SOVIET-ERA MEDIA BOSS NAMED TO HEAD STATE PRESS BODY.

PrimeMinister Viktor Chernomyrdin has named former Soviet media officialIvan Laptev to replace Sergei Igryunov as chairman of the StateCommittee for the Press, Itar-Tass reported July 26. A close associateof Mikhail Gorbachev, Laptev served as editor in chief at Izvestiyaand later as speaker of the Supreme Soviet. He is a protégéof another Soviet era propagandist, Vitaly Ignatenko, who wasrecently promoted to be deputy premier in charge of the mass media.Both Laptev and Ignatenko are strong supporters of Chernomyrdin’selectoral bloc.

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