ABSTRACT
Unlike the comparative description of regional media-political configurations, the story of Peterburg – 5 Kanal 1 is a small-scale case study. However, it also has a certain significance for the national media history: had it been noticed by the Russian journalistic community in time, it might have become an indicator of future changes that unfolded full scale under president Putin. While the collapse of NTV manifested the institutional consolidation of the state, the failure of Peterburg – 5 Kanal anticipated state consolidation along the spatial axis.
