Evolution of the media and media control in post-Soviet Russia

The political influence of media practices in post-Soviet Russia is very much related to the ongoing change of media control. Thus, it is highly important to examine the question concering societal and media pre-conditions of such a development in media. Exemplifying the evolution of television structures in the (post-) Soviet Russia between 1970, and 2006, one can show in which ways the typical forms of propaganda communication of the Soviet Union (commencing 1985/86), were replaced by new forms of media communication. The empirical data illustrates that not only media structures but also the forms of media control are changing. The macro-sociological perspective of this paper focuses on the connection between the media evolution and the societal formation of the former Soviet Union.