7x7 (website)

7x7. Horizontal Russia (Seven by seven)[1] is a Russian independent[2][3] news website based in the Komi Republic and operating in 31 regions of the European part of Russia.

7x7
Type of site
News website
Available in2 languages
List of languages
Russian, English
Predecessor(s)Interregional Internet magazine "7x7": news, opinions, blogs
Country of originRussia
OwnerLeonid Zilberg
EditorOleg Grigorenko
URLsemnasem.org
Launched2010 (2010)
Current statusActive

Content

The name of the website is a reference to the original homepage design, which had seven columns and seven rows.[4]

As of August 2020, the website operates in 31 out of 85 regions of Russia;, these are the regions of the European part without million-person cities and the North Caucasus and the South of Russia.[5]

The website has a news section written by professional journalists and an opinion section written by community and civil activists.[6]

The main topics of publications are politics, human rights and ecology.[7] In particular, the website publishes materials about corruption and torture in prisons[3] and social materials (for example, a video about one day in the life of a disabled person).[8]

The authors of the website are generally critical of the Russian regional and federal authorities.[7]

The website has a blog platform with the ability to comment on materials, a YouTube channel, a “Live” section about events that do not need comments, a “Longreads” section, an English version and a mobile version of the website.[6][7][8]

History

The website was founded in 2010 in the city of Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, under the name "Interregional Internet magazine "7x7": news, opinions, blogs". The founder was a group of local public figures and entrepreneurs,[6] including Leonid Zilberg and Alexander Ostrovsky.[7]

Most of the founders are members of the local branch of the Memorial society, the materials of this society are often reprinted in 7x7.[8]

Sofya Kropotkina was the editor-in-chief at the time the website was founded, later Elena Solovieva and Maxim Polyakov[6] took her place. As of 2020, the editor-in-chief is Oleg Grigorenko.[4]

The website began to expand to other regions and changed its name to “7x7. Horizontal Russia”, focusing on the regions of the North-West, the Volga region, the Centre and the Urals.[6]

In 2011–2012, access to the website from government agencies was prohibited.[8] In 2014, the Internet channel "7x7 TV" was launched on YouTube.[6]

From September 2013 to September 2017, traffic increased from 61 thousand to 182 thousand unique visitors per month, the number of articles devoted to news about the Komi Republic decreased from 3–4 to 1-2 per day.[7]

The website sued Natalia Mikhalchenkova, the Minister of Education of the Komi Republic, because of the publication about the presence of plagiarism in her candidate work, and won.[5]

In 2020, the website wrote about the attempts of the authorities of the Komi Republic to hide the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of which the head of the republic Sergey Gaplikov and the republican Minister of Health Dmitry Berezin were fired.[2][5]

On 28 December 2020, the Ministry of Justice of Russia added 7x7 journalist[9] Sergei Markelov to the so-called media register of “foreign agents”[10] in connection with his cooperation with Sever.Realii, an affiliate of Radio Liberty, included in the media register of “foreign agents”. On 31 March 2021, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow approved the decision of the Ministry of Justice; this court decision was the first to approve the addition of an individual to the register of media-“foreign agents”.[11]

On 21 July 2023, Russia's Ministry of Justice added 7x7 to the so-called list of "foreign agents".[12]

Awards

In 2016, the branch "7x7-Karelia" under the leadership of Gleb Yarovoy received an award from the Civil Initiatives Committee in the "New Word" nomination for "civil initiatives in the field of creating new journalistic and educational media or bright projects within existing media."[13]

In 2019, 7x7 received the Free Press of Eastern Europe Award from the German ZEIT-Stiftung Foundation and the Norwegian Fritt Ord organisation as “a unique example of collaboration and cooperation between journalists, bloggers and activists.”[1][3]

In 2020, the website became the laureate of the Levin Sign "For loyalty to journalism".[14]

In 2020, 7x7 journalists Ekaterina Malysheva and Evgeny Malyshev received the Profession – Journalist Award from the Open Russia Foundation in the Multimedia + Podcasts nomination for the material “Network. Sources. Seven stories about anti-fascists who received long sentences for terrorism, the FSB and torture” about the “Network” case.[15]

As of December 2021, 7x7 journalists received the Redkollegia journalism award 6 times.[16][17][18][19][20][21]

See also

References
  1. Arosev, Grigory (2019-08-19). "СМИ из РФ, Украины и Армении отмечены премией за свободу прессы" [Mass media from the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Armenia were awarded the prize for freedom of the press]. Deutsche Welle (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  2. Higgins, Andrew (2020-04-19). "In Pandemic, a Remote Russian Region Orders a Lockdown on Information". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  3. "The Free Media Awards 2019". frittord.no. 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  4. Azhgikhina, Nadezhda (2020-09-16). "Проект "7x7" — гражданское независимое медиа" [The 7x7 project is a civic independent media]. jrnlst.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  5. Jalilov, Rustam (2020-08-25). "7х7: мы принципиально не идем на Северный Кавказ" [7x7: We are not going to the North Caucasus]. Caucasian Knot (in Russian).
  6. Beshkarev, Alexei (2017). "Информационный портал "7х7" как пример перспективного независимого межрегионального сетевого проекта" [Information portal "7x7" as an example of a promising independent interregional network project]. Филологические науки. Вопросы теории и практики (in Russian) (Филологические науки. Вопросы теории и практики ed.). Gramota (3—2 (69)): 12–14 – via CyberLeninka.
  7. Vokuev, N (2017). "Культура журналистики в республике Коми: 2013- 2017 годы" [Journalism culture in the Komi Republic: years 2013-2017]. Человек. Культура. Образование. 4 (26): 32–46. ISSN 2223-1277 – via CyberLeninka.
  8. Beshkarev, Alexei (2017). "Информационный портал "7х7" как пример перспективного независимого межрегионального сетевого проекта" [Information portal "7x7" as an example of a promising independent interregional network project]. Филологические науки. Вопросы теории и практики (in Russian) (Филологические науки. Вопросы теории и практики ed.). Gramota (3—2 (69)): 12–14 – via CyberLeninka.
  9. "Russia labels reporters foreign agents after Nobel award". BBC News. 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  10. "Russia Labels First Individual 'Foreign Agents' Amid Worries of Clampdown". The Moscow Times. 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  11. Alekhina, Margarita (2021-03-31). "Суд вынес первое решение по иску о признании журналиста СМИ-иноагентом" [The court made the first decision on the claim to recognize the journalist as a media agent-foreign agent]. rbc.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  12. "Mikhail Kozyrev and regional media network 7×7 designated as "foreign agents"". International Press Institute. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  13. "Названы лауреаты Премии «Гражданская инициатива» 2016" [The winners of the Civil Initiative Award 2016 have been announced]. komitetgi.ru (in Russian). 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  14. Strelkov, Denis (2020-04-21). "Интернет-журнал "7x7" стал первым лауреатом Знака Левина "За верность журналистике!" за материалы про Шиес и дело "Сети"* · "7x7" Горизонтальная Россия" [The Internet magazine "7x7" became the first laureate of the Levin Sign "For loyalty to journalism!" for materials about Shies and the Network case]. 7x7-journal.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  15. "Названы лауреаты премии "Профессия — журналист" | Colta.ru" [The winners of the Profession - Journalist Award have been announced]. colta.ru (in Russian). 2020-12-23. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  16. "Стирая "Рубеж"" [Erasing the Frontier]. redkollegia.org (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  17. "Переписать Сандармох. Кто и зачем пытается изменить историю расстрелов и захоронений в Карелии" [Rewrite Sandarmokh. Who and why is trying to change the history of executions and burials in Karelia]. redkollegia.org (in Russian). 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  18. "Деревенщина, "хозяин", садист" [Hillbilly, "master", sadist]. redkollegia.org (in Russian). 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  19. Strelkov, Denis (2019-06-26). "Журналисты "7x7" стали лауреатами премии "Редколлегия" за материал "Азбука Шиеса" об экологических протестах в Архангельской области" [7x7 journalists became the laureates of the Redkollegia award for the article “Azbuka Shiyes” about environmental protests in the Arkhangelsk region]. 7x7-journal.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  20. "Черный список президента" [Blacklist of the President]. redkollegia.org (in Russian). 2019-10-31. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  21. "Обвинительные клоны. Спецпроект о презумпции виновности в России" [Accusatory clones. Special project on the presumption of guilt in Russia]. redkollegia.org (in Russian). 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
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