W omanJournal.ru and Passion.ru, two of Russia’s many websites targeting woman, will merge through an agreement recently reached between the two site’s individual owners. The deal calls for Passion.ru’s Evgeny and Svetlana Vysokovskiy to receive a stake of less than 50% and two Board seats at Milanor, the owner of WomanJournal.ru. The parties hope the merger will result in a business that can attract more advertising dollars and better compete with Russia’s other online women’s properties.
WomanJournal.ru (www.womanjournal.ru)
Launched in December 2005, WomanJournal.ru is targeted at the active and successful women of Russia’s cities with news and information on a variety of topics such as health & beauty, relationships, children, and fashion. The site saw 2.2 million visitors in September 2009 and earned revenues estimated at USD 2 million in 2008.
Passion.ru (www.passion.ru)
Passion.ru was founded in 1999 as one of the pioneers of female-focused web content in Russia. The site offers standard women’s fare of health & beauty, marriage & family, and fashion advice, but the real pride and joy of Passion.ru is their Passion Journal; a forum which allows women to connect to talk, share, and make friends. The site’s 2.4 million monthly visitors make it one of the most-visited women’s sites in Russia. 2008 revenues were estimated near USD 1 million.
