Kommersant Digital Archive

Founded in 1989 by Russian businessman and journalist Vladimir Yakovlev on the eve of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kommersant (Коммерсантъ, The Businessman) is one of the most influential and important newspapers to have emerged in post-Soviet Russia. The economic liberalization of the Gorbachev-era perestroika and glasnost reforms had created a need for media outlets dedicated to reporting on the new economic situation in the country and the emergence of the new entrepreneurial class. The establishment of Kommersant, modeled largely after The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, was meant to meet just such a need.

Published initially as a weekly, its proven quality and growing popularity occasioned the expansion of the publication and the changing of its format from a weekly to a daily. Soon it would also change ownership, being owned at various times by Russian oligarchs Roman Berezovsky, Badri Patarkatsishvili, and its current owner Alisher Usmanov. Despite the slew of controversial ownerships, and several instances of editorial interference by its owners, Kommersant remains one of the most trustworthy Russian newspapers.