Interfax-Religion
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| Available in | Russian and English |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 20, 2004 |
| Dissolved | December 2022 |
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Owner | Interfax |
| URL | http://www.interfax-religion.ru/ |
| Commercial | Yes |
Interfax-Religion was a Russian information web-portal, a division of Interfax News agency.[1] This Internet resource was launched on December 20, 2004[2] with the support of the Interreligious Council of Russia.[3] The editor-in-chief is Valentina Trubetskaya.[4]
Interfax-Religion website appeared after Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin reached an agreement with Interfax to create a specialized portal dedicated to religion.[5] In October 2009 Olga Gumanova, a freelance correspondent for Interfax-Religion, investigating the situation around the orphanage at Bogolyubsky nunnery in Vladimir region, where several female inmates escaped, was brutally beaten and threatened. The girl was not robbed, despite having money, gold jewelry and a cell phone with her.[6]
In December 2010 the Interfax-Religion website was subjected to a nighttime DDoS and shut down, but was later restored.[7]
In October 2014 Interfax-Religion was included in blacklist of 50 websites banned by the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan, and was blocked and unblocked several times by local internet providers and cellular operators. According to human rights defenders, it was related to the actions of the opposition.[8]
Content
News
The portal contains free access full-text versions of news about Religion in Russia religious life in Russia and abroad in Russian and English. There is also free access to the archive of Interfax religious news since 1989. The most important news items are published on the main feed of the agency and are included in its paid newsletter, which reaches an audience of approximately 20,000 subscribers around the world.
The newsfeed can be customized individually, automatically selecting materials by type, topic and geographical coverage – for example, only about Orthodoxy in Ukraine or only about Islam in Bashkiria.
Proportions
The share of news about a particular religious organization in the general news stream should correspond to the number of its adherents and its influence in society – this is the principle declared by the editorial board of the portal. All the news on the portal is divided into streams by headings as follows.:
- Orthodoxy
- Islam
- Judaism
- Buddhism
- Catholicism and Protestantism
- National religions
- New religious movements
- Atheism and secularism
- Dialog
The site presents exclusive interviews and analysis, as well as the results of thematic monitoring of the central, regional and religious printed and electronic media, including Internet resources, television-and radio broadcasts, devoted to religious life.
In addition, there is a special section "Memorable Dates", which indicates the largest religious holidays and the main biographical milestones of the leading spiritual leaders of Russia, close and far abroad countries. There are also "Reference materials", including biographies of significant persons, statistical data on confessions and others.
In December 2009, a joint project of Interfax-Religion portal and Moscow State Linguistic University was launched. (MSLU) – a weekly updated interactive map of 25 thousand religious communities in Russia, their exact names, locations and other information, classified into 12 categories.[9]
