Compares use of the media by Brezhnev and Gorbachev, and how it was used to help force democratization from above.

This work is a study of the role of mass media in political change, specifically the recent changes in the Soviet Union. The output of publications by the USSR to various constituents is analyzed for content and direction. The use of the media to define the new Russia is shown. Those involved in Russian studies, media studies, international studies, and similar fields should be interested in this work.