This paper considers Russia’s drive to create a ‘single information space’ in the post-Soviet region. The single information space is best understood as a euphemism for Russian access to CIS audiences, reflecting the importance placed by Moscow on retaining channels of communication to citizens in neighbouring states. Russia has sought to reinforce or at least defend the legacy of media ‘interconnectedness’ inherited from the USSR; it has also launched new state-driven, media-related initiatives aimed at promoting a favourable image of Russia in the most strategically significant former Soviet republics. This paper explores how successfully such policies have been implemented, and reflects on their ramifications for issues of sovereignty and national identity in the post-Soviet region.
