''Afisha'' ( — "Poster") was a Russian

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

and lifestyle magazine published from April 1999 to December 2015 in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and 12 other Russia's major cities. In its peak years ''Afisha'''s readership reached approximately 1.5 million people. Its online version remains one of Russia’s most popular media brands with a monthly Internet audience of more than 4.5 million.

History

Founded in April 1999 by Moscow journalist Ilya Oskolkov-Tsentsiper, American entrepreneur Andrew Paulson and businessman Anton Kudryashov ''Afisha'' was intended as Moscow's version of Time Out which Oskolkov-Tsentsiper and Paulson tried and failed to license. It quickly outgrew its initial purpose as a bi-weekly listing magazine and ended up having a profound effect on Moscow’s cultural and nightlife scene. In the next 10 years Afisha turned into a Russia's leading publishing house by launching an array of spin-off publications such as monthly travel magazine ''Afisha-Mir'', alternative weekly ''Bolshoy Gorod'', food magazine ''Afisha-Yeda'' and a series of Afisha-branded travel guide books. A team of young journalists, designers and photographers brought together by Oskolkov-Tsentsiper created a unique ''Afisha'' style which had a major impact on Russian media. Many high-profile Russian artists made their first public appearances on ''Afishas front cover and the magazine popularised several new fashion trends – even introducing numerous new words into the Russian lexicon, from “deadline” to “ hipster”. A number of Russia's now prominent cultural figures started their careers writing for Afisha including film directors Avdotya Smirnova, Mikhail Brashinskiy and Roman Volobuev, award-winning writers Lev Danilkin and Yulia Yakovleva and Elena Kovalskaya who went on to become artistic director of Moscow’s Meyerhold Theater. ''Afisha'' played an active part in

2011–2013 Russian protests The 2011–2013 Russian protests, which some English language media referred to as the Snow Revolution (), began in 2011 (as protests against the 2011 Russian legislative election results) and continued into 2012 and 2013. The protests were motiv ...

with its senior stuff helping to organise rallies in Moscow, publishing manifestos demanding fair election and at some point putting the opposition leader

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

on the print edition's cover. A 2013 issue with a rainbow flag on its cover and the story "27 stories from the lives of Russian gays" played an important role in the LGBT movement in Russia. In 2014 ''Afisha's'' parent company '' ProfMedia'' was bought by a Russian state-owned energy corporation

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. Soon after the new owners have shuttered magazine's struggling print edition and fired most of the editorial staff. Plans to relaunch the ''Afisha'' as a quarterly were announced but never realized.

Online

In 2013 ''Afisha'' launched daily updated sites "Vozduh", "Volna" and "Gorod", promptly telling about the latest developments in sphere of culture, music and life in Moscow, and "Serialy" - Russia's largest online television series library.

Afisha Picnic

Annually the magazine held a music festival Afisha Picnic, a one-day outdoor festival held in Moscow, Russia every summer. It took place on the territory of Kolomenskoye, a former tsar’s estate, now a state-owned historical, architectural and nature reserve museum, located only 10 km south-east of the city center. Since its start in 2004, the Afisha Picnic has followed the concept that mixes professional music festival featuring performances of international artists and local independent musicians, and urban-style event with all sorts of entertainment, such as designers’ market, gastronomic area, games and crafts, sports and amusements, lectures and workshops, and, on one occasion, even a dance floor on the rollerdrome. The festival was visited by 50,000 visitors that spread out over of land.

References

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