns more than one mobile device. Active mobile social users were estimated at around 42.5 million (Rosabel, 2016)

Consistent with theory, media development in Russia has been influenced by several factors including the following: physical and geographic characteristics, cultural traits, economic conditions, governmental influences, media qualities, and technological competencies (Factors Affecting Media Development, 2016). Being close to Europe, which is a highly urbanized and developed region, Russia’s media also rapidly developed. Cultural traits may also be considered a major factor in media development evidenced by the leadership of social media website VKontakte in the country instead of the global leader Facebook (Rosabel, 2016). Furthermore, the economic condition of Russia also contributed to media development. Majority of the population of Russia can afford media devices. 

Based on data, 95% of the population owns a mobile phone; 61% owns a smart phone; 80% have a laptop or desktop computer; and 33% have tablet devices (Rosabel, 2016). Next, governmental influences have also driven media development. As noted in the recent report, TV is the leading source of news in the country considering that two of the major TV stations in the country were owned and operated by the government. Meanwhile, media qualities also drive media development. In the case of Russia, media is well developed especially when noting that the government owns and controls the media (Russia profile – Media, 2015). Finally, technological competencies are seen in the availability of advanced facilities and infrastructure in the country. As seen in Russia, satellite TV has seen growth because of the presence of advanced infrastructure in the country. 

Meanwhile, the process of globalization also largely influenced media development in a country. In the case of Russia, media has developed and improved when Russia opened its door to the international community. Political and economic dimensions of globalization have ushered in new types of media into the country. 

Rosabel, D. (2016). Digital in 2016. We Are Social. Retrieved from 

Russia country profile. (2016). BBC News. Retrieved from 

Russia country profile series. (2014). MarketLine. Retrieved from www.marketline.com

Russia profile – Overview. (2016). BBC News. Retrieved from 

The setting of the movie was in an impoverished town.  The main character who is a town plumber discovered a dangerous crack in the wall of a nine-storey structure that was home to more than 800 people who belong to the poor sector of the society most of which were pensioners, jobless, addicts, and petty thieves. While talking with the other city workers, the main character learned that funds allocated to the repair and maintenance of the building were lost due to corruption in government. Based on his assessment, the building could collapse anytime and therefore many people could die. Consequently, corruption in government has been the major challenge for the main character in addressing the issue. 
Because of fear, both of Dima’s mother and his wife were against his goal of exposing the problem. Driven by his ideals and principles, Dima tried to expose the problem to the city officials including the mayor and the city council, which happens to be celebrating the birthday of the mayor. Dima’s boss, the city inspector confirmed the danger, causing panic to the corrupt city officials who used the funds for the building repair and maintenance for their personal benefit. In this movie, the city mayor was a female who was portrayed to be gentle and with a heart. Meanwhile, the male characters in the movie, including Dima and his father as well as the city inspector were portrayed as firm and strong-willed. 

“The Fool” depicts everyday life in Russia under the autocratic reign of Vladimir Putin (Holden, 2015). Primarily, the movie portrays the social issues and problems in Russia and how the main character (Dima Nikitin) struggled to correct the social menace. The setting and the characters were all fictional but the social issues tackled in the movie (i.e., corruption and red tape in government, poverty, inequality, drug and alcohol addiction, delinquency, violence against women and children, unemployment and others) were facts and actually happening in the country.

The main character, Dima along with his wife and son.

In this movie, rich and poor stereotypes can be seen. The rich were portrayed as privileged, powerful and very influential. As seen in the movie, the rich people in town were invited to the party of the mayor and were living lavishly. Meanwhile, the poor were portrayed as nuisance in society and therefore neglected by the government. As seen in the movie, the city inspector did not care about the impending disaster believing that the poor people living in the structure are menace to society and should therefore die.

Holden, S. (2015). Review: ‘The Fool’ is Yuri Bykov’s look at corruption. New York Times. 

Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/movies/review-the-fool-is-yuri-bykovs-look-at-corruption.html

For instance, one of the most highly used by people in Russia is Blogging which has been reported by BBC that, in 2011, there were an estimated 40 million blogs in Russia with having seven to ten percent of them updating their blogs at least once a month. Accordingly, the audience of these blogs reaches to around 15 million. These blogs are observed to be used “as a way to exert freedom of speech against government.” Moreover, “[m]ost Russians are strongly patriotic and take great pride in being able to withstand harsher environmental, social and political situations than others would be able to cope with” (“Russian Social Media”). This has been also the way that other nations view the identity of Russia, they are to be seen with strong personalities especially with how their government is observed to have the strongest one. 

Another issue that can be observed would be how Russia is observed to be firm with their laws even though it may affect possible economic development to their country. One of the recent example for this would be how LinkedIn has been reported to be soon banned in Russia because of how the company has failed to fulfill a law that obliges them to keep data on Russian users in the country. “Apart from not moving servers to Russia, LinkedIn collects and sends information about people who are not users of the network without their consent, according to the Russian internet watchdog Roskomnadzor” (“LinkedIn could soon be banned in Russia”, 2016). Globalization has somehow no strong impact to Russia by how its government tends to control everything that tries to penetrate in their system. This shows how the Russian government is to be observed as great in its leadership but somehow lacking in the part of minding the feelings that humans have been intentionally given.

Russian Social Media. https://www.translatemedia.com/translation-services/social-media/russian-social-media/