It has to be cheap, and it has to have the television listings. With major Moscow-based advertisers reluctant to spend money in the poorer provinces, and with publication costs rising steadily, the regional press has become increasingly dependent on the good will and financial backing of local politicians. These patrons expect a high degree of loyalty in return. Certainly, the Primorye region has been no easy place to practice journalism. Mr. Nazdratenko came to power in 1992, and like many other regional leaders who slipped from the Kremlin's grasp and reached various accommodations with Moscow in exchange for power, he turned the region into his political fief.
Editors say the authorities have several ways to keep the press in line .
They can encourage companies to advertise in their favored newspapers. They can evict news organizations from government-owned buildings or pressure landlords to evict troublesome news bureaus. They can file lawsuits to keep the editors in court or force them to pay fines. In Vladivostok , the region's main printing press is owned by the federal government, but Mr. Nazdratenko has been lobbying hard to gain control. But nobody can afford to do that.