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State monopoly of advertising (Nov)
Creating a state monopoly of advertising ensrued that only the government could publish adverts and could therefore mould public opinion and trends towards helping to support certain industries over others -
Decree on the Press (Nov)
Gave the government the emergency powers to close any newspapers which supported a counter revolution -
Nationalization of the Petrograd Telegraph Agency (NOV)
Nationalisation of the PTA gave the new government control of electronic means of communication -
Establishment of ROSTA (Jan)
The All-Russia Telegraph Agency was solely responsible for distributing news -
Outlawing of Opposition papers (mid-1918)
Lenin outlawed opposition socialist papers and closed down any papers that supported the Tsar or the Provisional Government. -
Revolutionary Tribunal of the Press is established (Jan)
Establishing the Revolutionary Tribunal of the Press gave the power to censor the press.
Journalists and editors who committed 'crimes against the people' could be punished by the Cheka.
Cheka were empowered to impose fines or prison sentences, confiscate property or exile offending writers. -
Period: to
Close of 2000 papers and 575 printing presses
By 1921, Lenin and the Communists had closed down 2000 newspapers and 575 printing presses. Control of the press was aided by the economic controls introduced under War Communism, as this allowed the government to control all printing presses and paper stock -
Success of Pravda (early 1920's)
Due to the closure of all other anti-medias, Pravda gained a much higher circulation and became one of the best selling publications in the SOviet Union in the early 1920s
Communist control of Sovnarkom also gave them control over the official newspaper of the Soviets, Izvestia.