How is this different than "Voice of America" or the BBC for that matter; those media give a lot of space to political opposition in places like China or Russia.
Sure RT have an opinion and a bias wrt. US politics; but it is not like the people watching would be in any doubt that this channel was sponsered by Russia and had "an Russian perspective" on things.
No, it's not; if you read the Key Judgements section, the part about the "state-run propaganda machine" is the last and least of the four major areas of influence it cites.
Political opposition is suppressed or effectively banned in those countries so its activities are newsworthy. RT does not report on the Russian opposition much or engage in direct criticism of the regime. It's qualitatively different from the BBC and even the VOA.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/29/obamas-christmas-gift...
http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-release...
Russia or China do not allow US or western press operations, government-funded or otherwise, as much freedom of action in their countries as the US allows RT. It simply isn't a level playing field.