Russian journalism's symbolic year of 1989 was marked by two important events: the demolition of the Berlin wall and the exit of Soviet forces from Afghanistan.

It was the time of Gorbachev's perestroika. The country was discovering the truth about the past and beginning to breathe more freely. The atmosphere was reflected in articles published at that time. Journalists felt exhilarated as they became involved in the democratization of society. The press had an important role to play and influenced political transformation.

Lyudmila Resnyanskaya, a journalism professor at Moscow State University, described the period as being "full of romantic beliefs." The press was playing the function of the fourth estate. "It was the opposition – sometimes a constructive opposition," she said. "The media felt they could use their voice [to change things] – that's the model of the fourth estate."

The media were government-financed and had no idea about a market economy. "This created a lot of paradoxes," she said. "The media were completely against the structure that gave them the means of subsistence."

Gorbachev had an important role in press freedom – even though that seems to have been forgotten in Russia. He talked about glasnost, "a word meant to build a dialogue," Resnyanksaya said. "We have to remember [his speech] at the 19th conference of the [Communist] Party when he said to the party officials that they were suffering from 'deafness.'"

Glasnost meant freedom of speech, and Gorbachev found himself in the difficult situation of creating a society ready to accept this new concept. He had the merit of sparking the flame of freedom of speech. "The consequences of glasnost were very complex," Resnyanskaya said. The press went overboard in reporting negative facts, forgetting the positive side of things. "They simply talked a lot but didn't offer any analysis," she said.

The Russian media's enthusiasm ended in 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union, when they lost their freedom from ideology and become dependent on their new owners.

President Boris Yeltsin had an important role to play in this situation. He let the media speak loudly, but he also turned the blind eye to privatization.

In spite of all that, some journalists now look back fondly on Yeltsin's leadership and describe him as a "convinced supporter" of a free press. Others say that perception was convenient for Yeltsin. "He was playing the role of the democrat," Resnyanskaya said.

The media helped Yeltsin win the elections in 1996. They were so afraid the Communists would come to power that they felt they had no choice. Journalists lied, misinformed, manipulated and wrote paid articles.

"In this way," Resnyanskaya said, "they privatized their right to speak, and they did it for money; they commercialized it. Of course, they have a lot of regrets. ... Now it is time for Russian journalists to think about ethical principles. At least they have realized that press freedom is important and cannot be bought with money."