Gazprom Media, a subsidiary of state-owned Russian utility Gazprom, has taken control of the St Petersburg weekly newspaper Tchas Pik, the company said.

'Gazprom Media has bought Tchas Pik and intends to develop it,' said Gazprom Media spokesman Daria Litvina.

No financial details of the transaction were disclosed.

The weekly Tchas Pik --'rush-hour' in Russian --, one of St Petersberg's leading independent weeklies, has always adopted a liberal stance. Until now it has been under the control of the company Peterbourgski Tranzit.

Gazprom Media has in recent years become one of the leading publishing groups in Russia.

In June, the group took control of one of the country's leading daily newspapers, Izvestia, a transaction that caused concern in Russia, where freedom of the press is seen to have been threatened in recent years.

News source: www.forbes.com
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