“Muravyov's System” and the Periodical Press

Abstract

Western Russian outskirts in the second half of the 19th century became the fi eld not only and not so much of armed, but more of spiritual struggle, so it was no coincidence that contemporaries called the North-Western Territory the “moral Caucasus”. One of the weapons in the said struggle was the periodical press. M.N. Muravyov perfectly realized the importance of propaganda and skilfully used public and popular support, making local and central journalism of the “Russian trend” one of the most important elements of his “system” of governing the region. It was greatly infl uenced by the “Vilna circle of Russifi ers”, which was formed during the period of Muravyov’s general government, and was headed by the trustee of the Vilna educational district I.P. Kornilov, who became the ideological inspirer of the most signifi cant periodicals in the region. The key local publications were “Vestnik Zapadnoy Rossii”, “Vilensky Vestnik”, and “Litovskie Eparchialnie Vedomosti”. History of the periodical press of the Western Territory in the 1860s.shows that the “Russifi cation” carried out during thфе period was by no means only of administrative-state nature. The “Vilna consensus” was part of the post-reform public upsurge that brought together broad Slavophil and liberal circles, state, public and church leaders of various “parties” and various scales.