Legal Problems of Access to Major Cultural Events in an Audiovisual Form in Russia

The thesis is concerned with the actual problems of organization of access to major cultural events in an audiovisual form in Russia. It analyses Russian and European regulatory frameworks for broadcast events on television and on the Internet. In the study author confirms the following hypotheses: 1) the legal guarantees of access to major cultural events in an audiovisual form play an important role in the realization of the right to information, but their legal regulation has not been adequately elaborated in Russia, in contrast to EU; 2) at present, access to major cultural events cannot be managed by media law, because no clear understanding for the need for guarantees of access has emerged within the media industry. In the last paragraph of the thesis, author makes some recommendations aimed at solving current problems (such as the problem of acquiring broadcast rights of major events for broadcasters, the absence of guarantees of access for viewers and the absence of the effective and balanced protection from media piracy), using the results of the expert survey of organizers of broadcasting, organizers of cultural events and public authorities.