In this Toronto Star story, we learn a state-controlled firm wants to take over Izvestia, a famous newspaper from the not-so-good-old days, and the Kremlin wants to start its own English-language CNN equivalent.

An excerpt:

The Izvestia of today is a far cry from its staid predecessor, with aggressive reporting on controversial issues and wide-ranging editorial and opinion pages often critical of the government.

"We are a respected, independent national newspaper," Borodin says. "In the United States, it's The New York Times; in Spain, El Pais; in London, The Times. In Russia, it's Izvestia."

Which is why news that Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled natural gas monopoly, is taking over the paper has raised the alarm among many already concerned by President Vladimir Putin's growing control over the media. Russia also announced last week that it will launch a state-run, English-language international news network aimed at improving the county's image abroad.

Both moves, says free-press advocate Manana Aslamzyan, reflect the Kremlin's obsession with controlling the media's message.

"News and information coverage in Russia is becoming more and more limited and controlled," argues Aslamzyan, director of Internews Russia.

"On television, especially, there are no programs where different points of view meet, where voices of different politicians can be heard. Politics and public life have become grey, monotonous."