President Yeltsin has pledged to protect freedom of speech by all possible means.

Speaking on Russian television, Mr Yeltsin said that certain people, whom he did not name, should behave themselves in dealing with the press.

Correspondents say that Mr Yeltsin's remarks appeared to be a response to recent demands for renewed media censorship by Communist and nationalist deputies, who have complained of a constant blackening of their image on television and in some newspapers.