The hardline leaders who were freed from prison under a parliamentary amnesty have joined a growing list of Russian politicians who demand money for interviews, a Russian newspaper said Wednesday.


Komsomolskaya Pravda said most of the hardliners are asking $500 to $1,000 per interview. They had been imprisoned for inciting riots against President Boris Yeltsin after he dissolved the old parliament last fall.


Ultranationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky has also upped his fees. Zhirinovsky, who used to ask for $30 per minute, now demands $100, the newspaper said.


Many Western news organizations refuse to pay interview fees.


Komsomolskaya Pravda jokingly suggested that Russia set up a political trading exchange, like a stock market, to keep track of the changing prices politicians demand for interviews as their fortunes rise or fall.