Mediazona

What Mediazona does

Mediazona (Медиазона) is an independent Russian-language media outlet founded in 2014 and headquartered in Moscow, registered with Roskomnadzor under media certificate ЭЛ № ФС77-59216. It publishes investigative journalism and live coverage of political trials, espionage cases, anti-war prosecutions, and the Russia-Ukraine war, with particular depth on military casualties, political prisoners, and human rights violations. Its primary products are the main Russian-language site zona.media and an English-language edition at en.zona.media, supplemented by auxiliary services: a searchable federal wanted persons database (База розыска), a military casualty visualization project (Россия 200), a reader VPN service (MZ VPN), podcasts, infographics, and live courtroom streams.

The outlet operates on a direct-to-consumer model with all content distributed free of charge; there is no paywall, advertising, or premium tier. Revenue is generated entirely through voluntary reader donations and recurring subscriptions, historically anchored in Russian donors but now under acute pressure after domestic donation channels were disabled in July 2026. The organization has publicly set a target of 7,500 foreign-card subscriptions as its funding floor and is running an active international fundraising appeal. No proprietary technology systems, APIs, AI capabilities, or institutional investors were identified; the business is editorial-led with a small donor-funded base serving a single audience segment — Russian-speaking readers seeking independent coverage of the war and domestic political repression, both inside Russia and in the diaspora.

Name

Mediazona

Legal name

Медиазона (Mediazona)

Website

https://zona.media

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mediazona is an independent Russian-language media outlet founded in 2014 that publishes investigative journalism, live political trial coverage, and military casualty data for Russian-speaking readers in Russia and the diaspora, funded entirely by voluntary reader donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Digital News

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH), News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• Independent journalism
• Investigative reporting
• Digital news media
• Data journalism
• War casualty tracking

Headquarters

HQ city

Praha

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Reader Donations and Subscriptions: Mediazona relies primarily on reader donations to sustain operations. The outlet explicitly states they are in a difficult financial position, noting they have not recovered pre-war donation levels. Their stated goal is 7,500 subscriptions with foreign payment cards. Donations can be made through donate.zona.media. They also mention that donations from Russia have been disabled, making foreign support critical.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mediazona publishes independent Russian-language and English-language news, investigative journalism, and data-driven reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war, political prisoners, human rights violations, espionage and treason cases, and military casualties. It operates the main editorial website zona.media and an English version at en.zona.media, supported by specialized sub-projects including a federal wanted persons database (База розыска), a casualty tracker (Россия 200), and a VPN service (MZ VPN). All content is distributed free of charge to readers and the outlet is funded primarily through voluntary reader donations.

Product overview

Mediazona is an independent Russian-language news organization operating a unified digital news platform (zona.media) with multiple content sections including news articles (Новости), feature stories (Сюжеты/Тексты), live trial coverage (Онлайны), podcasts (Подкасты), and data visualizations (Дата). The publication maintains specialized thematic sections covering the Russia-Ukraine war, espionage cases, prisoners of war, and political trials. Auxiliary offerings include a searchable wanted persons database (База розыска), VPN service (MZ VPN), and military casualty tracker (Россия 200).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Россия 200: Data journalism project tracking Russian government statistics and casualties
• MZ VPN
• База розыска

Products and services

• zona.media (Main Website) Independent Russian-language news website providing investigative journalism, war chronicles, political trial coverage, and analysis of Russian legal system for Russian-speaking readers.
• en.zona.media (English Edition) English-language version of Mediazona for international audiences seeking coverage of Russian political events, the Russia-Ukraine war, and human rights issues.
• База розыска (Wanted Persons Database) Searchable database of federal wanted persons from Russian MVD, updated regularly, with downloadable CSV data available on GitHub. Added 31,211 new entries between September 2025 and March 2026.
• Россия 200 (Russia 200) Data visualization project tracking Russian military casualties and losses in the Russia-Ukraine war.
• MZ VPN VPN service offered by Mediazona for reader privacy and access to bypass censorship restrictions.
• Подкасты (Podcasts) Audio podcast content covering news, investigations, and analysis of Russian political and legal events.
• Онлайны (Live Trial Coverage) Live courtroom coverage and reports from high-profile political trials, including proceedings against opposition politicians.
• Дата/Инфографика (Data/Infographics) Data-driven visualizations and infographics on military casualties and other topics related to the Russia-Ukraine war and Russian politics.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BBC News Russian: BBC's Russian-language news service providing independent coverage of Russia and the war. Comparable in serving Russian-speaking audiences with non-state-aligned journalism, but as part of a large public broadcaster.
• Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL): U.S.-funded international broadcaster with extensive Russian-language programming. Comparable in reaching Russian-speaking audiences with independent news, but at much larger scale and as a state-backed incumbent.

Direct peers

• iStories (IStories Media): Independent Russian investigative journalism outlet covering corruption, repression, and the war. Comparable editorial focus, donor-funded structure, and audience of Russian-speaking readers and researchers.
• Dozhd (TV Rain): Independent Russian TV channel / online outlet forced to relocate after 2022, covering politics, war, and civil society. Directly comparable in mission and donor/subscription-supported Russian-language independent news.
• The Insider: Independent Russian investigative outlet specializing in OSINT-driven investigations of Russian security services, war crimes, and corruption. Closely comparable in mission and investigative data-driven approach.
• Meduza: Latvia-based independent Russian-language news outlet covering politics, war, and human rights from outside Russia. Highly comparable mission, audience (Russian-speaking readers and diaspora), and donor-funded revenue model.
• Novaya Gazeta: Independent Russian newspaper (Nobel Peace Prize–winning) now operating largely from abroad, focused on investigative reporting, political repression, and war coverage. Direct peer in editorial niche and audience.
• The Moscow Times: English-language Russian news outlet operating from outside Russia, covering politics, war, and business. Comparable as a bilingual/diaspora-facing independent Russian newsroom with a donor-supported model.

Emerging players

• OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project): Investigative journalism network specializing in cross-border corruption and organized crime investigations, often involving Russia. Comparable in investigative mission and database-driven reporting, though global rather than Russia-focused.
• Agentstvo (Agentstvo Novosti): Russia-focused independent investigative outlet covering politics, war, and security services. Comparable in editorial niche and audience, though smaller and earlier-stage than Mediazona.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mediazzzona
• Facebookfacebook.com/mediazzzona
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mediazona

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

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 Mediazona