At a Moscow State University conference titled Journalism: Social Mission and Profession, Volin spoke to journalism students about his views of the profession of journalism, further igniting the battle for press freedom in Russia.

Emphasizing that journalism is solely a business, Volin told students: "The task of a journalist is to make money for those who hired him, and this can only be done if you become interesting to listeners and readers."

"Journalists should always keep in mind that their task is not to make the world better or lead humanity along the right path" reported iMediaEthics.org.

He warned the university’s lecturers "If you don't teach this - you are committing a crime."

A source told iMediaEthics.org that Russian journalists are being killed in their “efforts to get the truth out” and that they should “just write propaganda. It makes your stomach turn.”

An unnamed journalist in Moscow added, "for a long time the government here has been clamping down on free expression of the media, this latest thing doesn't surprise me in the slightest.”