Pisarev’s debut year and his role in shaping a new magazine model «for girls»

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Irina E. Prokhorova

PhD in Philology, Associate Professor at the Chair of History of Russian Literature and Journalism, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; ORCID 0000-0002-7288-3530

e-mail: pro-hor-ie@mail.ru

Section: History of Journalism

This article examines the journalistic activity of D. I. Pisarev during his debut year — from his initial review of an essay about N. B. Dolgorukova for Rassvet (Daybreak), organized by V. A. Krempin in October 1858, until the termination of their collaboration due to Pisarev’s illness in November 1859. The work of the young debutant is analyzed in the context of the formation of a new model of a monthly magazine “for grown-up girl”. The study identifies Pisarev’s key creative principles as the leader of the magazine’s bibliographic section, emphasizing his engagement with both female readers and their mentors to promote the intellectual, moral, and civic development of young women in pre-reform Russia. It is concluded that Pisarev’s contributions largely defined the identity of Rassvet (Daybreak), shaping it into a literary and publicistic multifunctional magazine “for grown-up girls” that demonstrated moderate liberal tendencies and balanced factual reporting with socio-political themes, the women’s question, and educational content from various fields of knowledge.

Keywords: D. I. Pisarev, debut year, publicistic bibliography, Rassvet (Daybreak), magazine model «for grown-up girls
DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.1.2025.149167

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To cite this article: Prokhorova I. E. (2025) Debyutnyy god D. I. Pisareva i ego rol' v sozdanii novogo tipa zhurnala «dlya devits» [Pisarev’s debut year and his role in shaping a new magazine model «for girls»]. Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 1: 149–167. DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.1.2025.149167