RBC-Ukraine

RBC-Ukraine
Native name
РБК-Украина
Company typenews agency
IndustryMedia
Founded2006
FounderYosyp Pintus
HeadquartersKyiv
Ukraine
Key people
Yosyp Pintus
Productsnews
analytics
entertainment
OwnerLLC "UBT"

RBC-Ukraine (Ukrainian: РБК-Україна, romanized: RBK-Ukraina) is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 2006 as a division of the Russian media holding RBC Group (abbreviation for "RosBusinessConsulting"), but in 2010, the agency "RBC-Ukraine" left the composition of the Russian holding, and in 2015, it completely came under the control of Ukrainian media businessman Yosyp Pintus. On January 29, 2016, the Russian holding "RBC" tried to challenge the use of the "RBC" brand in court, but lost the case.[1]

Since April 2014, IA "RBC-Ukraine" positions itself as an independent company that has no relation to the Russian structure. From August 1, 2016, to June 2017, RBC-Ukraine was managed by Valeriy Kalnysh, the former chief editor of "Radio Vesti"[2] and the magazine "Kommersant-Ukraine".[3][better source needed] Since July 2017, the chief editor has been Serhiy Shcherbyna.[4]

Company overview

[edit]

RBC-Ukraine is a Ukrainian information portal specializing in financial, economic, and political news of Ukraine and the world.[5][6] "RBC-Ukraine" was created in 2006 as the Ukrainian division of the Russian information agency RosBusinessConsulting (RBC).

The owner of the Ukrainian unit is Yosyp Pintus, a cousin of RosBusinessConsulting beneficiary Herman Kaplun.[7][8][9]

History

[edit]

In the first months of 2006, only the Russian version of the site existed, but in the second half of 2006, a full-fledged Ukrainian version was launched. Among the main platforms included in the portal are the informational-analytical website "RBC-Ukraine", the online publication Worldnewsage.com (formerly Utro.ua), the informational-entertainment site "Styler"[10] (news about culture, fashion, health, technology, and cars) and the English-language publication NewsUkraine.rbc.ua.[11] From 2006 to 2008, the media director was journalist and media manager Roman Skrypin. In September 2016, the site was updated. In particular, the "Daily" module was added, which allows viewing the news feed without switching between pages ("infinite scrolling").[12] The updated site was divided into News, Daily, and Styler.[13] In 2018, the "Lite" section was created on the site, specializing in news about celebrities, beauty, and fashion.

Ownership

[edit]

Initially, the agency "RBC-Ukraine" was owned by the Russian company "RosBusinessConsulting" through LLC "RBC-Ukraine". In April 2015, the official website of the Ukrainian agency partially removed the information that the "agency was created with the support of the RBC group of companies".[14] In July 2016, the information was completely removed.[15] In April 2014, it was announced that the agency had separated from the Russian RBC and has since been legally independent.[16][17] As of April 2015, the founder of the information agency "RBC-Ukraine" (certificate No. 402—264 PR from 06.04.2015) became the Ukrainian company "UBT", owned by Yosyp Pintus[16] who was involved in the creation of the agency "RBC-Ukraine" from the very beginning.[18] Since 2015, LLC "RBC-Ukraine" has no relation to the agency. In 2015, employees of the SBU demanded a copy of the registration of the agency "RBC-Ukraine" in Ukraine, as in February of that year, the VRU adopted resolution No. 1853 on the temporary suspension of accreditation of journalists and technical workers of some Russian media at the bodies of state power in Ukraine.[19] Most major Ukrainian online media are owned by oligarchs and, in one way or another, reflect the necessary point of view. RBC-Ukraine is the only one of the five most popular Ukrainian online media owned by a media businessman — Yosyp Pintus.[20]

Money Laundering

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The management of the information resource rbc.ua is carried out by LLC "UBT Media",[21][22] the owners of which are Yosyp Pintus and Volodymyr Shultz.[23][24] Pintus also remains the director of LLC "RBC-UKRAINE", a company that was the operator of the site rbc.ua until 2015 and whose owner is the company LLC "Mas Media Group". Until 2012, "Mas Media Group" was owned by the Cypriot company "RBC Investments (Cyprus) Limited", the owner of which was Herman Kaplun. Kaplun remained the manager of its bank accounts in the Russian Federation. The Cypriot company was closed in 2015.[25][26]

As of 2024, the company "Mas Media Group" is owned by THORNLEY INVESTMENTS LTD, which is listed among companies affiliated with the Russian holding RBC. Until 2014, the owner of "RBC-Ukraine" was the offshore company from the BVI NewMediaHosting Inc, the owner of which is the Cyprus-registered company RBC Investments Limited and which also owns RBC.[27] Thus, in the activities of Herman Kaplun and his cousin and partner Yosyp Pintus, there are signs of laundering not just Russian money, but Russian money obtained from state Kremlin customers, including those directly related to the Russian special services and military-industrial complex.

Ratings

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Attendance

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According to the service Socialbakers, the information portal "RBC-Ukraine" in February 2020 ranked first in the number of subscribers on Facebook with an audience of 1.75 million readers.[28][29] the Ukrainian-language[30] — almost 440 thousand readers. The Styler division had 883 thousand subscribers, in total "RBC-Ukraine" has an audience of over 3 million readers in social networks, ranking first in the rating of Ukrainian social media by the number of subscribers.[31]

Since the beginning of 2020, the RBC-Ukraine site has ranked first in terms of visits among Ukrainian media.[32]

Quality

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In September 2020, VOXUkraine analyzed 14,000 news stories from 26 major Ukrainian internet media. Materials from the sites of RBC-Ukraine and Interfax-Ukraine were recognized as the most cited among other media.[33]

According to a study by the IMI in March 2021, 92% of the publication's materials did not violate professional standards. The resource was found to contain materials with signs of commissioned content with possible violations of balance, but no violations of the standard of accuracy and separation of facts from comments were found.[34]

In December 2020, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics assessed materials from RBC-Ukraine from November 30 and December 10 regarding the quality of transportation by the operator Join UP. According to the commission, standards of information objectivity, balance of viewpoints, and separation of judgments and assumptions were violated.[35] The publication stated its readiness to publish the company's position, but the operator did not provide such data. The commission recognized the readiness to publish all opinions as appropriate for achieving balance.[36]

Divisions

[edit]

After the site update in September 2016, the main sections of the site are:

  • "News" — a news feed about Ukraine (in Ukrainian or Russian)[37]
  • "Daily" — a continuous news feed about Ukraine (in Ukrainian or Russian)[38]
  • "Styler"  — news in the sphere of society, culture, health, technology, and cars related to Ukraine. The section was created in 2015 as a Russian-language informational and entertainment site, and after updates in September 2016, a Ukrainian-language interface also appeared. (in Ukrainian or Russian)[39][40]
  • "Lite"  — news about celebrities, beauty, and fashion.[41]
  • "Market Research" (English: RBC-Ukraine "Market Research") — marketing research of the Ukrainian markets (in Russian)[42]
  • "Travel" — a project dedicated to travel and leisure. The main focus is on how to organize your vacation comfortably, affordably, and safely.[43]
  • "Realty" — a project dedicated to the real estate market in Ukraine and the world. The project's goal is to promote the development of the real estate market in Ukraine, with a primary focus in publications on how to choose reliable and comfortable housing, as well as how to invest profitably in the real estate market.[44][45]

Management

[edit]
  • CEO: Yosyp Pintus.
  • Deputy Directors: Volodymyr Shultz, Svitlana Sheremetyeva-Turchyn.
  • Commercial Director: Dmytro Protsenko[46]

Editorial

[edit]
  • Editor-in-Chief: Rostyslav Shapravskyi (since 2022), who previously worked as the first deputy editor-in-chief.[47]

Previous editors-in-chief included:

  • Danylo Kyryakov (2006–2009)
  • Anton Pidlutskyi (2009–2015)
  • Denys Bezliudko (2015–2016)[48]
  • Valeriy Kalnysh (2016–2017)[49]
  • Serhiy Shcherbyna (from August 2017 to 2022).

From 2006 to 2008, the media director of "RBC-Ukraine" was Roman Skrypin. In August, by mutual agreement, he left the company, and according to the CEO of "RBC-Ukraine" Yosyp Pintus, the position of media director was eliminated.[50]

Blocking in Russia

[edit]

On January 29, 2016, the Russian Roskomnadzor blocked[51] the RBC-Ukraine site in the territory of the Russian Federation for "extremist materials," commenting it as: "with Bandera supporters, we have a short conversation".[52][53]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Russian RBC claimed claims to "RBC-Ukraine" because of the use of the brand". Information agency RNS (in Russian). 2016-01-29. Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  2. ^ "Valeriy Kalnysh to head the editorial office of RBC-Ukraine" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  3. ^ "112 Украина" [112 Ukraine] (in Russian). Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  4. ^ "Контакты - Контактная информация РБК-Украина". www.rbc.ua. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  5. ^ "RBC-Ukraine: news of Ukraine, world news, business news". www.rbc.ua. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  6. ^ "О компании РБК-Украина". www.rbc.ua. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  7. ^ "Иосиф Пинтус - биография, образование, семья, карьера, компромат". MY.UA (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  8. ^ "Пінтус Йосип Геннадійович — Опендатабот". opendatabot.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  9. ^ "Йосип Пінтус | Новомедіа Форум | отзывы Киев, Украина" (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  10. ^ https://styler.rbc.ua/ukr
  11. ^ https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/
  12. ^ "RBC Daily".
  13. ^ Rbc.ua. "RBC-Ukraine updates design and announces the launch of the Daily internet publication" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2016-09-05.
  14. ^ RBC-Ukraine — about us — as of March 2015
  15. ^ "Company RBC". Archived from the original on 2016-06-26.
  16. ^ a b Information — weapon: who owns Ukrainian media — Insider, December 7, 2015
  17. ^ "Who owns Ukrainian news agencies (CORRECTED)". Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  18. ^ Russia blocked the website of the agency "RBC-Ukraine" due to "extremist materials" — Radio Liberty, January 30, 2016
  19. ^ For the accreditation of a journalist of "RBC-Ukraine", the SBU demanded to provide a copy of the agency's registration — Telekritika, February 25, 2015
  20. ^ "The global media crisis and new opportunities". VoxUkraine (in Ukrainian). December 27, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  21. ^ "About the company RBC-Ukraine". www.rbc.ua. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  22. ^ "The West poses a greater threat to Zelensky than Russia". RBC-Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  23. ^ "EDRPOU code 43835235 — LLC "UBT MEDIA" — Opendatabot". opendatabot.ua (in Ukrainian). 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  24. ^ Patrikieieva, Natalia (2016-04-25). "Who owns Ukrainian news agencies (CORRECTED)". detector.media (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  25. ^ "RBK INVESTMENTS (CYPRUS) LIMITED". opencorporates.com. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  26. ^ "Search Results". efiling.drcor.mcit.gov.cy. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  27. ^ "All that is secret becomes public. Ukrainians in offshore". minfin.com.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  28. ^ "RBC-Ukraine | Detailed statistics of Facebook page | Socialbakers". archive.is. 2017-04-19. Archived from the original on 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  29. ^ Socialbakers. "RBC-Ukraine | Detailed statistics of Facebook page". Socialbakers.com. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  30. ^ "RBC-Ukraine". www.facebook.com (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  31. ^ Socialbakers. "Styler in Ukraine | Facebook page statistics". Socialbakers.com. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  32. ^ "RBC-Ukraine continues to lead in the rating of the most visited news publications". RBC-Ukraine (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  33. ^ "Information flows in the web. Network analysis of media | VoxUkraine". voxukraine.org (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  34. ^ "Report on monitoring compliance with professional standards in online media. The first wave of monitoring in 2021". Institute of Mass Information. 31 March 2021.
  35. ^ "Regarding the publications on the Internet portal "RBC-Ukraine" about the company "Join UP!"". Commission on Journalistic Ethics (non-governmental organization). Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  36. ^ "The CJE expressed public censure to "RBC-Ukraine" for materials about the tour operator JoinUP". detector.media (in Ukrainian). 2020-12-21. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  37. ^ https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news RBC-Ukraine — News
  38. ^ https://daily.rbc.ua/ukr RBC-Ukraine — Daily
  39. ^ https://styler.rbc.ua/ukr RBC-Ukraine — Styler
  40. ^ "RBC-Ukraine" launched the informational and entertainment project Styler — Telekritika, 03.09.2015
  41. ^ "Lifestyle - news about celebrities, beauty, and fashion 2018". www.rbc.ua. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  42. ^ RBC-Ukraine — "Market Research" Archived 2016-03-26 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
  43. ^ "RBC-Ukraine launches "TRAVEL" project about travel and leisure". RBC-Ukraine (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  44. ^ "RBC-Ukraine launches REALTY project about the real estate market". RBC-Ukraine (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  45. ^ "Real Estate – news of the market in Ukraine and abroad | RBC-Ukraine". realty.rbc.ua. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  46. ^ "RBC-Ukraine Team". www.rbc.ua. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  47. ^ "RBC-Ukraine Team". www.rbc.ua. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  48. ^ http://www.telekritika.ua/rinok/2015-09-02/110744 Telekritika. Denys Bezliudko became the editor-in-chief of "RBC-Ukraine"
  49. ^ "Valeriy Kalnysh to head the editorial office of "RBC-Ukraine"". Detector Media. 1 July 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  50. ^ "Telekritika" (2008-01-31). "Roman Skrypin left "RBC-Ukraine"". detector.media (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  51. ^ "In Russia, the site of the agency "RBC-Ukraine" was blocked due to "extremist materials"". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  52. ^ "Roskomnadzor on Twitter". Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  53. ^ "Roskomnadzor on Twitter: "With Bandera supporters, we have a short conversation."". archive.is. Archived from the original on 2016-01-30. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
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