ABSTRACT This special issue provides a timely reflection on the Russian media system, which is currently at a crossroads. In this introduction, we provide a brief overview of previous theorisations of the post-Soviet Russian media and suggest that they seemingly go in waves. The first wave, to our mind, is linked to the analysis of the perestroika’s ‘Glasnost’ and the dramatic shifts following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. This wave is followed by an attempt to reflect on the nationwide processes of media around the mid-2000s. The third wave coincides with the regulatory changes in 2010s and is informed by the pronounced technological changes affecting media industries and growing Internet penetration in the country. This special issue potentially feeds into a new wave of conceptualisation, as it revisits previous assertions of the inherent duality of the Russian media system. The five articles contributing to this special issue in one way or another argue that this dualism constitute the characteristic enduring nature of the Russia media. The authors reflect on the applicability of existing media theories to Russian context as well as offer an up-to-date account of diverse journalist practices, regional differences and converging media sub-systems in Russia.

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简介：处于十字路口的俄罗斯媒体系统

摘要 本期特刊及时反映了目前处于十字路口的俄罗斯媒体系统。在本介绍中，我们简要概述了后苏联时代俄罗斯媒体的先前理论，并表明它们似乎是一波三折。在我们看来，第一波与对改革的“Glasnost”的分析以及 1991 年苏联解体后的戏剧性转变有关。 2000 年代中期。第三次浪潮与 2010 年代的监管变化相吻合，受到影响媒体行业的显着技术变化和该国互联网普及率不断提高的影响。这个特刊可能会引发新的概念化浪潮，因为它重新审视了先前关于俄罗斯媒体系统固有二元性的断言。以一种或另一种方式为这个特刊做出贡献的五篇文章认为，这种二元论构成了俄罗斯媒体特有的持久性。作者反思了现有媒体理论对俄罗斯语境的适用性，并提供了对俄罗斯多样化记者实践、地区差异和融合媒体子系统的最新描述。