About Association
WORLD ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIAN PRESS (WARP) is an open international non-governmental organization for printed and electronic media, agencies, publishers, editors, TV and radio programs, as well as other legal manufacturers and distributors of all types of media in Russian.
WARP was established on 24 June 1999 by decision of the First World Congress of Russian Press, which took place in Moscow and Sochi, at the initiative of some of the largest and reputable foreign media, as well as the ITAR-TASS News Agency aka Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR-TASS).
According to the data available to the Board of the World Association of Russian Press (WARP), Russian newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, radio, television and web media exist now in more than 80 countries. A large part of them is presented in the WARP, or currently cooperate with it.
The World Association of Russian Press (WARP) is the only worldwide association of Russian-language media.
The highest forum of the association is the annual World Congress of Russian Press, open to all Russian-language media of any format, including non-members of the association.
World Congress of Russian Press is held alternately in one of the countries represented in the WARP. Throughout the existence of the association eighteen World Congresses of Russian Press were held.
Forum took place in Russia (1999, 2008, 2015), USA (2000, 2018), Ukraine (2001, 2011), Germany (2002), Azerbaijan (2003), Bulgaria (2004), Finland and Sweden (2005), Kazakhstan (2006) France (2007, 2016), Switzerland (2009), Israel (2010), Italy (2012), Belarus (2013, 2017), China (2014). Türkiye (2019)
The main objectives of WARP:
- development of a unified world Russian (Russian-speaking) information space;
- preservation and support of the Russian language as a universal medium of journalism in Russia and abroad;
- ensuring the rights of our compatriots abroad to access information and communicate in Russian;
- facilitation of the organization of the journalistic community for free and objective reporting of events in Russia and abroad, the life of compatriots and all native speakers of Russian;
- strengthening of relations, implementation of exchanges of creative and professional experience of foreign journalists of Russian editions, new media, television and radio;
- identifying gifted young people among the Russian foreign diasporas and support their education in the field of journalism and related activities, creating conditions for their professional development, growth and improvement;
- maintenance of cultural and humanitarian relations of Russian (Russian-speaking) foreign diasporas with Russia, preservation of the best traditions among them of the peoples of Russia and other countries that share the historical path, enriching their common cultural and historical heritage.
President of WARP - Vitaly Ignatenko.
WARP Council and the Presidium of the WARP Council coordinate the work of the Association.
