Although Obshchaya gazeta did not chime in with the pro-Yeltsin choir last year, Yakovlev's comments in Prague demonstrate that he too believes journalists must save unenlightened people from their base instincts. As Yeltsin's fragile health raises the prospect of early presidential elections, everyone in the media's avant-garde knows what instincts the public needs protecting from. Journalists have long been suspicious of the charismatic retired general, although he received substantial favorable exposure for a few months during the presidential campaign, thanks to a secret deal with the Yeltsin camp. Since last September, when Yeltsin's health failed to improve and Lebed's popularity continued to rise thanks to his peacemaking efforts in Chechnya, a coordinated media campaign has portrayed Lebed as an unstable and overly ambitious figure. Even now, as he leads opinion polls and gives frequent interviews, Lebed receives mostly negative media coverage.
Some observers argue that the only real impediment to journalistic independence in Russia is money.
Yakovlev lamented the financial constraints that force newspapers, radio and television stations to seek sponsors among powerful banks or industrial groups, such as the gas monopoly Gazprom. Certainly, the economic dependence of the media often stands in the way of truly objective reporting. For instance, Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov sees to it that media outlets pay far below market rates for rent and services in the expensive Russian capital. In return, he is rarely if ever criticized in the Moscow-based press, even less on television. However, it would be wrong to assume that if not for their money problems, Russian journalists would report the news dispassionately, without protecting the authorities or their wealthy sponsors.