Can It Survive the Free Market?

The article focuses on the independent newspapers "Nezavisimaya Gazata (NG)," which is becoming quiet successful in Russia. Its brave determination to continue publishing even through the Moscow coup attempt, with photocopied fly sheets posted on walls, provides a kind of battle honor of which journalistic legends are made. NG was launched before the coup, in the odd barter-plus-influence style that Moscow has developed instead of a financial system. The paper was a great success, thanks to the luck of Igor Zaherov, the deputy editor, who happened to be in the Gosplan building the day they were allocating newsprint.