Stolichnoye Televideniye (STV)

Belarus · Quick Facts SC On the documented control chain 3 · 2 Television services and digital platforms 2000 Registered 19 October, on air 1 January 2001 165/180 RSF 2026 · 27.72 ▲ from 166th Services STV; RTR-Belarus, branded that way on air and formally titled Russia-Belarus on the President’s portal; and Sport TV, launched 10 October 2025. Digital platforms CTV.BY and Belarus-News.by. RTR-Belarus carries STV-produced programmes alongside Russian content REN-TV STV initially combined its own programming with material retransmitted from Russia’s REN-TV. That relationship ended in 2022 Founding shareholding At creation the state-owned Minsk-Novosti Press Agency held 71 per cent, representing the Minsk City Executive Committee, with COSMOS TV holding 29 per cent. These are founding figures; no current register or charter was obtained, so they are not presented as the current cap table Control President Alexander Lukashenko approved the appointment of Alexander Osenko as General Director in February 2022, and Osenko remained in post in September 2026. No independent supervisory board, protected appointment procedure or external oversight mechanism was identified Funding A joint BYN 1.1124 million subsidy was allocated to STV and ONT in 2022, with the division between them undisclosed. Journalists and researchers interviewed in May 2024 described public financing as principal and advertising as heavily dependent on state-owned enterprise contracts Programming The current roster includes Azarenok. Secret Springs of Politics and Azarenok. Directly, presented by Grigory Azarenok, alongside Politics Without Ties or Cuts, Harsh View and Without Cover Formal safeguards Articles 4 to 7 of Law No. 427-Z of 17 July 2008 list diversity of opinion and free expression among the governing principles and prohibit censorship, monopolisation, demands for prior approval, interference in editorial autonomy and coercion of journalists

Sources: STV institutional, management and programme pages; President of Belarus portal; government resolution, 2022; Law on Mass Media No. 427-Z of 2008; SMM interviews, May 2024; Reporters Without Borders 2026. Classification per the State Media Matrix.

Typology trajectory — STV

Belarus · 2022–2026 2022 SC 2023 SC 2024 SC 2025 SC 2026 SC The classification is unchanged. The REN-TV relationship ended in 2022, Sport TV joined the portfolio in October 2025, and the basis is now the documented control chain rather than a shareholding that could not be verified as current. From founding structure to documented control At creation, 2000 The state-owned Minsk-Novosti Press Agency held 71 per cent, representing the Minsk City Executive Committee, with COSMOS TV holding 29 per cent. Current position No current shareholder register or charter was obtained, so those figures are recorded as the founding structure rather than the present cap table. The gap does not alter the finding. President Alexander Lukashenko approved the appointment of Alexander Osenko as General Director in February 2022, and Osenko remained in post in September 2026. No independent supervisory board, protected executive appointment procedure or external oversight mechanism was identified. Formal safeguards Articles 4 to 7 of the Law on Mass Media, Law No. 427-Z of 17 July 2008, list diversity of opinion and free expression among the governing principles and prohibit censorship, monopolisation, demands for prior approval, interference in the professional autonomy of an editorial entity and coercion of journalists. What they do not reach The chief executive’s appointment required presidential approval, and the current roster carries Azarenok. Secret Springs of Politics and Azarenok. Directly, presented by Grigory Azarenok, alongside Politics Without Ties or Cuts, Harsh View and Without Cover. No independent supervisory mechanism can apply the statutory protections against the state shareholders or that management. Ownership State, split unverified Editorial Directed by the state Funding Mix unquantified A joint BYN 1.1124 million subsidy was allocated to STV and ONT in 2022, with the division between the two companies undisclosed. Journalists and researchers interviewed in May 2024 described public financing as the principal source and advertising as heavily dependent on state-owned enterprise contracts. The predominance of state support therefore rests on interview evidence and documented historical subsidies rather than on current company accounts.

Sources: STV institutional, management and programme pages; President of Belarus portal; government resolution, 2022; Law on Mass Media No. 427-Z of 2008; SMM interviews, May 2024. SC = State-Controlled Media, per the State Media Matrix.

STV, Stolichnoye Televideniye or Capital Television, is a Belarusian national broadcasting company constituted as the closed joint-stock company Stolichnoye Televideniye. It was registered on 19 October 2000 and began broadcasting on 1 January 2001, initially in Minsk and nationwide from 2005. STV initially combined its own programming with programmes retransmitted from Russia’s REN-TV. That relationship ended in 2022. The company now operates three television services: STV, RTR-Belarus and the specialised Sport TV channel launched in October 2025.

Media assets

Television: STV, RTR-Belarus, formally Russia-Belarus, and Sport TV

Digital: CTV.BY and Belarus-News.by

Sport TV launched on 10 October 2025. STV brands the second service RTR-Belarus on air, while the President’s portal uses its formal title, Russia-Belarus. That channel carries STV-produced programmes within its schedule alongside Russian content.

Ownership and governance

STV was incorporated as a closed joint-stock company in 2000. At its creation, the state-owned Minsk-Novosti Press Agency held 71 per cent of the shares, representing the interests of the Minsk City Executive Committee, while COSMOS TV held 29 per cent.

The absence of a current shareholder breakdown does not alter the state-control finding. STV was established with a controlling municipal-state shareholder, remains officially presented within Belarus’s state media system, and its senior executive appointment is subject to presidential approval. President Alexander Lukashenko approved the appointment of Alexander Osenko as General Director in February 2022. Osenko remained in post in September 2026.

Source of funding and budget

Belarusian journalists and media researchers interviewed by State Media Monitor in May 2024 described public financing as STV’s principal source. The company also earns advertising revenue, which interviewees said is heavily dependent on contracts with state-owned enterprises.

Documented state support includes a joint BYN 1.1124 million subsidy allocated to STV and ONT in 2022.

Editorial independence

STV’s news and political programming consistently reflects official positions.

Its current programme roster provides concrete evidence. The schedule includes the political programmes Azarenok. Secret Springs of Politics and Azarenok. Directly, presented by Grigory Azarenok, alongside Politics Without Ties or Cuts, Harsh View and Without Cover.

The company also operates RTR-Belarus, combining Russian state broadcasting with Belarusian programmes produced by STV.

The published record’s claim that no domestic statute exists is incorrect. Articles 4 to 7 of Belarus’s Law on Mass Media, Law No. 427-Z of 17 July 2008, list diversity of opinion and free expression among the principles governing the media and prohibit censorship, monopolisation, demands for prior approval, interference in the professional autonomy of an editorial entity and coercion of journalists to publish or withhold information.

Those provisions do not provide structural independence at STV. State Media Monitor identified no independent supervisory mechanism capable of applying them against the state shareholders or against management appointed with presidential approval.

AI and digital policy

State Media Monitor could not identify a published STV policy governing generative artificial intelligence, mandatory human verification, model provenance or audience disclosure, and could not establish the extent of adoption in production.

State Media Monitor did not establish whether Belarus has adopted a statutory framework requiring disclosure of AI-generated content in broadcasting.

Classification rationale

STV remains classified State-Controlled Media (SC).

It is state-owned and directly state-managed. At its establishment in 2000, the state-owned Minsk-Novosti Press Agency, founded by the Minsk City Executive Committee, held a controlling 71 per cent share, with COSMOS TV holding the remainder. State Media Monitor could not verify the current percentage distribution and therefore records those figures as the founding structure rather than the current cap table. The governance mechanism is independently documented: the appointment of General Director Alexander Osenko was approved by the President, and no independent supervisory board or protected appointment procedure was identified.

It is predominantly state-funded. Interview evidence from May 2024 describes public financing as the principal source, with advertising secondary and heavily dependent on state-owned enterprises. Government support is documented, including a joint subsidy allocated to STV and ONT in 2022, although no current appropriation, accounts or revenue breakdown was identified.

Its editorial agenda is directed by the state. News and political programming consistently reflects official positions, while the company’s current programme roster includes explicitly pro-government political commentary. The company also operates RTR-Belarus, combining Russian state broadcasting with Belarusian programmes produced by STV. Articles 4 to 7 of the Law on Mass Media contain formal protections that are not supported by independent governance or enforcement.

September 2026