During the Soviet period, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” was the all-union newspaper of the Soviet Union and the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League. It was founded according to the decision of the Thirteenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (II), and was first published on May 24, 1925, with a circulation of 31,000 copies.
Komsomolskaya Pravda was originally the official organ of the Communist Youth League of the Soviet Union. As such, it targets the same 14- to 28-year-old demographic as its parent organization, initially focusing on popular science and adventure articles while teaching CPSU values. During this period, it was twice awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1950 and 1957), as well as the Order of Lenin (1930), the Order of the October Revolution (1975) and the Order of the Patriotic War. (1945). [citation needed]
The newspaper is owned by Media Partner, which in turn is owned by ESN Group (Евросевернефть), an energy company headed by Grigory Berezkin with close ties to Gazprom. In December 2000, Norwegian media company A-Pressen bought a 25% plus 1 share in the newspaper. It is published in tabloid form by “Izdatelsky Dom Komsomolskaya Pravda” (Komsomolskaya Pravda Publishing House).
The circulation of Komsomolskaya Pravda peaked in 1990, selling nearly 22 million copies a day. In 2001, it was the ninth largest newspaper in Europe with a circulation of 785,000 copies. It was the best-selling newspaper in Russia in 2006, with a daily circulation of 700,000 to 3.1 million copies. Circulation of 660,000 copies certified by NCS in March 2008. It is the most read newspaper in the country, according to TNS Gallup Media. In the same year, the online version of the paper was also the most visited news site.
In January 2015, a front-page article in Komsomolskaya Pravda suggested that the United States had orchestrated the Charlie Hebdo shooting.
In May 2017, columnist Alisa Titko went viral for writing that the British city of Manchester was “full of fat people”, finding the sight of same-sex love “disgusting”.
