1917 Decree of the Council of People's Commissars on the press

One hundred years ago, on November 10, 1917, the Council of People's Commissars published the Decree on the press, which read:

“In the grave decisive hour of the upheaval and the days immediately following it, the Military Revolutionary Committee was forced to take a whole series of measures against the counter-revolutionary press of various shades ... Everyone knows that the bourgeois press is one of the most powerful weapons of the bourgeoisie. Especially at a critical moment, when the new power, the power of the workers and peasants, is only being consolidated, it was impossible to leave these weapons entirely in the hands of the enemy, while they are no less dangerous at such moments than bombs and machine guns.

That is why temporary and emergency measures were taken to curb the flow of dirt and slander, in which the yellow and green press would willingly drown the young victory of the people. As soon as the new order is consolidated, all administrative influence on the press will cease; full freedom will be established for her within the limits of responsibility before the court, according to the most extensive and progressive law in this respect.

In fact, there was no freedom of the press in Russia until the very end of "the power of the workers and peasants."