Predvestnik

Predvestnik (Forerunner) was a Russian language newspaper published in the Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts. Founded in 2004, it ceased publication in 2008.

Predvestnik covered a wide variety of local and world news, and published articles on Christianity. It appeared monthly with a circulation of about 4,000 and was printed in a full color broadsheet format. The newspaper was delivered free to the public.

Target readership

The newspaper served immigrants from the former Soviet Union republics that had been immigrating to Western Massachusetts since 1989. The majority of these immigrants belong to the Evangelical Christian faith, which includes Pentecostals and Baptists. These immigrants were granted refugee status by the United States Department of State because of religious persecution. Russian Jewish immigrants who moved to Western Massachusetts during the same period represent a significantly smaller number of the population. Other religious faiths represented in the area include the Armenian and Orthodox faiths. The population also includes a small number of Muslim Turkish people, who began arriving from Russia in 2006.

For more than 15 years the Russian speaking community has drastically grown in numbers, and in cities like Westfield, Massachusetts they constitute around 10% of the population. Thousands more Russian speakers are located in West Springfield, Springfield, Chicopee, Agawam and other towns. Additionally, information from local municipalities and immigrant agencies suggests that the population is more than 25,000 in the Pioneer Valley.

Most immigrants from the former Soviet Union speak Russian at home and favor news media in their own language. The newspaper may therefore have been the only source for local news, information and inspiration in their language.

Key persons

The publisher was the newspaper's founder, Pari Hoxha, and the editor was Tatyana Hoxha.

External links

• Predvestnik.com