Bulgarin and “Severnaia Pchela”S Place in 19th Century Russian Journalism

Abstract

Faddei Venediktovich Bulgarin is known in Russian literature as establisher of different journals and newspapers, besides being the writer of different novels, stories, and essays. Among the journals and newspapers established by him, the most prominent one was the newspaper “Severnaia pchela” (The Northern Bee). “Severnaia pchela”, which was the first private newspaper in Russia, succeeded to appeal to wide audience thanks to its wide content. Besides economic, political, cultural news and literary critiques, in this newspaper, there were advertisements, which were accepted as a novelty in Russian journalism of that period. While it was the first private newspaper, “Sevrnaia pchela” obtained political and pro-government character after the Decembrist revolt and started to be published under the control of the Third Section. Besides, the newspaper entered into arguments with outstanding litterateurs of its period. Hence, the newspaper started to lose its audience and reputation in the course of time. In this study, “Severnaia pchela”s content and its communication with literary communities are examined. In this respect, it is aimed to determine Bulgarin’s and his newspaper’s place in 19th century Russian literature and journalism.