“The preaching disobedience”. I.S. Aksakov’s censorship “maneuver” in the publication of “The Moskvich”

Abstract

The narrative focuses on the details of the history of the prohibition of the newspaper “The Moskvich” (1867–1868), published in place of the previously suspended Moskva (1867–1868). Using the example of I.S. Aksakov’s printing bodies, employing new archival sources introduced into scientific circulation, the author clarifies the specifics of the functioning of press legislation and the specifics of the work of the bureaucratic apparatus of post-reform Russia. The publication of “The Moskvich” with an emphatic imitation of the Moskva became Aksakov’s manifestation against the unfair system of administrative penalties – the system that was under the jurisdiction of P.A. Valuev, the Minister of Internal Affairs, alone who independently determined the period of suspension of the periodical press. Aksakov’s censorship “maneuver” did not constitute a violation of the legislative norm, but caused the government to find a way to eliminate and prevent such self-will, which was reflected in Valuev’s influence on the Emperor’s opinion on that issue and the consent thereto of the Council of Ministers. The researcher comes to the conclusion that such a method of Aksakov’s struggle for greater freedom in Russian journalism was not only motivated by the editor’s personal will, but it was also a battle tactic for the revision of the punitive censorship mechanism so as to bring the latter into line with the new judicial system.