Russia: Prominent journalist Yegor Yakovlev dies

Prominent journalist Yegor Yakovlev died on Sunday after a long illness at the age of 75, reports UPI, through Monsters and Critics. Yakovlev, called the "founder and patriarch of perestroika-era and post-Soviet journalism", had turned the weekly Moscow News (Moskovskiye Novosti) "from a propaganda tool into the leader of the perestroika."

As UPI reports, "The newspaper broke many taboos, writing about the Stalinist purges and criticizing the socialist economy and Communist rule ... During his time as editor from 1986 to 1991, thousands of people would wait in long lines at Moscow newsstands on Wednesday mornings, hoping to get a copy of the latest issue."

Source: UPI through Monsters and Critics