Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation

Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation (Федеральное агентство по печати и массовым коммуникациям России) is the regulating state agency within the hierarchy of modern Russian Government. It also may be referred to as abbreviation FAPMC (ФАПМК) or by the short name Rospechat (Роспечать).

The agency is the former Ministry of Press, Broadcasting and Mass Communications (МПТР). It was transformed during governmental reform in 2004 and subordinated to Ministry of Communications and Mass Media, so it was no longer a standalone ministry. Since reorganization, it is headed by Seslavinsky, Mikhail Vadimovich.

As stated on the Russian government website, the FAPMC "a) executes law enforcement and provides state services in sphere of creation and functioning of mass media and mass communications, television and radio, usage of radio-frequency spectrum and orbital positions of communication sputniks for the purposes of television and radio broadcasting, development of means of mass communications and spreading of mass media, in sphere of information interchange, broadcasting of additional information, computer networks of common usage in the area of electronic mass media, printing, activities in publishing and polygraphy; b) maintains all-Russian registers of mass media and mass communications, TV and radio broadcasting companies, makers of audio and video production" ([1]).

The Rospechat is supposed to be one of the authorities overseeing usage of the Internet in Russia. It supports several projects such as The Runet Prize and well-known Gramota.ru, the educational portal on the Russian language. It also had sponsored Maksim Moshkow's Library — the most famous Russian language free online library — and animator.ru, a website dedicated to chronicling Russian animation.