History of Russian journalism
[2] Andrey Krayevsky (1810–1889) was a Russian publisher and journalist, best known for his work as an editor-in-chief of Otechestvennye Zapiski (1839–1867), the influential literary journal.
[8] The Russian Bulletin promoted liberalism, praised Alexander II's Great Reforms, and called for the rule of law and jury courts.
Between 1904 and 1917 it circulated factual information supplied by the government in order to create public opinion supporting the country's rapid industrialization as promoted by Sergei Witte, the Minister of Finance.
Vestnik Evropy (Russian: Вестник Европы) (Messenger of Europe) was the major liberal magazine of late-nineteenth-century Russia.
Mikhail Katkov (1818–87) was not a profound political theorist, but his journalistic abilities and talent for argument made him an important figure in the creation of a feeling of national identity and purpose.
After the Crimean War (1856) and the Polish insurrection of 1863, Katkov abandoned his liberal Anglophile views and rejected the early reforms of Alexander II.
His literary magazine Russkii Vestnik and newspaper Moskovskiye Vedomosti (Moscow News) were influential media for promoting his views.
[19] Journalism was so far outside the traditional aristocratic realm, there were many openings for such diverse groups, including people with working-class backgrounds, women, and Jews.
[21] Julius Martov (1873–1923), a leading Menshevik, was the founder and editor of Russia's first Jewish journals and newspapers in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian; Ha-Melitz (The Advocate), Kol Mevasser (The Harbinger), Yidisher Folksblat (The Jewish People's Journal), and Vestnik russkikh evreev (Russian-Jewish Courier).
Before it was suppressed by the government in 1914, it was a "singularly effective propaganda and educational instrument which enabled the Bolsheviks to gain control of the Petersburg labor movement and to build up a mass base for their organization.
[26] The leading newspapers developed a specialized rhetorical vocabulary designed to enhance the totalitarian structure of society, with total truth emanating from the top, and all sorts of mischievous errors stemming from clumsy bureaucrats at lower levels, or from devious traitors and spies working on behalf of capitalism.
Taking over a nation where 90% could not read, they made schools and literacy a high priority in order to optimize printed journalism and propaganda through newspapers and magazines, as well as posters that reached the illiterate older generations.
Instead radio programs were transmitted by copper wire, using a hub and spoke system, to loudspeakers in approved listening stations, such as the "Red" corner of a factory.
The result was a rosy depiction of Soviet life in the Western media before Khrushchev exposed Stalin's horrors in the 1950s.
The publishers and journalists were challenged by the immediate need to find and report accurate news, secure subscriptions and advertising revenue, and gain the confidence of readers.
[39] Robert W. Orttung and Christopher Walker report: In 2015, according to Freedom House: Most analysts focus on Putin, who has served continuously since 1999 as prime minister or president.
Maria Lipman says, "The crackdown that followed Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012 extended to the liberal media, which had until then been allowed to operate fairly independently.
"[42] Marian K. Leighton says, "Having muzzled Russia's print and broadcast media, Putin focused his energies on the Internet.
