Pravda Archive Pravda (or "Truth") was the official voice of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR between 1918 and 1991. Founded in 1912 in St. Petersburg, Pravda originated as an underground, daily workers' newspaper, and soon became the main newspaper of the revolutionary wing of the Russian socialist movement. From 1912 to 1914, Pravda was subjected to constant persecution, fines, penalties, and prohibitions by the government. When the Bolsheviks seized power during the October Revolution in 1917, Pravda became the official publication, or organ of the Soviet Communist Party. The paper's primary role was to deliver the official line of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Pravda remained the official voice of Soviet communism up until 1991, when Boris Yeltsin signed a decree closing Pravda down.