a Dollar millionaire Alexander Lebedev to launch a Russian version of the British newspaper the Independent, the entrepreneur said in an interview with RBC.
As the British media, the Independent Russian will be provided only in digital version, said chief editor of the project Artem Artemov. According to him, the site Independent.ru running in test mode since February 2020, for users it will be available within two weeks.
Certificate of registration of mass media of the Russian Independent Roskomnadzor issued in November 2019. The founder of the indicated LLC “the independent blonde”, which, according to, 100% owned by Lebedev.
Independent in Russia will not generate their own content, said Artemov. The concept of publication is the translation of texts of British Independent on Russian, explained the interlocutor of RBC.
the Exact size of investment in the Russian version he did not name, saying only that the launch has already spent “tens of millions of rubles”.
As Alexander Lebedev, Forbes estimated in 2016 at $400 million In the rating “200 richest businessmen of Russia 2015” he took 188 place.
beta Independent Russian website, which was reviewed by RBC, shows the same sections. The design and content of the website repeats the British version.
Russia has a Internet draft “new York times”, owned MIA “Russia today” and publishes translations of materials in foreign publications. In may 2020, the site “InoSMI” recorded on average 338 thousand visits a day, from the data LiveInternet.ru. For comparison: the similar indicator of the site “RIA Novosti” — 5.9 million visits, TASS 1.7 million visits.
Their knowledge of foreign languages while browsing foreign websites used 38% of Russians.
Founded in 1986, the British morning newspaper the Independent, Lebedev bought in March 2010 for a nominal £1. Russian entrepreneur went to publication with a loss of £28 million (about $42 million at the exchange rate of 2010). The debts of the edition, the businessman took over and the previous owner of the publication pay Lebedev £9.25 million ($14 million), which went to Finance the activities of the newspaper.
In January 2009, Lebedev bought a 75.1 per cent of the British newspaper Evening Standard. The purchase cost of £8.3 million In March 2009 he told “Vedomosti” that the Evening Standard was already spent £30 million.
In 2017, the son of the businessman Evgeny Lebedev, who runs owns the publications Lebedev Holdings Ltd, sold 30% of Independent citizen of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Abuljadayel, the amount of the transaction were not disclosed. The same investor in 2019 acquired 30% of the Evening Standard for £25 million.
Revenue Lebedev Holdings Ltd in the financial year ending 30 September 2018, was £68,5 million, a net loss of £16.1 million, the Only time the British media Lebedev was profitable in 2016 and then clean profit management of the company reached £1.9 million on revenue of £103.3 million This was due to the sale of the newspaper i (the project, launched as part of the purchased Independent) for £24 million.
