A Russian daily newspaper and its new readership : Severnaia pchela, 1825-1840

In: Cahiers du monde russe et soviétique, Band 28, Heft 2, S. 127-144

Abstract

Nurit Schleifman, A Russian daily newspaper and its new readership: Severnaia pchela, 1825 -1840.
Severnaia pchela, the first privately owned Russian newspaper, was published in St. Petersburg for almost forty years. The time of its appearance was marked by a growing participation of the urban middle strata in the consumption of literature, which consequently turned them into the newspaper's chief target audience. The educated elite viewed Severnaia pchela' s success with this new readership as a regrettable result of both the existing political circumstances and the paper's policy of catering to the lowest possible tastes. Whereas contemporary historiography tends towards the same view, a closer examination reveals the paper's persistent attempt to use a restricted thematic framework. for conveying messages that would correspond to the social needs and life experiences of its new readers. This endeavour should be considered as a contributary factor in Severnaia pchela's success in maintaining its position as the most widely read daily until the early forties.