EXPLAINER: The Birth of an Independent Ukrainian Press: From Samvydav to Modern Journalism

In the late 1980s, Ukraine saw the emergence of a free press, previously stifled under Soviet authoritarian rule. Samvydav, or self-published uncensored texts, circulated clandestinely among dissidents and oppositionists in Ukraine since the 1960s. The Ukrainian Herald was the most prominent of these publications. Former political prisoners and journalists, Viacheslav Chornovil and Oles Shevchenko, played key roles in the national resurgence of Ukraine in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

As Soviet controls loosened under Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of glasnost and perestroika, state media began to show more outspokenness. Official publications like Literaturna Ukraina and Kultura i Zhyttia covered themes related to national cultural revival, such as recovering suppressed historical memory and rehabilitating persecuted writers and intellectuals.

In response to this newfound openness, unofficial publications proliferated, no longer produced in small batches but printed and circulated more widely. The Ukrainian Helsinki Union, founded by Chornovil and other dissidents, became the central organizing force behind Ukraine's self-published periodicals. Serhiy Naboka, a former political prisoner, produced Holos Vidrodzhennya in 1989, the first unofficial newspaper to circulate openly.

In Lviv, the Lev Society produced Postup, with Oleksandr Kryvenko as one of its contributors who later had a successful career in journalism and public life.

Radio Liberty, an American-funded broadcaster, played a crucial role in providing uncensored information to Soviet citizens. Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service, established in April 1989, aimed to amplify the most significant constructive voices within Ukraine and serve as an integrating function for people across the country. Serhiy Naboka, along with other Kyiv colleagues and correspondents, produced daily reporting from across Ukraine, adhering to Western standards of balance and accuracy.

In January, UNVIS was established to provide a more independent, self-sustaining publishing structure. The Ukrainian Helsinki Union reorganized into the Ukrainian Republican Party in April, converting much of the earlier informal press network into party-affiliated publications. I became the first senior figure from RFE/RL to be allowed into the Soviet Union in June.

Notable figures, such as Vitaly Portnikov, a young journalist from Molod Ukrainy, were invited to be correspondents from Radio Liberty. Interviews with high-ranking officials, like Leonid Kravchuk, and live broadcasts with unscheduled discussions with listeners marked a turning point in independent Ukrainian journalism. The live television program "Pleiada" was another significant milestone in the development of an independent Ukrainian press.