fontanka.ru

Fontanka.ru is a Russian Saint Petersburg-based online newspaper founded in 1999 by four journalists. In 2019, controlling stake of the newspaper's publisher Azhur-Media was bought by media manager Victor Shkulev, making him the owner of Fontanka.ru. The newspaper is considered to be one of the most cited publications in Russia and largest news outlet in Saint Petersburg.

== History == Fontanka.ru was founded in 1999 by four journalists: Andrey Konstantinov, Alexander Gorshkov, Andrey Potapenko and Evgeny Vyshenkov. The newspaper's website was estimated to have audience of over 91,000 people aged 12 to 64 with 34,000 daily visits. In 2009, Fontanka.ru claimed that the website was visited a total of 124 million times. Vedomosti reported that Fontanka.ru is one of the most authoritative media outlets in Saint Petersburg known for its corruption investigations. RBC News reported that Fontanka.ru is one of Russia's most widely cited publications, taking 7th place. The newspaper's revenue was reported to be at over 164 million rubles (in 2017). Fontanka.ru usually reports on Saint Petersburg and northwestern regions of Russia. Its news are of a socio-political nature, reporting on issues of economics, crime, and politics. thumb|235x235px|Fontanka.ru journalists at Vladimir Putin|Vladimir Putin's annual [[press conference in 2008]] In January 2013, Swedish publishing group Bonnier AB became the owner of the newspaper after purchasing 51% of the shares of the newspaper's publisher Azhur-Media for approximately $7,5 million. The group attempted to buy Fontanka.ru back in 2008 but was unsuccessful. In July 2015, the design of the Fontanka.ru's website was updated, the editorial staff said that the website became "wider, lighter, and more informative". In December 2015, due to a law prohibiting foreign companies from owning 20% of the shares, the group had to give up its controlling stake. Fontanka.ru later claimed that 51% of its shares were bought back by minority shareholders. In January 2019, media manager Victor Shkulev became the owner of Fontanka.ru after buying controlling stake of Azhur-Media for undisclosed amount.