Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications

The Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications (Rospechat) is the federal agency in structure of the Government of the Russian Federation subordinated to the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications. It is formed during administrative reform of 2004 based on the Ministry of the Russian Federation for printing, TV and radio broadcasting and means of mass communications (MPTR, the Ministry of Press), till 2008 submitted to Ministry of Culture.

According to information of the website of the Government of the Russian Federation, FAPMK performs:

a) law-enforcement activity and rendering public services in the field of creation and functioning of mass media and mass communications, TV and radio broadcasting, use of a radio frequency spectrum and orbital positions of communication satellites for the purposes of TV and radio broadcasting, development of means of mass communications and distribution of mass media, in the field of information exchange, broadcasting of the additional information, public computer networks in the field of electronic mass media, printing, publishing and polygraphic activity;

b) maintaining unified all-Russian registers of mass media and mass communications, broadcasting companies, producers of the audio-and video production.

The head of FAPMK is Seslavinsky, Mikhail Vadimovich (since March, 2004).

Department is known as one of the main state bodies supervising use by Russians of the Internet. Under patronage of Rospechat there is an annual award for the Russian-speaking websites "Runet Prize", the popular educational Грамота.ру portal and some other projects.