In 1985, the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev and the introduction of the policies of "glasnost" and "perestroika" opened a new era for Soviet publishing. The anti-censorship law passed on August 1, 1990, but by then Soviet society already enjoyed freedom of the press. It is likely that close to two thousand independent newspapers and journals were being published in the USSR by mid-1991. The exact figure is not known since bibliographic control over this new category of publications is non-existent.

. The terminology and definitions relating to the "new press" have not yet been established. Most often the phrase "neformalnye izdaniia" (unofficial publications) and, after August 1, 1990"nezavisimye izdaniia" (independent publications) are used to describe this category in Russia and the former Soviet republics. The older term "samizdat" also refers to the new publications as well (even though they came from printing presses).