Russia's English-Language channel begins

Televisionpoint.com Team
Russia's new government-funded, English-language satellite TV channel began broadcasts Saturday, as Moscow seeks to polish its image abroad, reports say.

With a staff of 344 journalists and a $30 million budget, Russia Today will be broadcast 24 hours a day in North America, Europe and Asia. The program is also available for Russians through subscriptions to a premium satellite package.

Margarita Simonyan, who was a Kremlin correspondent for the state-run Rossiya TV channel before being tapped to head the project, said the channel aimed to tell world news from a Russian point of view.

"What you see sometimes does depend on where you stand, and we want to tell the world about Russia from Russia," she told AP Television News.

Critics have dismissed the project as Kremlin-funded propaganda launched at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has come under increasing criticism from abroad for backsliding on democracy.

"People will have an opportunity to watch us, and then they will have a fair opportunity to draw their own conclusions," Simonyan said.

Viktor Kremenyuk, deputy director of USA-Canada Institute, said the channel would have its work cut out to change foreign views of Russia. While Putin himself has made attempts to foster good relations with foreign leaders, he said television viewers may prove harder to convert.

"Good relations with the leaders is one thing, but explaining to the public at large about Russia and life in Russia is something different," Kremenyuk said.