Many observers believe that it has sometimes been the mass media which has been the sole catalyst of change since 1985. Others believe that it split into two camps: the group in favor of glasnost and perestroika and the group believing that the country would be ruined by these twin evils. Yet this same mass media over the decades of communism was an essential and obedient part of a monolithic propaganda machine! How could a vast and complex sector of society change even in part from being a docile servant of the government to an initiator of explosive changes in society? This authoritative book traces the details of this enormous change during the transition years until today.