What Lifenews does

Life.ru (operating under Lifenews / AO "News Media") is a Russian-language news information portal headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 2008 and operating with 501-1,000 employees, the platform serves the Russian-speaking general news audience across multiple content verticals including breaking news, politics, military operations (Special Military Operation / SVO coverage), sports (notably FIFA World Cup 2026), economics, science, and society. The company received official mass media registration (ЭЛ № ФС 77 - 76147) from Roskomnadzor in July 2019 and operates with ongoing financial support from the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications. The corporate structure places AO "News Media" as the founder and OOO "Digital News" as the editorial office, with the portal consolidated under the News Media Holding umbrella.

The core product is the life.ru web portal, supplemented by a network of dedicated topic pages and the SHOT Проверка sub-brand for investigative and fact-checking journalism. Distribution occurs through the responsive life.ru website, a specialized Telegram channel (SHOT PROVERKA), and RSS feeds. The platform integrates third-party recommender technologies (Infox, 24СМИ, СМИ2, Sparrow) for content personalization, and the editorial team uses ChatGPT (OpenAI) to generate AI cover illustrations for articles. Chief Editor M.K. Feshchenko leads the editorial office.

The business model is a hybrid of advertising-supported mass-market digital media plus direct state financial support from the Russian Ministry of Digital Development. There is no evidence of venture capital, private equity, or public market ownership; revenue is not publicly disclosed. Geographic scope is restricted to a single domestic market (Russia), and the firm is privately held with no public ticker.

Name

Lifenews

Legal name

АО "Ньюс медиа" (Учредитель) / ООО «ДИДЖИТАЛ НЬЮС» (Редакция)

Website

https://life.ru

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Life.ru is a Russian-language digital news portal operated under News Media Holding, serving Russian-speaking audiences with breaking news, politics, military operations, sports, and investigative journalism via web, Telegram, and RSS channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online News Portal

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• Online news portal
• Breaking news coverage
• Investigative journalism
• Digital news media
• News aggregation

Headquarters

HQ city

Moscow

HQ country

Russia

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Life.ru is a Russian-language news information portal that aggregates and publishes breaking news, exclusive interviews, investigative reports, and topic-specific coverage across politics, military operations (SVO), economy, sports (FIFA World Cup 2026), science, and society. The platform functions as a multi-category digital news destination with branded sub-sections such as "Только на LIFE" exclusives and "SHOT Проверка" fact-checking investigations, distributing content via web, Telegram, and RSS.

Product overview

Life.ru (LIFE/ЛАЙФ) is a Russian-language news information portal functioning as a unified platform with multiple topic-specific sections. The core product is the Life.ru news portal itself, offering broad news coverage across categories including politics, military (SVO), sports (World Cup 2026), science, economy, and investigations. The platform includes exclusive content under 'Только на LIFE' sub-brand, specialized topic pages for major news stories (fuel situation, SVO, World Cup), and AI-generated visual content using ChatGPT for article illustrations. The portal operates under official media registration ЭЛ № ФС 77 - 76147 with financial support from the Russian Ministry of Digital Development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SHOT Проверка: Fact-checking and investigation project covering consumer protection, product quality, and business practices

Products and services

• Life.ru News Portal Russian-language news information portal providing coverage of breaking news, special military operations, sports, science, economy, investigations, and exclusive content across multiple topic sections for Russian-speaking news consumers.
• Только на LIFE (Exclusives) Exclusive content section featuring original interviews, commentary, and in-depth reporting available only on Life.ru portal, covering topics such as health, wildlife, society, and special investigations.
• FIFA World Cup 2026 Topic Page Comprehensive coverage section for the 2026 FIFA World Cup including match schedules, results, tournament tables, team compositions, broadcasts, predictions, and tournament highlights.
• Special Military Operation (SVO) Topic Page Dedicated news section covering the Special Military Operation including military updates, territorial developments, diplomatic efforts, and conflict-related reporting.
• Fuel Situation Topic Page Dedicated topic page tracking the fuel situation in Russia, including gasoline prices at gas stations, fuel shortages, government measures, export restrictions, and refinery operations.
• SHOT Проверка (Fact-Checking & Investigations) Sub-brand and Telegram channel for fact-checking and investigative journalism covering consumer protection, product quality, and business practices.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• RBC (RosBusinessConsulting): Leading Russian business and general-news portal with verticals spanning economics, politics, sports, and special projects. Comparable to Life.ru in multi-vertical news portal structure and Russian-speaking audience.
• Meduza: Major Russian-language news outlet (now operating in exile) covering politics, society, and investigations. Directly comparable to Life.ru in Russian-language news-portal format and investigative journalism positioning, despite different editorial stance.
• Kommersant: Major Russian national newspaper with strong digital presence covering politics, business, and international news. Comparable to Life.ru in editorial breadth and Russian-breaking-news audience, though with a more business-leaning orientation.
• Lenta.ru: One of Russia's largest independent digital news portals covering politics, society, sports, and investigations. Direct peer to Life.ru in audience, format (web-first), and category breadth.
• TASS: Russia's primary state news agency operating a multilingual news portal with breaking-news, politics, and economic coverage. Comparable to Life.ru in editorial scope and state-affiliated positioning within the Russian-speaking news market.
• RIA Novosti: Major Russian state-affiliated news agency covering breaking news, politics, military, and economics. Direct comparison to Life.ru as both operate Russian-language breaking-news portals with state-linked funding and broad multi-topic coverage.
• Gazeta.ru: Established Russian digital news outlet covering breaking news, politics, economics, and sports. Directly comparable to Life.ru as a long-running Russian-language news portal serving a similar audience.

Broad incumbents

• RT (Russia Today): Russian state-funded international multilingual news network with significantly broader global reach and broadcast capability. Comparable to Life.ru in state backing, Russian-perspective news, and multi-topic coverage, though at much larger international scale.
• Sputnik News: Russian state-funded multilingual news agency operated by Rossiya Segodnya. Comparable to Life.ru in state backing and Russian-perspective news positioning, with a broader international footprint.

Regional players

• Zvezda (TV Zvezda): Russian state-affiliated news portal with strong emphasis on military and defense coverage. Comparable to Life.ru in state-linked funding and notable for similarly heavy SVO/military vertical coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lifenews_ru
• Facebookfacebook.com/lifenews.ru
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/9212273

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lifenews