There were two newspapers in the Soviet Union until it dissolved in 1991: Pravda (Правда, the name means “the truth”) and Izvestia (Известия, the name is usually translated as “the news”). Where Pravda was the official voice of the Communist Party, Izvestia was the voice of the Soviet government. A popular expression back in the pre-1991 USSR was “there’s no news in ‘the truth (Pravda)’ and no truth in ‘the news (Izvestia)’.”
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Izvestia continues to function as an “all national” newspaper. It’s now owned by National Media Group and is published daily. An expanded business section accompanies the Monday edition, while Friday’s paper includes “Nedelya,” which focuses on leisure and cultural activities. In contrast, Pravda is only published three times a week. Izvestia has an online version as well, which can be found here. If you can read Russian you can read it directly, or Google Chrome can translate it for you.
John,
How do you come up with your subjects choices? I would’ve not thought about looking for a publication beginning with the letter ‘I’ let along once that’s outside the US. Interesting & informative stirring my intellect. Believe me, it needs stirring, too. Happy A2Zing!
Curious as a Cathy
A2Z iPad Art Sketch ‘Indians’
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I had heard the name before because of the joke about “no news in the truth, and no truth in the news.” When or where I heard it, I’m not sure, but it was on the word list I used to prompt me.
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I had no idea about this newspaper…interesting. I love the quote about both newspapers and quite apt I would think. I wonder how much freedom they have under Putin
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I couldn’t say.
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I learn something new every day reading your posts, John. 😉
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I learn something when I write them. Thanks!
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Me too.
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I have heard that quote before but did not remember the context. Thanks for the informative post, John!
Emily In Ecuador | Internet Cafes in Puerto Lopez
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I love that quote, kinda sad though that it can also be applied in the literal sense!
My blogs in the A to Z: Self discovery via travel and a separate Interactive story.
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Mark Twain was right: if you don’t read the paper, you’re uninformed, and if you do read the paper, you’re misinformed…
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Wow, interesting! I’d like to pop over there to see what they’re thinking of current events!
Jamie Lyn Weigt | Theme: Odds and Ends Dragons | Writing Dragons
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That’s a fascinating snippet to learn, thank you 🙂
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