Vlast.kz
Building independent media business in Kazakhstan
- Held on Friday, November 29 at 11:00 CET
IPI’s Local News & Innovation Network hosted a virtual newsroom visit to Vlast.kz, the independent Kazakhstan-based newsroom on November 29, 11:00 CEST.
Vlast.kz is one of the few independent Kazakh media outlets covering Kazakhstan’s political, social, economic, and cultural issues.
Since its foundation in Almaty in 2012, Vlast.kz has been publishing news, reportages, analyses, investigations, longreads, and expert opinions on the country and the world’s most important events. Vlast.kz’s work adheres to the highest ethical standards in journalism. The outlet produces content in Kazakh, Russian and English languages.
Their audience is both local and global, as we strive to deliver accurate and rigorous information about what matters. The media’s publications analyze events, give a platform to those whose voices are not heard, promote dialogue, and raise questions.
Since 2022 Vlast.kz is a member of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) network where together with media outlets from around the world Vlast team works on international investigation projects like Pandora Papers, The Pegasus Project, Suisse Secrets, Uncensored: The Kyrgyzstan Project, Dubai Unlocked and The Shadow Investor.
In 2024 its founder and CEO Vyacheslav Abramov became a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), being the first investigative journalist from Kazakhstan having joined the network.
Vlast does not belong to oligarchs or politicians. It is founded by journalists who consider their work important. Despite the challenging media context in the country, Vlast has continued to freely cover events in Kazakhstan in the interest of society for more than a decade.
Topics covered in the visit:
- Media landscape and political context in Kazakhstan
- Why it is important to have access to accurate and reliable reporting from Kazakhstan and Central Asia
- The story behind Vlast, current team, operational structure, revenue model
- Where does Vlast strive to be in the future?
- What are the possibilities and the worst-case scenario for independent media in Kazakhstan?
At the newsroom visit, we heard from:
- Vyacheslav Abramov, Founder and CEO
- Vladislav Son, Publisher
- Paolo Sorbello, Editor
Get to know Vlast and their team
Watch with enabling English subtitles
What are the Virtual Newsroom Visits?
Virtual Newsroom Visits – a series of virtual live events, open to the wider public and promoted in our IPI members network, as well as the IPI’s Local News and Innovation Network. In the series, we invite experienced, innovative independent media organizations to share the BTS of their media business. These first-hand stories serve as a resource and inspiration for other journalism organizations striving to make a positive impact in their communities.
The broader goal is to level up the floor of the industry’s understanding and knowledge and create opportunities for exchange, helping our peers to do the best journalism for our communities. We now open the 4th season of IPI’s newsroom visits, organized as part of IPI’s Local News & Innovation Network, which hosts our Slack community for peer-to-peer discussion.
>> Explore the previous Newsroom visits
IPI’s virtual newsroom visits are made possible by support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF).
The views and opinions expressed on IPI’s website and other publishing platforms do not necessarily represent IPI’s views.