Russian Newsweek

The owner of the license - Newsweek Inc. The Axel Springer company was a publisher in Russia. It is closed at the end of 2010.

Chief Editors

• In 2004 Leonid Bershidsky became the publisher and the Chief Editor of the first numbers,
• December, 2004 - the Chief Editor was appointed the TV reporter Leonid Parfyonov.
• In 2007 from this duty he was released by Kirill Vishnepolsky.
• Mikhail Phishman headed the magazine since 2008.

History

"The Russian Newsweek" appeared in 2004. Since launch of the Russian version of the magazine 310 numbers managed to appear.

In 2007 Axel Springer tried to sell a part of the edition to Alisher Usmanov, the owner of Kommersant Publishing House. However Newsweek Inc was against such transaction and threatened not to prolong the license expiring in 2007.

The management of the Russian version of the edition is busy with search of the investor, however, according to the Spiegel Online, so far is ineffectual. Earlier Russian mass media reported that the Onexim group of Mikhail Prokhorov who among other things possesses RBC holding and the media group "Live!" can act as the buyer of the license. However in Oneksim explained to Marker that representatives of Newsweek really came with a number of offers, but business negotiations on them did not take place.

On October 18, 2010 to editorial office employees Russian Newsweek was announced closing of the magazine. Via the website of the Spiegel Online the Berlin publishing house Axel Springer announced that it does not intend to prolong the license for release of the Russian version of the magazine at the American partner Newsweek Inc expiring in December, 2010. The official reason — the edition of the magazine in Russia is recognized unprofitable.

The solution of shareholders did not become surprise for editorial office employees. "In principle that we hand over the last number all already knew last week. Work on new number did not begin" — one of editors says. So today's emergence on a planning meeting of the director of publishing house Regina von Flemming and her objyavleniyey the text is available on the website of the magazine surprised of nobody. So far employees do not know how the issue with compensation payments will be resolved and also whether will offer someone places in other projects of publishing house.

"At start of the magazine we, certainly, calculated that it will be commercially successful" — the first publisher of Russian Newsweek Leonid Bershidsky remembers. The reasons of financial failure of the edition Bershidsky is inclined to explain with features of a format ― news weeklies around the world to steel the most problem for publishers. Nevertheless, Bershidsky does not exclude a possibility of restart of the magazine: "If I had available funds, I would purchase the license. I trust in this product and I think that the investor will be".