The Arizona sentinel., 1890-03-29
RUSSIAN NEWSPAPERS.
ONLY 600 JOURNALS PUBLISHED IN
THE CZAR'S ENTIRE EMPIRE.

All the Noted Newspapers Conducted by
Independent Writers Have Been AbOl-
ished-Official Satisfactorily Russia Is
Almost Newspaperless-Warni
A complete stagnation threatens the
Russian press. 1t is not because nova
days there are no able writers in Russia.
The trouble is that the present minister OF
the interior, Count ID. Tolstoi, has sue
ceeded in abolishing all the noted journals
conducted by talented and independent
writers. The list of the periodical publ
cations that have been suppressed during
the last six years is far more interesting
and valuable than all the papers now llv-
ing. Now there is no originality about
Russian journals no freshness and none
of that domestic stirring interest which
in the days gone by used to SO much at
tract attention in all parts of the great
empire.
The suspended Coles (The Voice has
left fully $4,000 subscribers without any
paper TO their taste, for none of them dare
to defend the constitutional form of the
government as The Golos did In the
sixties, when the czar-liberator tried to
free the press from the iron grip of the
CeIlSOI. NlCLOldS SucNShl SldEl6u
The Contemporary Review, a monthly in
which he taught the Russian public for
the first time to conscientiOusly criticise
the government measures. 1t is impos-
sible in this country even to imagine
what a whirlwind of public opinion he
raised as by magic. But even the liber-
ator could not long stand such freedom of
discussion, and Tchernyshevsky was sent
to Siberia for seven years and kept there
for fifteen. But the martyrology of the
Russian editors and writer's is too long to
be given here.
The number of periodicals issued in
Russia amounts to little over Goo As
the population of the czar's empire is
105. coo, 900, it is evident then that it takes
175, GOO Russian subjects TO support one
periodical, whereas in tie United States
every 1000 souls support soiIe pGblica-
ton.
RCss1As 400 PERIODICALS.
Putting aside 200 periodicals published
in other than the Russian language the
400 Russian periodicals are classified as
follows: Daily, 90; weekly, So: monthly,
81; several tines per week, 80; several
times per year, 1913. Nearly one half the
Russian periodicals arc published in the
capital CT the c:ulire, Ct. Petersburg, and
crc -thiT.i il seven Of the largest towns,
leaving for the rest oil tho great empire less
than 100 periodicals. In the cars country
there are many towns of 10000, 20,G00,
Or even 10000 inhabitants which have not
a periodical of any kind The whole of
Siberia, with 4, 100000 of population, has
only two newspapers and mo" .ly Of q
geographical society.
According to the official statistics fur
nished by the post department l"st year
in Russia there passed through tire mail
about 1,JCO, 600 copies of Russian peri
odicals of all sorts, and 4, 100000 of for
eign periodicals were received in Russia.
Thus it appears that there is not for each
subject Of the car during a year even
single copy of any periodical, Russian or
foreign.
Why is the Russian press so insignil-
cant as to its volume? Some say it is be-
cause fully so per cent. Of the Russians
are illiterate. But If the educated and
schooled Russians would read news papers
as freely as Americans do, then in Russia
there would be ), COO periodicals instead Of
GOO. There are other causes that make
the cars country almost newSparerlcGS
In the first place, there is 10 political life
at all, and the industrial lie there is
i'll It's euibryOtic state. RUesians lave
not so much news to exchange as the
people in other countries have. In the
second place. the aUtccratic government
systematically and most s:rcnuCusly OPP
poses the growth of the press. Cars have
always bccsi aware that writer's, even
though in the clutches Of ceusoTs and
'7''9"r political supervision, IRE apt to
think for themselves, to argue and to
criticisc Thus they develop In them
selves and in their readers the qualities
mort decidedly Objectionable in imperial
oPbiects. Every job printer in Russia
rust procure police certificate of good
character and furnish bonds, and every
publisher, besides these qualifications,
must maintain al imperial inspector at
his own establishment.
In Russia every editor of prominence
must pass a part Of his life in prison. If
we add to that the fatal ministerial warn
inGs, prohibition of inserting advertise
ments, heavy fines and suspension, we
shall wonder not that there are SO few
periodicals., Bat that among Russians
There are men and women ready to enter
the career of journalist which rap1xS in