Materials of Siberian Periodicals in the Late 19th - Early 20th Centuries: Censorship Practice

Abstract

The article analyzes the Siberian press of the last third of the 19^th - early 20^th centuries, which was banned from publishing, or, already being published, caused the scrutiny of the local administration. The study reveals typical features of the Siberian censorship practice until November 24, 1905 and after that, when the legal position of the press changed. The research is based on the examination of 387 items from 32 Siberian publications, that were censored. For the unit of material we take a separate genre unit, which served as the content of the printed issue. Up to 1905 the local censorship most of all paid attention to the notes and correspondence that contained descriptions of specific cases of abuse by officials and state institutions. They constitute the vast majority of the identified materials. In the first place, these are reports of various incidents (people's disasters, crimes, disorders in public institutions), directly or indirectly indicating the negligence and inaction of the authorities, in the second - information about the abuse of power. The larger number of such publications are connected with the officials of the lowest level. Attacks on the highest level of local administration have a single character. There is no big quantitative and qualitative difference between the forbidden materials and the ones inadvertently admitted to publishing. Since 1905, the quantitative ratio of items changed towards a significant increase in articles of general critical nature, with the predomination of the revolutionary materials. Until 1905, the work of the censorship mechanism in Siberia was characterized not only by prohibitions of materials, but also by verification of facts of the content or investigation; the number of court cases was insignificant. After 1905 the actions of censorship acquire mostly punitive character: lawsuits evolved into a crucial method of influence on press.