How We Were Independent

Abstract

The end of Party authority over the press created illusions: freedom of the press for the public at large and independence for journalists themselves. On a wave of glasnost', newspapers that were created anew or had ceased to be someone's organs, one after another, declared themselves independent. Few professional journalists will be found who during these years resisted the possibility of publishing their own independent newspaper. Nor could we, a few Riga journalists, resist the temptation either. Contradictions arose among people in the Baltic republics, and the conflict between the local and central press intensified. Given this background, the lack of a general Baltic regional newspaper seemed a dereliction. And so the Nevzavisimaia Baltiiskaia Gazeta [Independent Baltic Newspaper] was born. A sponsor was also found, the Association of Independent Entrepreneurs, "Baltiia," which was willing to give the newspaper material support. The association united several cooperative firms and banks, counted a turnover in the millions, and had hard currency accounts.