Interfax was founded in 1989 by Mikhail Komissar, a Soviet journalist, and a group of his colleagues. The idea for Interfax came during the final years of the Soviet Union, when Komissar and his team recognized the need for an independent news agency that could provide timely and accurate information to both domestic and international audiences. Interfax was established as one of the first private news agencies in the Soviet Union, operating independently from the state-controlled media. Today, Interfax is owned by a group of private investors and continues to serve as a leading news source in Russia and the former Soviet region. Based in Moscow, Russia, Interfax covers a wide range of news topics, including politics, business, finance, energy, and international affairs. The agency provides real-time news updates, in-depth analysis, and specialized reporting on developments in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and other regions of strategic importance. While Interfax's primary focus is on news relevant to the Russian and post-Soviet markets, the agency also offers coverage of global events that may impact these regions. Interfax's news services are available in multiple languages, including Russian, English, and Chinese, allowing it to reach a diverse international audience. One interesting fact: A unique aspect of Interfax is its role in pioneering the use of electronic news distribution in the former Soviet Union. In the late 1980s, when the Soviet media landscape was still heavily centralized, Interfax developed a network of telex machines and fax lines to rapidly disseminate news and information to subscribers across the country. This innovative approach to news distribution helped Interfax establish itself as a trusted and reliable source of information during a time of significant political and economic upheaval in the region.