Listyev was arguably the most popular journalist and TV anchor in Russia (he remains well remembered years after his death), and was a key force in bringing the voice of democracy to Russian television.

The program was ‘like a fresh wind’, it raised the questions that never before were allowed for public discussion, such as Stalin's Great Purge, death penalty, reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

Valuables and a large sum in cash that Listyev had on him were left untouched, leading the investigators to conclude that the murder was either a political or business-related assassination.

[5] The killing caused an enormous public outcry—in an unprecedented move, ORT and several other Russian TV channels shut down for the whole day on March 2, displaying only a picture of Listyev and the words "Vladislav Listyev has been killed" (Russian: ВЛАДИСЛАВ ЛИСТЬЕВ УБИТ, romanized: VLADISLAV LIST'YEV UBIT).

When Listyev put the middlemen advertising agencies out of business, he deprived many corrupt businessmen of a source for enormous profits.

The authors implied that the motive was to steal the TV advertisement revenue and sponsor Oleg Soskovets for Russia's presidency.