Yakovlev was the editor-in-chief of the "Moskovskie novosti" weekly, one of the liveliest voices during the years of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost, or openness, campaign, RFE/RL's Russian Service reported.
He later founded and edited "Obshchaya gazeta," a weekly newspaper intended to champion freedom of speech and liberal values.
Gorbachev said that Yakovlev had made an "enormous contribution to the renovation of the country."
Grigorii Yavlinskii, the leader of the liberal Yabloko party, said Yakovlev was "the founder of modern Russian political journalism."
Relatives said Yakovlev died in hospital on 18 September after a long illness.
(ITAR-TASS/AP)
He later founded and edited "Obshchaya gazeta," a weekly newspaper intended to champion freedom of speech and liberal values.
Gorbachev said that Yakovlev had made an "enormous contribution to the renovation of the country."
Grigorii Yavlinskii, the leader of the liberal Yabloko party, said Yakovlev was "the founder of modern Russian political journalism."
Relatives said Yakovlev died in hospital on 18 September after a long illness.
(ITAR-TASS/AP)
