According to data from TNS Media Intelligence, the average ad size in Russia's print publications dropped by 9 percent in October compared to the same period last year, b2bos.ru reported Tuesday.

Furthermore, growth in advertising revenues that Russian titles have seen over the past five years has slowed down, the article stated. For the first nine months of 2008, ad budgets increased by 14 percent to about RUB40.3 million (US$1.4 million).

First to diminish their advertising budgets were retailing firms, vodka manufacturers, real estate companies and auto dealers. According to experts, the press will have a tough time during the first fiscal quarter of next year, b2bos.ru reported.

Overall advertising in print media in October surged by 3.2 percent since the previous month, according to online Russian-language publication Delfi. However, the total number of ads dropped by 32.5 percent to 11,461 in October, year-on-year.