 | |
| Country | Czech Republic |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Russia, Ukraine, countries ofCentral Asia andEastern Europe |
| Headquarters | Prague |
| Programming | |
| Language | Russian |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| History | |
| Launched | 7 February 2017; 9 years ago (2017-02-07) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | en |
| Website | Russian:currenttime Englishen Entertainmentvotvot |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Tet (Latvia) | MUX2 (Channel 22, Pay TV) |
Current Time TV (Russian:Настоящее Время,romanized: Nastoyashcheye Vremya) is a Russian-languagetelevision channel with editorial office inPrague, created by the US organisationsRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty andVoice of America.
The channel – via RFE/RL – is funded through grants from theUS Congress through theUS Agency for Global Media.[1] The media sees its task in "promoting democratic values and institutions". RFE/RL launched Current Time, in October 2014.[2] The official round-the-clock broadcasting began on February 7, 2017.[3][4][5]
Current Time was instituted as an alternative toKremlin-controlled media andRussian propaganda.[6][7] Despite the fact that Current Time was intended to counterbalance Russian official news coverage, Kenan Aliyev,[8] executive editor of Current Time, toldReuters that C.T. was notcounterpropaganda at all.[9]
In December 2017Russia'sMinistry of Justice added the outlet to the list of"foreign agents". It, alongside 8 otherAmericanpublic broadcasters, was the firstmass media outlet to be included to the list of "foreign agents".[10]
Current Time is available oncable, satellite and digital platforms in Russia, theBaltics,Belarus,Bulgaria,Ukraine, theCaucasus andcentral Asia.[9] It had over 1,500,000 followers on Facebook and 1,300,000 subscribers on YouTube in August 2020.[5]
On 27 February 2022,Roskomnadzor blocked the website of the channel for its coverage of theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[11] On January 5, 2024, a Belarusian court declared the Internet pages of “Current Time” extremist.[12]
In April 2025, following a decision of the U.S. Agency for Global Media distribution viaAstra andEutelsat satellite networks ceased.[13]