Yegor Yakovlev, 75; Editor of Moscow News During Glasnost
Yegor Yakovlev, 75, the journalist whose weekly newspaper broke one taboo after another in the era of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost, or openness, campaign, died Sunday after a long illness, Ekho Moskvy radio reported.
Yakovlev was editor in chief of the Moscow News, one of the liveliest voices of the late Soviet years and a fierce opponent of censorship. He went on to edit the Obshchaya Gazeta, or Common Newspaper, which championed freedom of speech and liberal values.
“Those who knew him remember how much his position and voice meant in difficult times when all the changes started and when people needed faithful, honest, truthful and courageous words,” Gorbachev said at a memorial service Wednesday for Yakovlev.
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