National Periodical Press in Russian Empire in 1905‒1916: Phenomenon and Research Outlook

Abstract. The article deals with the phenomenon of non-Russian periodicals on the outskirts of the Russian Empire in early 20th century. A quantitative analysis of non-Russian publications shows that, despite the political reaction after the end of the Revolution of 1905‒1907, the number of non-Russian newspapers and magazines grew steadily until the outbreak of the First World War. The main features of the interaction between the foreign-language press and the imperial authorities have been pointed out. In general, they were similar to the interaction with the Russian left-wing press. Thematically, most non-Russian publications were characterized by a broad appeal to national issues, and one of the most important topics was the choice of language, alphabet and spelling, and more broadly, the issue of the future of the printed word in a particular language. The key moment in the history of the foreign press was the First World War, which led to a complete change of the market for periodicals in the western borderlands and a significant reduction in the number of publications in local languages.

Keywords: periodical press, newspapers, magazines, censorship, languages of Russia’s people.