On January 2, 1728, the first issue of the newspaper “St. Petersburg Gazette” was published in St. Petersburg. Its publication was carried out by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. "St. Petersburg Vedomosti" became the successor of the newspaper "Vedomosti", which was published on the initiative of Peter I from January 1703 in Moscow.

In the first years of its existence, St. Petersburg Vedomosti was the only Russian newspaper and was published twice a week. The circulation of its first issues was small - a few hundred copies. The newspaper published translations of news from European capitals, as well as court chronicles.

The first editor of the newspaper was the very young historian G. Miller (in 1728 he was only 23 years old). He arrived in Russia from Germany, taught at an academic gymnasium and at the same time was a student at the Academy of Sciences. However, Miller served as editor for only two years, and after him, many scientists from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences edited Vedomosti, but no one held this post for a long time. In the mid-30s, the editor was, for example, Yakov Shtelin, an excellent art historian, thanks to whom we We now know about many artistic masterpieces of the 18th century that have not reached us, especially St. Petersburg palaces.

M.V. also served as editor of the newspaper for several years. Lomonosov, he was entrusted with this work in 1748. Lomonosov became the first Russian editor of St. Petersburg Gazette. The scientist supervised the selection of information and edited the articles. At this time, the newspaper noticeably increased the number of publications on topics close to him: about the scientific activities of foreign scientists, about scientific discoveries, the language of the newspaper became simpler and more accessible. However, due to the heavy workload, Lomonosov in 1751 asked to be relieved of this position.

An interesting feature of St. Petersburg Vedomosti was its supplement to the newspaper. The full title of this publication is "Historical, Genealogical and Geographical Notes." In 1728, “Notes” were published once a month, and from 1729 - for each issue of the newspaper. “Notes” were conceived in order to explain to Russian readers newspaper messages that were not always clear to them, in which foreign geographical names, names, and references to certain events were found. In the “Notes” all this was described in more detail, and additional interesting information was often printed. Within a year, “Notes” practically turned into an independent, as we would now say, popular science magazine. Every year the publication became more and more meaningful: works on history, philosophy, and natural sciences were published here. Among the authors of the articles were M.V. Lomonosov, famous historian V. Tatishchev.

"Notes" were published until 1742. Later, several collections with the most interesting articles of the publication were published. The St. Petersburg Vedomosti itself was for a long time the only newspaper in St. Petersburg. But even later, when the capital’s periodicals became much more numerous, the newspaper still remained authoritative and popular.

Text prepared by Galina Dregulas

For those who want to know more:
1. Krasnobaev B.I. Essays on the history of Russian culture of the 18th century. M., 1987

Vedomosti, the first Russian newspaper. 1703

1703 On January 13 (January 2, Old Style), the first issue of the first printed Russian newspaper Vedomosti is published.

“Petrovskie Vedomosti, the first Russian printed newspaper. Published by decree of Peter I on December 16, 1702. The Vedomosti was preceded by the handwritten Chimes, compiled in the 2nd half of the 17th century for the Tsar and his entourage. The first issue of Vedomosti was published, according to some sources, on December 16, 1702, and according to others, on January 2, 1703. Until 1711 they were published in Moscow at the Printing Yard; then alternately in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Since 1710, Vedomosti began to be decorated with engravings. The name of the newspaper varied: “Vedomosti”, “Moscow Vedomosti”, “Vedomosti about military and other affairs worthy of knowledge and memory that happened in the Moscow state and in other surrounding countries”, etc. The circulation and frequency of publication were also not constant (every year from 1 to 70 issues with a circulation of several dozen to 4 thousand copies). Vedomosti published reports about the victories of the army and navy (reports), information about the successes of industry, trade and education, and foreign information. The author of many reports was Peter I, editors: F. Polikarpov, since 1711 M. Avramov, since 1719 B. Volkov. Since 1727, Vedomosti was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences and from 1728 to 1914 it was published under the name St. Petersburg Gazette. Publication ceased in 1917."

Quoted from: Great Soviet Encyclopedia. M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1970-1977

“VEDOMOSTI is the first Russian printed newspaper, which began to be published on the initiative of Peter I in 1702. The original name of the newspaper was “Vedomosti about military and other affairs worthy of knowledge and memory that happened in the Moscow state and in other surrounding countries.”

The emergence of periodicals is an important phenomenon in the ideological life of Russia in the 18th century. Before Vedomosti, the newspaper Kuranty was published in Russia, but it was handwritten, compiled in the Ambassadorial Prikaz and addressed only to the Tsar and his entourage. Alexey Mikhailovich (1645–1676) considered the delivery of “European news” to Muscovy a “great thing” and spared no expense on “chimes” - editors, translators, among whom were the most famous people of that time (for example, the German travel scientist Adam Olearius). The idea of ​​​​distributing a public publication - a printed newspaper created as an official state body - was also close to Peter I. On December 16, 1702, he signed a decree, which, in particular, said: “On all matters, chimes should be printed...”, referring specifically to the creation an accessible newspaper, the issues of which would cost less and were intended for “national announcement of military and political events.”

The first issue of Vedomosti appeared on January 2, 1703. At first, newspaper issues were quite expensive (from 2 to 8 “money,” i.e., from 1 to 4 kopecks, while 3 money was the monthly salary of a Vedomosti typist ) and were small books the size of half a modern typewritten page. Subsequently, the volume of Vedomosti increased to 22 pages. The name of the newspaper was constantly changing (“Moscow Vedomosti”, “Russian Vedomosti”, “Relations”, “Extracts”), as well as the circulation of this publication (from 300 copies). In 1703, 39 issues were already published with a circulation of 1000 copies. At first, the statements were printed in church script at the Moscow Printing Yard, then - after the capital was moved to St. Petersburg - in civil script, in St. Petersburg (from 1710). From the same year, the first page of Vedomosti began to be decorated with engravings. It depicted a view of St. Petersburg with the Neva and Peter and Paul Fortress, and above them - flying Mercury (Greek god of trade, patron of arts and crafts) with a trumpet and a staff.

Military news was published in the first place in Vedomosti (from 1700 to 1721. Russia waged an intense Northern War with Sweden). “Reports” about successes were sent by commanders directly from military campaigns. Vedomosti includes many handwritten letters from Peter I and his associates. It also published information about “Russian trade and industrial affairs,” the construction of canals, the construction and opening of new manufacturing plants, gunpowder and nitrate factories. After the capital was moved to St. Petersburg, a separate page of Vedomosti was devoted to information about arriving ships, and the goods they brought were listed. Peter I considered it necessary to inform his subjects about the events of European life - in Holland, Germany, England, Italy, therefore Vedomosti often reprinted information from foreign newspapers. In form, these news from distant countries were prototypes of future reporter chronicles and notes of “special correspondents.”

Peter I took an active part in editing Vedomosti and preparing it for publication. He was the author of many “relations”, selected the material that should be published in the newspaper, and edited some articles with his own hand. The authors and editors were the prominent statesman F.A. Golovin, the first Russian journalists: the “reference officer” of the Moscow printing house and translator F. Polikarpov, the cabinet secretary of Peter I A. Makarov, the directors of the St. Petersburg printing house M. Avramov (from 1711), I .Sinyavich (clerk of one of the orders, one of the first journalists in Russia, “reporter”), B. Volkov (from 1719), etc.

In the language of Vedomosti one can feel the influence of folk, everyday speech

In the mid-1710s, Peter I decided to start “Russian propaganda” in the West. For this purpose, he demanded from Prince A.B. Kurakin to “send printed chimes to Europe,” promising “a legal amount of money to those who take up this matter.” However, this project stalled. “There was great noise in Europe, both trial and condemnation.” After a series of such failures, Peter seemed to have lost interest in printing. The fate of Vedomosti is up in the air. They began to be published with great delay, turning, according to B. Volkov, into “memories for historians.” But Peter suddenly remembered the newspaper, “saw negligence,” and arranged a “sovereign repression” of the entire editorial board. After this, things progressed in such a way that Vedomosti began to be published 3 times a week, and since then there have never been any problems with the publication of the newspaper.

In 1727, Vedomosti was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences. In the same year, the German, famous historian, one of the creators of the “Norman theory” Gerhard Friedrich Miller became the editor-in-chief of the newspaper. Therefore, the newspaper began to be published in German. But they did not buy the expensive edition in German, so in 1728 the newspaper’s successor was the St. Petersburg Vedomosti in Russian. This newspaper began to be delivered to subscribers 2 times a week, according to the so-called. "post days". Since 1728, along with the new edition, which became the successor to the “Vedomosti” of Peter’s time, an appendix, “Monthly Historical, Genealogical and Geographical Notes,” began to be published. It explained foreign words to uneducated readers and published scientific articles. Gradually, the application began to turn into a magazine, published together with the St. Petersburg Gazette 2 times a week.

In the second half of the 18th century. M.V. Lomonosov collaborated with the newspaper, publishing in it the article “Discourse on the Duties of Journalists” - a kind of “moral and ethical code” of writers of that time. According to Lomonosov, every journalist should be competent, modest, respectful of the opinions of others, knowing that “it is a shame to steal other people’s thoughts.”

If the publication of the first Vedomosti continued until 1727, then the publication of their successors, the St. Petersburg Vedomosti, lasted almost two centuries and was stopped only in 1917.”

Quoted from the encyclopedia "Krugosvet" - http://www.krugosvet.ru/enc/istoriya/VEDOMOSTI.html

History in faces

“Report on military and other affairs worthy of knowledge and memory that happened in the Moscow state and in other surrounding countries”, January 12 (January 2), 1703:
...by the command of His Majesty, Moscow schools are multiplying and forty-five people are listening to philosophy and have already graduated from dialectics. More than 300 people study at the Mathematical Navigation School and accept good science. In Moscow, from November 24th to December 24th, 386 male and female births occurred. In the Chinese state, the Velmi Jesuits were not loved for their cunning, and some of them were executed by death. The Cossack forces under Colonel Samus are multiplying daily, knocking out the commandant in Nemirov, they have captured the city with their military men, and they are already planning to take the White Church.

Quoted from: Soloviev S.M. History of Russia from ancient times. Volume 15, chapter 2. M.: Mysl, 1993. P.78

The world at this time

In 1703, Isaac Newton becomes chairman of the Royal Scientific Society



Portrait of Isaac Newton. G. Kneller. 1702

“...Montagu was president of the Royal Society until 1698. He was then replaced by the Whig Junta leader Lord Somers for five years. The change from Montagu to Somers kept the Royal Society in party hands, but added nothing to its scientific authority. Lord Somers attended the meetings only twice in five years, and the decisive Hans Sloan conducted business for him. But even he was unable to cope with the elements of desolation that were overwhelming the Society more and more. Despite desperate attempts to persuade members of the Society to attend meetings, the number of visitors was decreasing. And when Sir John Hoskins, chairing one of the regular meetings, looked around the hall, he was terribly upset - the hall was empty, despite the fact that potential listeners could enjoy the extremely interesting, in his opinion, message about a woman who tried without any effect on her husband pork bread, nightshade, spiders, and frogs, until, in despair, she decided to poison him with ordinary arsenic.

Old men Robert Hooke and Christopher Wren rarely attended such meetings. Newton also visited the Society infrequently, although he did not want to lose contact with it. On one of his first 304 visits, he showed his fellow members a new type of sextant he had built, which, in his opinion, was very useful for navigation. The decorous academic atmosphere of the meeting and its sleepy peace were immediately disturbed by Robert Hooke, who, with trembling and indignation in his voice, announced that he had invented a similar device more than thirty years ago. Indeed, Hooke had some ideas in this regard, but he never built a sextant. (And since this was so, Newton believed, Hooke had no right to make such accusations.) It was felt that Newton, who began to regularly attend meetings, irritated Hooke. And then Newton decided not to spoil the Royal Society with his visits.

But at some point the Society itself began to feel the need for Newton. This became especially clear after Hooke's death in March 1703. Far-sighted members of the Society understood that without proper scientific leadership it would quickly come to final decline. It cannot be said that the idea of ​​making Newton president was very popular. Many knew about his connections with two previous presidents from the Whig Party, who left the saddest memory of themselves. Some sympathized with Hooke, who was ruined by consumption, but also from his deathbed, who spewed curses with withered lips at Newton, the thief of his ideas, some believed that he was old, some believed that he had not lived long enough in London to become president of the London Society.

First, according to the rules of the Society, it was necessary to be elected to the council. Then the council members elected the president. When Newton's candidacy was announced, 30 people were present at the meeting. Newton received 22 votes. Apparently, for many he remained an upstart, a parvenu who, out of rank, received an excellent position at the Mint with the help of another parvenu, the Duke of Montagu. His position in the Society was somewhat leveled only by his elevation to knighthood and the acquisition of his own coat of arms.

Newton was elected President of the Society on St. Andrew's Day, at the end of November 1703. Two weeks later he appeared at the meeting for the first time in his new capacity, and those present immediately realized that he was by no means going to be a decorative figure.

Newton, in his usual thorough manner, first carefully studied the history of the Royal 305 Society, which still dates back only half a century, leafed through all the protocols and the “Philosophical Transactions” - the Society’s printed organ. After which I was completely ready to shoulder a difficult burden.

And the first thing he decided to do was personally conduct all council meetings. Somers hasn't attended a council meeting in five years. In the twenty years before his health began to fail, Newton missed only three.

He then decided to prove to the Society that he had the ability not only to speak, but also to do something with his own hands. He often brought instruments he made to the Society. Suffice it to recall his igniting glass - it was a very difficult device, only a very skilled craftsman could make it. The glass was composed of seven lenses, each of which was eleven and a half inches in diameter; all together formed a segment of a large sphere that captured and concentrated the sun's rays. This “glass” instantly melted red burnt brick, and melted gold in half a minute. Several meetings dealt with glass.

Seeing that the main shortcoming in the work of the Society was idle chatter, Newton decided to develop a “Scheme for strengthening the Royal Society”. Here Newton clearly formulated what kind of discussions should be conducted in the Society and what should not. “Natural philosophy,” wrote Newton, “consists in discovering the forms and phenomena of nature, and reducing them, as far as possible, to the general laws of nature, establishing these laws by observation and experiment, and thus inferring causes and effects.”

After the death of Peter I, under his immediate successors, a reaction began against Peter’s reforms, and an attempt was made to return to the “old times.” Much of what was created is destroyed, what was started is preserved.

But it became impossible to turn Russia back, as the feudal-church nobility wanted. The state reformed by Peter continued to grow stronger and develop.

New economic relations were taking shape in Russia, productive forces were growing, trade and industry were expanding, and connections with foreign countries were multiplying. All this created a need for information, a constant need to know how military operations were going - the war with Sweden ended only in 1721 - what was happening inside the country and outside its borders.

Since 1728, the publication of Vedomosti was taken over by the Academy of Sciences. The newspaper received the permanent name “St. Petersburg Gazette”. The first editor-compiler of the updated newspaper was G. F. Miller (1705–1783). He came to Russia from Germany in 1725, was enrolled as a student at the Academy of Sciences and at the same time began teaching Latin, history and geography at the academic gymnasium.

Miller worked on Vedomosti from 1728 to 1730. He selected materials for each issue of the newspaper, translated foreign news, drawing them from the foreign press, read the proofs and monitored the publication of the issues.

The first issue of St. Petersburg Gazette for 1728 was printed on four quarter-length pages, the rest were published in the same format. On the first page, under the headline of the newspaper, there was a vignette depicting a double-headed eagle with a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. The publication date follows. The content of the issue included news from Hamburg, London, Vienna, Berlin, Rome, Paris and other European cities, as well as court chronicles - messages about the sovereign’s congratulations on the New Year, promotions to ranks and awards.

The newspaper was published twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays; 104–105 issues were collected per year. In addition, it had a “Supplement” (addition, addition - Latin) - 12 issues in which various additional materials were printed, for example, the parliamentary speech of the English king, the manifesto of the Swedish king, decrees on the confiscation of kopecks in 1726 and 1727, on the export goods to Riga and Revel, etc. During the year, four reports were published as appendices - about the entry of Peter II into Moscow, about his coronation and about the funeral of Princess Anna Petrovna (two).

Throughout the 18th century. “St. Petersburg Vedomosti” did not change its frequency - they continued to be published twice a week, only changing the days of publication from time to time due to changes in “postal days”, when mail was sent from St. Petersburg throughout the Russian Empire. Soon, foreign and domestic news was supplemented by announcements about auctions, contracts, sales, the release of new books, theatrical performances, etc. These announcements contain considerable material for historians of Russian culture, as they make it possible to clarify the date of publication of a particular book, magazine, the appearance of a new play.

An important stage in the participation of M. V. Lomonosov in the Russian periodical press is associated with the St. Petersburg Gazette. In 1748 The office of the Academy of Sciences appointed several translators to select messages from foreign publications, and entrusted Lomonosov with editing.

In essence, Lomonosov became the editor of Vedomosti, because out of the eight pages of each issue of the newspaper, at least five or six were occupied by foreign news, the rest were filled with advertisements. Russian news - mainly court chronicles - usually received a very limited place, representing two or three items that did not appear in every issue.

Despite his busy schedule, Lomonosov took the new assignment with full responsibility and began to manage the selection of foreign information, carefully editing the texts. This did not change the general chronicle nature of Vedomosti's notes - the editor dealt with translations, did not write anything himself, but only selected and edited them. News about the war for the Netherlands, about naval clashes between England and Spain, about the family life of rulers - kings, dukes and margraves, information about earthquakes, storms and fires are constantly published under Lomonosov, as it was before him.

But one cannot help but notice an increase in the number of notes relating not to military, but to civilian news, scientific reports, and information about the discoveries of foreign scientists. The style of writing also changes, it becomes clearer and more accessible. The phrase becomes short, energetic, clear in thought, convenient for reading out loud.

The considerable work that Lomonosov put into managing the publication of the St. Petersburg Gazette took away his time from scientific studies, and therefore in March 1751 he asked to be relieved of this responsibility. The Academy of Sciences transferred the editing of Vedomosti to Taubert.

From 1728 to 1742, Gazette was published with the appendix of “Historical, Genealogical and Geographical Notes”, ranging from 4 to 8 pages. During the first year they appeared once a month, and since 1729 they have been attached to each issue of the newspaper. Their releases are called “parts”.

“Notes” were conceived as a reference apparatus for Vedomosti and at first were closely associated with the content of the newspaper. They interpreted the reported news in more detail and additionally cited interesting materials that expanded the information in the information notes in the main text of the newspaper. But a year later, “Notes” acquired an independent character, articles appeared on their pages that were not at all attached to newspaper reports, and they turned into a magazine, published together with “Vedomosti” twice a week.

The articles in the Notes over the thirteen years of their existence are striking in their versatility and breadth of thematic coverage. So, in 1729, along with the news about the state of the Inquisition in Venice (part 15), there is an essay “The Oxen Fight in Spain and Portugal, or about the battle with oxen,” i.e., about bullfighting (part 19). Following a series of articles on the discovery of America (parts 29–31), there is an article “On Perpetuo Mobile, an indispensable or incessant movement” (part 56). Part 87 contains “Poems or verses of the excise secretary Ganken in Poland”, parts 95–101 are occupied by an extensive article “On laying the hand of the French king on the sick or on healing the glands by touch”, parts 88–91 are filled with the article “On the arrival of great water in the Neva” etc. In subsequent years, this variety of content increased even more. Large articles appeared on natural science topics, practical recipes, medical recommendations, descriptions of illuminations and much more.

Several articles on issues of literature and art were published in the “Notes”: “On disgraceful games or comedies and tragedies” (1733, parts 44–46), “Historical description of the theatrical action called opera” by academician J. Shtelin (1738, parts 17–21, 33–34, 34–49), “On silent comedians among the ancients” by academician F. Strube de Pirmont (1739, part 87), “On bards or the first poets among the ancient Germans” by Stehlin (1740, parts 1–2), etc. Of course, the appearance in the Russian press of articles touching on topics of history and theory of art had its positive significance and was useful for readers, but one cannot help but notice the complete indifference of the editors to Russian art and literature.

Lomonosov's initial steps at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences upon returning from a business trip abroad were connected with participation in the press. Lomonosov was appointed adjunct of physics classes in January 1742, and before that, for six months he worked in the editorial office of Notes on Vedomosti as an author and translator. In 1741, he published three odes in “Notes” - on the birthday of Emperor Ivan Antonovich (parts 66–69), in honor of the victory of Russian troops over the Swedes at Vilmanstrand (parts 73–74) and congratulations to the new Empress Elizabeth Petrovna ( parts 98–102).

In addition, Lomonosov translated several works by Academician Kraft “On the Preservation of Health”, “On the Hardness of Various Bodies”, etc. A total of ten parts of the “Notes” of 1741 in a row were occupied by Lomonosov’s translations.

In October 1742, the Academy of Sciences stopped publishing the Notes, but reader interest in them did not cool. In 1765, in Moscow, probably by Miller, a collection was published consisting of 25 articles reprinted from there, and after it several more publications of the same type were published.

Under Peter the Great, a newspaper appeared in Russia

The idea of ​​publishing printed political bulletins for the public belongs to Peter the Great, who is considered the founder of the Russian newspaper. He was also the first editor of Vedomosti. Proof of this is that he himself used a pencil to translate and insert passages from Dutch newspapers into them, and even read the proofs himself. As a precious monument, the Synodal Library contains several issues with proofreading notes by his sovereign hand.

On December 16, 1702, Emperor Peter the Great indicated that “according to statements about military and all sorts of affairs that are subject to announcement of Moscow and the surrounding States to people, chimes should be printed, and for printed chimes, statements in which Orders about what is now and will continue to be sent from those Orders to the Monastic Prikaz, without wasting, and send those statements from the Monastic Prikaz to the printing yard.”

Peter the Great's wish was soon fulfilled: on January 2, 1703, the first sheet of printed Russian newspapers appeared in Moscow - the first Russian newspaper printed in Church Slavonic script. It was published under the following title: “Vedomosti, about military and other affairs worthy of significance and memory, which happened in the Moscow State and in other surrounding countries.” Then, over the course of a year, 39 issues appeared, published at indefinite dates, ranging from 2 to 7 pages , each number with a separate numbering, and sometimes without numbering at all.

To familiarize yourself with the nature of the contents of Peter’s statements, we will give an abbreviation of their first number.

"Moscow Vedomosti"

“In Moscow, again, now 400 copper cannons, howitzers and mortars have been poured. Those cannons have a cannonball of 24, 18 and 12 pounds each; bomb howitzers, pound and half pound; mortars with a bomb of nine, three and two pounds and less. And there are many more forms of guns, howitzers and mortars ready for casting, large and medium-sized. And now there is more than 40,000 poods of copper in the cannon yard, which is prepared for new casting.

By order of His Majesty, Moscow schools are multiplying, and 45 people are studying philosophy and have already graduated from dialectics.

More than 300 people study at the mathematical navigator school and accept good science.

From Persia they write: the Indian king sent gifts to our great sovereign of an elephant and quite a few other things. From the city of Shamakhi he was released to Astrakhan by land.

They write from Kazan: a lot of oil and copper ore were found on the Soku River; A fair amount of copper was smelted from that ore, which is why they hope that there will be no small profit for the Moscow state.

They write from Siberia: in the Chinese state they did not like the Jesuits much for their cunning, and some of them were executed by death.

From Olonets they write: the city of Olonets, priest Ivan Okulov, having gathered hunters on foot with a thousand people, went abroad to the Svei border and defeated the Svei outposts - Rugozen and Hippon, and Sumer, and Kerisur. And at those outposts of the Swedes he killed a large number of Swedes... and he burned the Solovskaya manor, and near Solovskaya many other manors and villages, about a thousand households, he burned...

From Lvov they write on the 14th day of December: the Cossack forces under Lieutenant Colonel Samus are multiplying daily; Having knocked out the commandant in Nemirov, they took possession of the city with their military men, and already have the intention of getting the White Church, and they expect that he will take possession of that town as well, as Paley will unite with his army...

The Oreshek fortress is high, surrounded by deep water 40 versts away, firmly besieged from Moscow troops and already more than 4000 shots from cannons, suddenly 20 shots each, there were already more than 1500 bombs thrown, but to this day they have not caused a great loss, and They will still have a lot of work until they capture that fortress...

From the city of Arkhangelsk they write, on the 20th day of September, that as His Royal Majesty sent his troops in various ships to the White Sea, from there he went further and sent ships back to the city of Arkhangelsk, and 15,000 soldiers were found there, and on the new fortress, on Named Dvinka, 600 people work every day.

As can be seen from the above sample, at that time the newspaper was published without any system: there was no division of the newspaper’s content into sections; there were no “leading articles”, no “feuilletons”, etc. The facts were recorded in the newspaper without any connection; they were not given a proper assessment of their significance. A major fact or event from public life was placed next to some small note.

The statements were printed in 1000 copies; after 1703, various changes were gradually introduced into them. Since 1705, they began to place a number at the bottom of the first page of issues indicating the order of publication; in 1710, the number of statements printed in civil font first appeared; from this year until 1717, statements were printed either in Church Slavonic or in civil script; and since 1717, exclusively in one civilian font, except for extraordinary additions containing reports of military operations, which were also typed in Church Slavonic letters.

On May 11, 1711, the first sheet of St. Petersburg Gazette appeared, printed in St. Petersburg. From that time on, Gazette issues were published sometimes in St. Petersburg, sometimes in Moscow.

In 1727, the publication of the Gazette ceased - their editorial office came under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences, which on January 2, 1728 published the first issue of the Petersburg Gazette. The publication of special bulletins in Moscow resumed in 1756.

All numbers of the first statements now represent the greatest bibliographic rarity: only 2 complete copies of them have survived in Russia, and both belong to the Imperial Public Library. In 1855, the authorities of the Imperial Public Library reprinted them not only page for page, but also line for line.

This reprint, with a preface outlining the original history of the Gazette, was published under the title: “The first Russian Gazette, printed in Moscow in 1703.” New edition in two copies; stored in the Imperial Public Library." This publication, dedicated to the Imperial Moscow University, on the day of the centenary celebration of its founding on January 12, 1855, was printed in 600 copies, which were all sold out within 2 months, so that in our time this publication itself has become a bibliographic rarity.

The most important event in Russian cultural life was the publication of the first official newspaper Vedomosti (1702-1727), which marked the beginning of the Russian periodical press. Called to life by the political, economic and cultural needs of the country, this newspaper reflected in its essence the contradictions of the era of Peter the Great's reforms. On the one hand, it became an important phenomenon of national culture, contributed to the democratization of the language, and carried out an educational function. On the other hand, it served the purposes of propaganda of the government’s domestic and foreign policy, and had a monopoly on the opinions of readers in a monarchical spirit.

By decree of December 15, 1702, Peter I announced the publication of the first Russian newspaper. The decree read: “The chimes, in our Vedomosti way... are to be sold into the world at the proper price.” “Vedomosti” was intended “to notify about foreign and domestic incidents.” "Vedomosti" of the time of Peter the Great. Vol. 1. M., 1903

“Chimes” - walking news, or “Newsletters” - a handwritten newspaper that existed before Peter’s “Vedomosti”, was in the nature of information about events abroad (about the political life of the West, about military plans and diplomatic acts of various states). The need for a handwritten newspaper began to be felt already at the beginning of the 17th century, during the period of expansion of diplomatic and trade relations between Russia and European and Eastern countries, when constant information about ongoing military and political events abroad became necessary for the government. Materials for the handwritten newspaper were prepared by officials of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, who mainly selected and translated material from foreign newspapers, and also used messages from people living abroad. “Chimes” were written on long narrow sheets of paper - “columns”. “Chimes” were intended for the king and a narrow court circle. For a long time, the oldest copy of a handwritten newspaper was dated back to 1621, but the latest data from Vesti historians dates back to 1542; they have been compiled more regularly since 1600. "Vesti Chimes" 1600-1639. The publication was prepared by N.I. Tarabasova, V.G. Demyanov, A.I. Sumkina / Ed. S.I.Kotkova. M., 1972

By the end of the 17th century. Russia received up to 200 titles of foreign newspapers. Translations of “news”, “messenger sheets” or “notebooks”, “messenger letters” were made from German, English, Swedish, Danish, Polish, Italian, Dutch, Greek and other European languages. When preparing materials for inclusion in the Chimes, the translators of the Ambassadorial Prikaz usually indicated where the translation was made from (from printed sheets or from a messenger letter), from what language, who sent the news and when, sometimes they even reported how it was copied, almost always the time of its receipt was indicated.

The title was lengthy, it indicated where the translation came from, what it was about, about the events in which land: “Translation from a German notebook that was done in Ustrey (Austria), and in Poland, and in Schlezhi (Schleiswig), and in France , and in the Dutch, and in the English, and in the Italian, and in the Ugric (Hungary) land and in other places.” Sometimes the name of the translator was indicated, and to whom the translation was transferred: “Retelling of the letter sent by the Riga translator J. Gennik to the Swedish clerk Adolf about events in Sweden, France, Ireland and Lithuania” (August 1648 - May 1649).

“Vesti-Kuranty” comments in detail on foreign news about the military events of the Thirty Years' War, reports on the battle of the armies of King Charles I Stuart and the parliamentary army during the English bourgeois revolution. Sheet 30, dated January 31, 1649, contained material under the title: “Translation of a Swedish printed sheet describing the execution of the English king Charles I Stuart.” What followed was a translation from a printed page from the Sveian language. Described (how the King of England was executed).”

The description of the execution is replete with many details about the behavior of the king, his plea addressed to the executioner to ensure that the torment did not last long: “... he put his hat on his head, asked the executioner (whether my hair was in the way, and how the executioner prayed that he himself was in the way) tucked his hair under his hat)..." This event is told not without sympathy for the English king. The Moscow government was officially notified of the execution of Charles I Stuart in 1650, but this news was late, since it became known earlier from a Swedish newspaper, the translation of which was published in the Chimes on January 31, 1648.

It is interesting that in 1649, merchants asked the government to ban English trade in Moscow and other cities, explaining this decision by the fact that the British “killed their sovereign, King Charles, to death.”

Quite often there were reports of popular protests in different countries. Thus, the “Chimes” in 1620 reported on the events of the Czech uprising against the Habsburgs; other “news” provide news of uprisings of the masses in the Austrian possessions. In “Chimes” one reads news about individual events of the war of the Ukrainian people under the leadership of B. Khmelnitsky against the Polish lords (“translations of printed newsletters about events in Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany.” August 1649).

“Chimes” also contained news about events in cultural life in foreign countries: about theatrical performances, about the printing of books. Trade information was also reported as follows: “a translation of the printed list of goods on nine Dutch ships” (August 1650). Here were listed the goods that went “from eastern India to the Dutch land” (furs, pepper, cinnamon, paints, ginger in sugar, nuts, etc.).

To obtain information about “European behavior,” translators and editors used not only translations of foreign newspapers, but also replies from governors of such “border” cities as Arkhangelsk, Riga, Novgorod, Pskov, Astrakhan, and received information from merchants and others. persons returning to their homeland. Correspondents, among whom there were many foreigners, also delivered information. Thus, the Dutchman, trader Yuri Klink, in 1626 handed over to the Ambassadorial Prikaz messenger sheets, which reported what “was happening in the Caesar’s region and in the Italian land this year.” There was information from Rome, Venice, etc. cities. Served in 1625-1628. At the court of the Russian Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, Isaac Massa delivered sheets with detailed information about the relationship between the French king and the English king. Massa was ready to go to French, English, Danish or Swedish lands for government affairs. “In all those lands,” he reported, “I have good friends and I can visit and get what I need.”

The Ambassadorial Prikaz usually quickly translated foreign news. So, on the back of one voivodeship letter it was written: “Order the messenger sheets to be translated at that hour.” Great importance was attached to the arrangement of the material, which was divided by the proof-reader into meaningful sections that facilitated easier perception of the text. The government considered information about foreign events to be of utmost importance. In the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to Voivode Ya. Ondronov, messenger affairs were equated with great affairs. The news was usually read aloud, as evidenced by the marks on the text of the translations: “read to the sovereign” or “read to the sovereign and the boyars.” There are also such notes: “read to the Emperor and His Holiness Patriarch, paste into the pillar” (i.e., the read texts must be pasted to the previous materials).

Despite the fact that the information level of the news is low, their appearance testified to the political processes taking place in the country and serving to strengthen international ties. Handwritten “Chimes” to a certain extent facilitated the emergence of the first Russian newspaper “Vedomosti”.

Unlike the Chimes, Peter's Vedomosti was the first newspaper designed for a wide circle of Russian readers; it was intended for sale to the world. Vedomosti was primarily informational in nature, introducing readers to important events in the country and abroad. Separate issues of the newspaper were published under the names “Moscow Vedomosti”, “Russian Vedomosti”, etc.

N. Dobrolyubov wrote that in Vedomosti “for the first time the Russians saw a nationwide announcement of military and political events” Dobrolyubov N.A. On the degree of participation of the people in the development of Russian literature, 1858 // Complete. collection Op. in 6 volumes. T. 1. M., 1934.

From the moment of its appearance, the newspaper had a pronounced propaganda character. It reflected the urgent needs of the era of major transformations in Russia. Vedomosti promoted new science and culture, asserted the necessity and justice of wars with Sweden and Turkey, reported on the country's defense capability, the superiority of its military strategy, economic development, etc. With the help of the newspaper, the government for the first time turned to public opinion, trying to gain its support and convince the reader of the need for the measures being taken.

In the first printed issue of Vedomosti that has reached us, dated January 2, 1703, “the printed numbers dated December 17 and 27, 1702 have not survived and are known from handwritten copies. It was reported: “By the command of His Majesty, Moscow schools are multiplying, and 45 people are listening to philosophy and have already graduated from dialectics.

More than 300 people study at the mathematical navigation school and accept good science.”

“They write from Persia: The Indian king sent gifts to our great Sovereign of an elephant and quite a few other things.” This news should have evoked a feeling of pride in the development of education and in the growth of Russia's international authority.

The newspaper often wrote about the richness of the Russian soil. In the same issue of Vedomosti (January 2, 1703) it was reported: “From the legend they write: a lot of oil and copper ore were found on the Soku River, a fair amount of copper was smelted from that ore, which is why they expect considerable profit for the Moscow state.”

In the issue dated July 18, 1703: “in the previous Vedomosti it was announced that iron had been found in Siberia, and now on the 17th day of July they brought to Moscow from Siberia in 42 plows 323 great guns, 12 mortars, 14 howitzers made from that iron ... and there is no such good iron in the Swean land.”

Much attention was paid to military information and military successes achieved by Russian troops. The progress of the Northern War was discussed in reports, letters, and reports on military operations.

Among the reports of victories, the correspondence written by Peter I about the Battle of Poltava, published on July 2 and 15, 1709, is especially interesting. Peter writes about the unparalleled courage of Russian soldiers, about the fortitude that helped win a difficult victory over the Swedes and capture “several thousand officers and privates, field marshals and Swedish generals.”

“From the camp from Poltava, two ten, the seventh day of June, it was written in a letter from the imperious (own. - L.T.) hand of His Royal Majesty to the most noble sovereign Tsarevich. I announce to you a very great and unforeseen victory, which the Lord, through the indescribable bravery of our soldiers, deigned to bestow upon us, with the little blood of our troops, in this way.” Peter writes in detail about the balance of forces and the stages of the battle.

The pages of the newspaper promoted guerrilla warfare against the Swedes. Vedomosti wrote that the Olonets priest Ivan Okulov recruited 1,000 hunters and, crossing the Swedish border, boldly attacked the Swedes, killing 450 people, and “from the priest’s army, only 2 soldiers were wounded.”

The newspaper also included the following message: “From Riga on August 24th. His Royal Majesty, after the capture of Shlotburg, one mile from there closer to the eastern sea, ordered the construction of a new and highly desirable fortress on the island, in which there are 6 bastions, where twenty thousand people worked as miners, and that fortress in its state name, nicknamed Petersburg ordered to update."

“Vedomosti” is the official government newspaper and therefore the following was written about the uprising of Kondraty Bulavin: “The Don Cossack, thief and apostate Kondrashka Bulavin intended to start a rebellion in Ukrainian cities and among the Don Cossacks.” It was further reported that Bulavin, seeing “that he could not escape from the army of the Tsar’s Majesty, killed himself to death. And many of his like-minded people were beaten, others were overfished and sat in chains” (July 20, 1708).

The contents of Vedomosti are of great historical interest; they contain a lot of factual information and clearly express the government’s view of political events. Readers' interest in them is evidenced by articles copied from the first Russian newspaper, which are found in handwritten collections of the 17th century. Until 1715, when the newspaper was published in Moscow, from May 11 of the same year the newspaper began to be published in St. Petersburg, its editor was Fyodor Polikarpov, director of the Printing House. With the translation of the newspaper to St. Petersburg in 1719 - director of the St. Petersburg printing house Mikhail Avramov News about Slavic-Russian printing houses of the early 18th century // Pekarsky P. Science and literature in Russia under Peter the Great. T. II. .

The main genre of the newspaper is information, however, in Vedomosti one can see the origins of other newspaper genres, such as correspondence, newspaper reporting (reports about festivals, illuminations) See: M.S. Cherepakhov. The emergence of periodicals in Russia. M., 1955; Zapadov A.V. Russian journalism of the 18th century. M., 1964; Esin B.I. Russian pre-revolutionary newspaper. M., 1971; Stanko A.I. Russian periodicals of the 18th century. Rostov, 1979. Thus, on Peter’s name day (June 29, 1719) it was reported: “First, a “prayer service,” then “national joy with loud cannon fire, and a royal feasting meal... with sweet-voiced singing, trumpets and music...”

Foreign information occupied a large place in Vedomosti, which was explained by the strengthening of economic and cultural ties with European countries.

The Tsar himself took an active part in the publication of the first Russian newspaper. He edited individual issues of the newspaper, supervised the proofreading and selection of material. Its statute was determined by the requirements that it imposed on printed products: “... so that those drawings and books are printed for the glory of our great sovereign, our royal majesty, the exalted name and our entire Russian kingdom among the European monarchs of flourishing, highest praise and general public benefit and profit." Involving his closest associates in the newspaper - Menshikov, Apraksin, Shafirov and others, whose letters, reports, reports appeared on the pages of Vedomosti. Peter I also monitored the external design of the newspaper, demanding clarity and simplicity of style. Not without the influence of the traditions of Russian book graphics and the experience of European periodicals, the first Russian printed newspaper “Vedomosti” had a small format (1/12 sheet), the text was placed in one column, typed in Cyrillic (the issue dated February 1, 1710 was typed in civil font). The transition to a civilian font made the newspaper more accessible to readers.

Peter to the envoy: “In your communications you use a lot of Polish and other foreign words and terms, behind which it is impossible to understand the matter itself. For this reason, from now on you should write your communications to us in the All-Russian language.”

Printed "Vedomosti" were sold for 1-4 money (money - half a kopeck), and sometimes were given to the people without money.

The first “full-time employees” of the Russian press were Boris Volkov, a translator of the ambassadorial order, who began working as an editor at Vedomosti in 1719, and Yakov Sinyavich, also a translator of the ambassadorial order, who, by Peter’s decree of April 1720, was called up to work at Vedomosti ", responsible for expanding information about the internal life of the country. The newspaper was of a small format (one eighth of a sheet), made up of small notes in one column without headings.

Vedomosti was published irregularly. In 1703, 39 issues were published, in 1705 - 46, in 1718 - only one issue. The newspaper's circulation was also inconsistent. It ranged from 150-200 copies to 1000, and the issue dated March 22, 1703 was published in 400 copies. The news about the Battle of Poltava was printed in 2,500 copies and was sold out in its entirety. At the same time, not all issues of Vedomosti were distributed. Since 1719, the printing of Vedomosti was transferred to St. Petersburg. The newspaper was printed in Slavic script, and from 1709 - in civil script.

In Vedomosti's notes, which convey the author's attitude to the facts depicted, describe events in detail, and comment on statements, there is a tendency to spin off information genres - reportage, report, interview. Correspondence on military topics contains the beginnings of an analytical examination of facts. The development of genres in Vedomosti proceeded intensively, like the entire economic, political and cultural life of Russia in the era of Peter the Great's reforms.

The publication of the first Russian newspaper Vedomosti was a fact of great political and general cultural significance. Unlike the first predominantly private newspapers published abroad, Peter’s Vedomosti had a national state character. The newspaper, despite its informational nature, from the very beginning was an agitator and propagandist of Peter’s reforms; its publication was designed to shape public opinion.

The Peter the Great era - an era of fierce struggle between old, moribund traditions and new, contradictory, but progressive development trends - determined the predominantly journalistic nature of literature, permeated with civic pathos and patriotism caused by the growth of national self-awareness and the desire for national affirmation. This pathos of the Peter the Great era found expression in a corresponding panegyric style, which embraced literature, journalism, and art.

The development of journalistic works proper, in which the narrative element is almost absent and the author's individuality acquires special importance, is characteristic of periods of acute intra-class struggle, the struggle of hostile groups. Such is the era of Ivan the Terrible, the time of troubles in Rus' in the 17th century, such is the struggle of ideas around the reform activities of Peter. The political bias of the literature of this time appears not only in the form of a direct assessment of events by the author (The Words of Feofan Prokopovich, the sermons of his antagonist Stefan Yavorsky), but also indirectly, through the artistic image, the very method of presentation. An example is the anonymous stories of Peter the Great's time, the tragic comedy of Feofan Prokopovich “Vladimir”. In them, the political tendency and the author's position are revealed in plot situations and poetic images.

The need to explain the significance of the reforms, the huge revolution that took place in the entire way of Russian life, determined the journalistic nature of both official documents and literature of Peter the Great's time.

Thus, in the first decades of the 18th century, the only type of periodicals in Russia was the newspaper, which acquired its typological features in the content, design, and system of genres, mainly informational, among which the leading role was played by the note. After the death of Peter I, at the time of the palace coups that began, Vedomosti ceased to exist, and printing came under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences and Moscow University. Changes have occurred in the state of the periodical press due to the development and specialization of economics and science, and journalism’s awareness of its capabilities: the number of newspapers has increased, their geography has expanded, a magazine has appeared, and scientific and specialized periodicals have become stronger. With the transition of the press to the Academy of Sciences, scientists came to periodicals and became its leaders, and the popularization of scientific achievements came to the fore.

Since 1728, the St. Petersburg Gazette has been published, its first editor was G.F. Miller. From 1728 to 1742 the newspaper had an appendix entitled “Historical, Genealogical and Geographical Notes.” Since 1756, Moscow University began publishing the Moscow Gazette. In January 1755, the first issue of the magazine “Monthly Works, Serving for Benefit and Entertainment” was published, its editor was G.F. Miller.

Carrying out scientific and educational tasks, academic journalism turned to the genres of scientific and popular science articles, reviews, and essays. Thus, the “Notes to the Gazette” publishes articles by Y. Shtelin on the history and theory of drama and poetry. V. Trediakovsky appears with articles on literary topics in Monthly Works. A series of articles of a historical and local history nature are published by G. Miller, outlining the results of his ten-year stay with a scientific expedition in Siberia. Articles by M. Lomonosov, V. Tatishchev and other scientists made a significant contribution to the development of not only domestic, but also world science and culture.

The review genre served the purpose of educating the reader. They considered both scientific and literary works, Russian and foreign. As a rule, reviews were a retelling of the work and its general assessment with minor elements of analysis. Sometimes they gave way to annotations for new books with excerpts from them. Academic publications introduced the reader in the essay genre to the history, geography, ethnography of Russia and other countries.

Information genres continued to dominate in newspapers, and magazines tended to be analytical.

“St. Petersburg Vedomosti” allocated 2-4 pages for advertisements, which amounted to from a third to half of the issue. The announcements department had a permanent section “For news” and contained information about new books, contracts, and sales. At first, advertisements were separated by lines, then thematic blocks with titles appeared: “Sales”, “Contracts”. Gradually, the advertisement department branched out from the statements and began to be published in the form of “Additions” (supplements) with a special price for them.

The Moskovskie Vedomosti, following the model of the St. Petersburg Vedomosti, published advertisements both in the main part and in the Addendums, where they were grouped under permanent headings. Under the heading “Sale” the sale of books, horses, and honey was reported. A 23-year-old hairdresser was advertised for sale nearby; girls who know how to wash and iron clothes.

The issues of efficiency and accessibility of periodicals, which received justification earlier than others, are considered by G. Miller in the “Pre-Notice” to the first Russian magazine, guided by the goal of attracting the attention of the largest possible number of readers to the publication (“the number of inquisitive viewers is growing,” there is a need for “a publication that would deliver readers food for thought and means for further self-development"). He places demands on the journal for the novelty of judgments (“a new invention”); simplicity, clarity of presentation (“to write in such a way that everyone, no matter what their rank or concept, can understand the proposed matters”); variety of materials (“it is necessary, depending on the differences of readers, to always change materials, so that everyone, according to their inclination and desire, can use something”).

Judgments about efficiency, regularity of publication, diversity and brevity of presentation of published materials are made taking into account reader psychology and are justified by it. “The reader,” says this policy statement, “is insensitively instructed when, at a certain time, he suddenly receives a small number of pieces of paper; and this instruction usually sinks into him more firmly than reading large and lengthy books. Moreover, his curiosity always increases when the time comes when a new sheet or a new part of such a work is about to come out of print. It’s rare that someone won’t want to read it; and for its brevity, it cannot bore anyone, and hardly anyone will leave it without reading it from beginning to end.”