Print exclusively books, "unjustifiable to the Orthodox Church, government, and goodwill"
170 years ago, 14 April 1848, a secret censorship committee was established in Russia to supervise the seal.Of stories appearance of censorship
In Russia, censorship, that is, the control of state bodies over the content and dissemination of information, appeared in the Old Russian state. Thus, the first Old Russian list, which included the list of renounced books, “The 1073 Izbornik of the Year” refers to the period of Kievan Rus. The renounced books were books on biblical subjects that were considered to be false (non-canonical) by the Christian church, and therefore in Russia they were rejected, deprived of authority (outdated, renounced) and forbidden.
The Russian church struggled with this literature until the 18th century, when the Spiritual Regulations of the 1721 were published. For the official ban lists were compiled (indices). In Pogodinsky Nomocanon, dated XIV century, there were texts of religious content, including those later popular with the “Judaizers” - “Six-Kings”, “Logic” and “Cosmography”. Up to the beginning of the 16th century, the number of indexes of banned books was regularly increasing, the lists themselves were replenished with new works, recognized as "false and renounced." However, they could not restrain the massive influx of literature from Byzantium and the South Slavic countries. Thus, the indices did not prevent renounced texts from widely entering almost all the monuments of Russian literature. Complementing the Bible, they were very popular and were used even by priests, as they answered questions arising from reading the Scriptures.
In the middle of the XVI century, the Stoglavy Cathedral was convened to strengthen the church and fight against heretical movements. The collection of decisions “Stoglav” adopted by the cathedral contained a section “On book scribes,” which gave the spiritual authorities the right to confiscate uncorrected manuscripts. Thus, in the country appeared a preliminary censorship of all publications before the sale. In addition, the council proposed to revise the books already in circulation.
As a result, the Stoglav adopted in 1551 was the first censorship document in Russia. His appearance was a reaction to the development of Old Russian literacy and the emergence of a greater number of new literary monuments, the content of which was not approved by the church and the state. In the period from 1551 to 1560, the year was issued before 12 of certificates and acts establishing new measures and rules in accordance with “Stoglav. The censorship activity of the church, regulated by the adopted document, was mainly focused on fighting deviations from church dogmas and sacred texts, heresy and schism. The then dissidents fled abroad - mainly to Lithuania.
In the 17th century, the struggle of church and state against dissent continued. Thus, bans on the use of books created in the territory of Little Russia and Lithuania were repeatedly imposed. And after the “reforms” of Patriarch Nikon, the books published with the blessing of the previous patriarchs, as well as the works of the Old Believers, were massively seized. Censorship also extended to iconography — in October 1667, a decree was issued prohibiting non-iconic icon painters from painting icons; and on “cheap popular” art — engraved on lime boards and hand-painted drawings, depicting mainly religious subjects, which irritated the church.
"Stoglav". 1551 g. Title page
Russian empire
Secular typography appeared in 1700, when Peter I gave his friend, the Amsterdam merchant J. Tessing, the monopoly right to print books for Russia for fifteen years to import and sell them. At the same time, fines were imposed for the sale of printed materials by other foreign printing houses and the requirement was introduced that books should be printed “to the glory of the great sovereign”, and “the lowering of our royal majesty” and the state should not be in the books. Interestingly, Tsar Peter made then the main and only censor, the entire typographic industry was in his hands - he was a customer, publisher, translator, editor and censor.
In addition, Peter limited church censorship and he himself became a censor of the church. So much so that the monks themselves were prohibited by the writing tools: “The monks in the cells do not have any letters from the authorities, they do not have ink and paper in the cells ...” (decree of the year 1701). Thus, censorship passed into the hands of the state, and the church itself fell under censorship. The first civilian printing houses were opened in St. Petersburg and Moscow, as opposed to the ecclesiastical ones. Peter put an end to the monopoly of the church in matters of printing. In 1721, a special censorship body, controlled by the church, was organized - the Religious College, soon renamed the Holy Synod. It consisted of ten people, of whom only three were bishops, and the other seven were secular people. The spiritual regulations, according to which the collegium acted, described this organization as follows: "The collegium - there is a government under the sovereign monarch and it is established from the monarch." True, the church still retained some of the former functions and controlled the distribution of "objectionable literature." Thus, in 1743, the Holy Synod banned the import of books printed in Russian, as well as the translation of foreign books from abroad. Under the supervision of the church also came "free printing" in Kiev and Chernigov, engaged mainly in the release of theological literature.
In 1721, for the first time, preliminary censorship and the appropriate authority were introduced, the Izugraf Chamber of Commerce was responsible for its implementation. The chamber was established by the sovereign as a measure to counteract the sale of "sheets of different images without authorization and without evidence." “Under the fear of a cruel answer and merciless fines”, the printing of engraved popular prints and parsun was prohibited. This resolution was also applied to the "faulty" royal portraits. Also, the time of Peter's rule in Russia appeared first printed newspaper - "Vedomosti". Accordingly, the first censorship in periodicals. Peter personally controlled its publication, and many publications could see the light only with the permission of the king.
The final separation of censorship functions was approved by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who decreed that "all printed books in Russia belonging to the church and the church doctrine should be printed with the approbation of the Holy Synod, and civil and other things not belonging to the church, with the approbation of the Governing Senate." Control was also established for the import of literature from abroad; publications in foreign languages sold in the territory of the empire, it was necessary to provide for inspection.
Under the reign of Catherine II, 1771 was allowed to print books to foreign nationals (albeit in their own language). A few years later, foreigners were allowed to produce Russian-language literature, but under the close supervision of the Synod and the Academy of Sciences. In 1783, a free printing press law was passed, equating the production of books with industry and giving individuals the opportunity to open their own businesses. However, it was possible to print exclusively the books “non-condemnable to the Orthodox Church, the government, and goodwill”. At the same time, the empress obliged the Academy of Sciences to tighten supervision over the books imported into the country; many objectionable publications were withdrawn from sales and private collections. Guilty of creating "seductive books" should have been punished. Thus, the police were connected to the censorship. True, the police officers who were supposed to carry out the preliminary procedure were often poorly educated people and negligent in their duties.
The French Revolution led to a tightening of the censorship regime. Catherine II decided to establish the institute of censorship and, accordingly, the introduction of the profession of censor. In 1796, a corresponding decree was passed, which stated: “No books written or translated in our state can be published in any printing house without inspection from one of the censors established in our capitals, and the approval of in such works or translations there is nothing to the law of God, to the rules of the state and to the good behavior of the contrary. ” The same decree effectively prohibited all private printing houses. Printed publications were to be submitted to both spiritual and secular censors. In addition, special posts for censors of Jewish books were introduced in 1797. Censors were personally responsible for approved books.
Emperor Paul I continued the work of Catherine, developing and supporting her initiatives in the field of censorship in order to isolate Russia from the penetration of the “pernicious” ideas of revolutionary Europe. Thus, the Censor Council was organized, headed by Prince A. B. Kurakin. Censorship was introduced in all ports of Russia. Then it was preserved in Kronstadt, Revel, Vyborg, Friedrichsgam and Arkhangelsk. In the other ports, the import of literature was prohibited. Editions imported through the land border were subjected to additional control. The censorship reform of Paul I ended with an 18 decree of April 1800, which strictly forbade the importation of any literature in any language into the country.
Alexander continued the work of his father. At the beginning of Alexander's rule, the state eased censorship: the lifting of the ban on the import of foreign literature into the country, the return of legal status to free-form printers. In 1804, a censorship charter was adopted. It noted: "... censorship is obliged to consider all books and essays intended to be distributed in society," that is, in fact, it was impossible to publish anything without the permission of the supervisory authority. However, in reality, a large number of “harmful” foreign essays penetrated into Russia despite all the efforts of the government. The document preserved the dominant role of the Ministry of Education, church books continued to remain in the office of the Synod, and censorship for foreign publications was given to the service of postal services. Under Alexander, the main role in organizing censorship activities was transferred to universities; special committees were established at universities. The censors were directly the deans. At the same time, the police continued to intervene in the affairs of censorship.
Era of Nicholas
In 1826, a new charter was adopted. He made history under the name "cast-iron charter." The main role in censorship was maintained by the Ministry of Education. This process was led by the General Directorate of Censorship. It was headed by A. I. Krasovsky. When it was made structural changes in censorship. Thus, the Supreme Censorship Committee was established, consisting of three members - ministers of public education, foreign and internal affairs. The main censorship committee in St. Petersburg was established in the country, and local censorship committees were established in Moscow, Dorpat and Vilna. The main censorship committee reported directly to the minister, and the rest to the trustees of educational districts. In addition, the right to censorship remained with the clergy, the academy and universities, some administrative, central and local institutions. During this period, the flowering of bureaucracy in censorship agencies occurred and a huge blockage in the work of censors who could not cope with a large amount of work.
The new censorship charter was adopted on 22 on April 1828 of the year. The censorship practice was reoriented to prevent harmful books. The new charter did not contain instructions for writers, did not set the direction of social thought, its main task was to prohibit the sale and distribution of books that "harm the faith, the throne, the good morals, the personal honor of citizens." According to the 1828 charter of the year, booksellers were given a special role in censorship. So, they were obliged to provide registers of all publications that were on sale - trading without special permission was prohibited.
A new revolutionary wave in Europe has led to a new tightening of censorship in Russia. At the beginning of March 1848, the Ministry of Public Education received an order from Tsar Nicholas I: “It is necessary to form a committee to consider whether censorship is correct, and published journals are complying with the data for each program. To the committee to inform me with evidence, where it will find what omissions of the censorship and its superiors, that is, the Ministry of Public Education, and which journals and what came out of their program. ”
Already 9 March 1848, for this purpose, a Special Committee was created, with Maritime Minister Prince Menshikov appointed as chairman. The 14 of April of the same year was replaced by a temporary Menshikov committee by a permanent secret committee, nicknamed “Buturlin”, after its chairman, Count D. P. Buturlin. The official name of this body was “The Committee for the Higher Supervision of the Spirit and Direction of Works Printed in Russia”. He existed until 1855 year. As a result, the period from 1848 to 1855 is the year in modern historiography, according to M. K. Lemke, referred to only as “the era of censorship terror”. For all the years of the committee’s existence, only the Northern Bee, the Library for Reading and the Moskvityanin received its approval. “Domestic Notes”, “Sovremennik” and other progressive publications were strictly warned. Buturlin even in the Gospel could see the democratic nature, and in the formula of the "official nationality" - revolutionism. As a result, many publications were closed, in particular, Literaturnaya Gazeta.
Thus, the “Buturlin” Committee significantly tightened censorship in the country. In particular, Prince P. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, who offered to “encourage reading of books not of the civil, but of the church press,” became the Minister of Public Enlightenment, since the former more often represent “useless reading”, while the latter “strengthen the commoner by faith” and contribute to transferring all kinds of hardships. " The purpose of the personnel policy of the censorship apparatus was the replacement of censors-writers by censors-officials. The procedure itself prohibiting a work was blurred. As a result, a large number of works were not allowed to be printed by orders of the departments that are not at all related to censorship. Liberalization of the regime occurred only under Alexander II.
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