Debates and Dialogue: Using the Russian Press to Study Historical Political Culture

• In Event: Hiding in Plain Sight: Russian and Soviet History Through the Press

Abstract

This paper discusses two approaches to studying the Russian Empire's popular press in the early twentieth century: a methodological focus on dialogue, and a thematic focus on political culture. By reading cheap tabloid newspapers as objects of political culture, we see that journalists and readers engaged one another in an uneven dialogue, through which we can uncover an understudied "progressive" movement in the late Russian Empire. In addition to sharing findings specific to the political culture of the early twentieth century imperial press, the paper examines the strengths, limitations, and unexpected value of accessible media as a source for scholars who may not have access to other types of material.

Author

• Felix Cowan, U of Toronto (Canada)