The “Gubernskiye Vedomosti” newspapers of Vologda, Novgorod and Pskov (1855): a comparative analysis

Section: History of Journalism

The article examines the differences in the appearance and content of the unofficial part of provincial newspapers of “Vedomosti” type from Vologda, Novgorod, and Pskov published in 1855. These newspapers were published during a difficult time for Russia. In 1855, there was a government change and the Crimean War. All this is important to consider when analyzing the official publications of the provinces. All the editorial offices of the newspapers worked in accordance with certain regulations, but at the same time, in each province, the newspapers had their own characteristics. By 1855, they already had many years of experience in publishing and had developed certain design principles of publications and content, especially in the unofficial part. The provincial newspapers tried to copy the models of the newspapers of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but most often depended on the printing houses’ technical capabilities of the mid-19th century. An analysis of the unofficial part of the publications showed the thematic proximity of the published materials, while the publications differed from each other in content, both in the number of original texts and in the number of reprinted materials and sources used.

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To cite this article: Vasilenko I. V., Semenova A. L. (2025) Gubernskye vedomosti Vologdy, Novgoroda i Pskova v 1855 godu [The “Gubernskiye Vedomosti” newspapers of Vologda, Novgorod and Pskov (1855): a comparative analysis]. Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 4: 151–168. DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.4.2025.151168