ABSTRACT
The political, economic and social revolutions were accompanied by a no less profound transformation of the cultural sphere. Instead of the closed, introspective and heavily administered Soviet system, a more open, pluralistic and free society began to emerge. Nevertheless, the press struggled to adjust to post-communist conditions. If earlier they had been subject to political restrictions, they had at least been subsidised and shielded from market forces. The price of freedom was economic hardship, and papers were forced to enter the marketplace and take on advertising, while some in addition sought to attract readers by dropping the high-minded asceticism typical of the communist press and moved resolutely downmarket with a diet of sex and scandals. The lifting of censorship and the other controls during perestroika raised expectations that society would enjoy an explosion of long-repressed creativity.
