MOSCOW, November 28 - RAPSI. The Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) has been awarded the RuNet Prize 2011 in the “State and Society” category. The national prize was established by the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Media and is awarded to sites for their contribution to Russia's Internet development.

Communications and Mass Media Minister Igor Shchegolev presented the prize to RAPSI Editor-In-Chief Oleg Efrosinin.

“We do not see our victory in this prestigious competition as an appraisal of the Russian Legal Information Agency,” Efrosinin said. “The main thing is that more and more Russians and representatives of professional communities are paying attention to the transparency of the justice system. They are fighting legal nihilism and providing legal support to citizens.”

RAPSI was established on February 10, 2009 by RIA Novosti, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Commercial Court.

RAPSI's website launched in April 2010. Less than a year later, it became Russia's leading legal website. In March 2010, RAPSI won the Golden Site prize in three categories.

The RuNet Prize was awarded for the first time in 2004 to mark the tenth anniversary of the Internet in Russia.