Economic Aspects of the Operation of the Russian Telegraph Agency ROSTА in the Conditions of War Communism

Section: History of Journalism

The article analyses the economic aspects of the operation of the Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) in the conditions of war communism policies. The author introduces new archival data while briefly describing the structural characteristics of the Agency during this period, as well as outlining the basic economic and financial characteristics of its operation. The article states that in this period the first Soviet news agency relied on state subsidies in its economic activities. Moreover, due to the economic situation in the country, as well as the logic of the political processes, this development model created a lot of problems. The Agency regularly lacked funds and was often provided with resources in kind. Only the transition to NEP radically changed the economic model of the Russian Telegraph Agency development.

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