Vremya

Vremya Время
Starring	See Presenters below
Country of origin	Soviet Union (1968-1991) Russia (1994-present)
No. of episodes	No official figures
Production
Running time	30 minutes per bulletin (may sometimes be extended, see below)
Release
Original network	Channel One Russia and its predecessors
Picture format	4:3 (1968-2011) 16:9 (2011-present)
Original release	January 1, 1968 (the programme was on a hiatus from August 1991 to December 1994)- present
Website

Vremya (Russian: Вре́мя, lit. "Time") is the main evening newscast in Russia, airing on Channel One Russia (Russian: Первый канал, Pervy kanal) and previously on the First Programme of the Central Television of the USSR (CT USSR, Russian: Центральное телевидение СССР, ЦТ СССР). The program has been on the air since January 1, 1968 (there were no broadcasts from August 1991 to December 1994) and was broadcast in color since 1974.

In the Soviet days of Vremya, the programme had a pro-government bias and typically did not report on news that could potentially fuel anti-government sentiment. The programme presented reports that promoted socialism and portrayed the West in a negative manner. The newsroom was tied to the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee. This situation changed after Glasnost, when a director of news was introduced alongside the news being sourced from official outlets. This made CT USSR report accurately on the collapse of the Soviet Union's satellite communist countries in Eastern Europe in 1989. This also made Vremya to be shown uncensored and critical, triggering the protests that hastened the end of the Soviet Union.

Vremya's main edition is scheduled, since its inception, at 21:00 (GMT +11, +9, +7, +5 and +3). It is recorded live five times due to Russia's large size (the country stretches across nine time zones). During the Soviet era, the programme was also carried simultaneously on the primary channel of each republican station (Channel 1 of the Kiev Telecentre, LTV1, Kazakhstan-1, Eesti Televisioon, Lithuanian National Radio and Television, Belarus 1, Uzbekistan 1, Georgian Public Broadcasting, Azeri Television etc.) The broadcast lasts 30 minutes, but in special circumstances (more especially during the Soviet era), the broadcast is extended beyond the 30 minutes allotted when necessary (such as the Red Square state ceremonies and parades, CPSU Party Congress telecasts together with other CPSU-led activities, plenary sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and deaths of Soviet leaders Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko). Even highlights of the celebrations of the Union-wide holidays were also broadcast.

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Wikipedia