Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-09-26
The First Russian Printer.

1t may not be altogether superhuous
to remind Westerns that Russia has
| celebrated the three hundredth ami
ver>ary OF her first printer, Ivan
Fedorof, who died ut Lvof on the 18th
Of December, 1858. The sole fact that
the introduction of Typography INTO
Russia dates a century later than the
establishment of the press in the chief
centers of civili>c Europe speaks vol
umes. The opposition and persecution
which met Fedorof on all sides would
have been sufficient 10 make most men
abandon even their darling schemes.
But Fcdorof was q man with Il firm pur-
pose and Il firm faith in that purpose.
No base motive prompted the one en-
deavor to which his life was devoted
the diffusion OF the Scriptures and that
which he deemed noblest in literature
among his countrymcn was the purpose
which animated his life. In his own
country accused OF hcresy, subjected to
sore trials of his faith in I-ithuania,
where he had sought an asylum, vol
UNFAIRLY re%nouncing the support offered
by his friend khodkevich, who wished to
contine his encrgiest to agriculture driven
from town to town, dauntiess and I'M
wavcring he pursued the one object
tor hic he existed, the foundation of
the Russian press, upheld doubtless by
a firm belief in his mission and regard
less OF the clouds which lowered round
bis outer life.
Llk CaNton, he was not u mere prin-
ter. In n respect he may be looked
on Us superior to him, for NJ. Petrushe-
vich shows that he was largely instru-
mental in preserving the purity of the
Great Russian language, and that he in
this intention resisted pressing solicita-
tions to print the Scriptures in local d.
alectS. He maintained a strict adhe-
renee to the Church Slavonic, in which
The first printed Russian book. the
''Apostol@ Cae Acts and Epistles), APP
peared in 1861.
ter the Great only Introduced the civil
alphabet in i70). m hundred and fifty
fears after the date of the foundation
OF the first press in Moscow. During
his thirty years Of arduous toll under
the most dishcartcning difficulties Fe-
dorof printed the whole of the Script
urcs besides various liturgical books.
The chief production OF his types was
the great Bible printed under
the patronage of Prince
Osthrozhsky. lie opposition which
beset fedorof has never been per-
m~anently and c~tlectually relaxed in
Russia. For two centuries the print
, press renamed a State monopoly.
I'd almost exclusively for the produc-
IL OF Government publications or re-
ious books. Only in l71l was the
1t free press established in St. Peters
rs, and this with permission only to
int in foreign languages, in order to
event injury to the Government
esScs. 1t was no more than a CEN
y ago that free printing establish
ents were allowed to set up IN the
wns of the empire and to print in the
native as we'll as IN foreign languages.
Perhaps only those who have lived
in Russia can fully recognize how the
same policy OF suppression is pursued
in Russia to this day, and 10 what a
degree the Government. through the
machinery OF the censorship, is still
master of public u%tterance. This not
w~ithstanding, Russia, with her vast
area. sparse population. bad internal
communications and vast distances be-
tween her cities. owes in q special way
whatever of civilization she has ac-
quired chiefly to what Russians call
Printed Word. '---INe AtheuguD1.