The Communicating Vessels: Press and Public Opinion in Imperial Russia

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

The applicability and analytical perspectives of the concepts of the public sphere and civil society remain debated in the historiography of the Russian Empire. The autocratic state’s restrictions on society and free speech have often been viewed as insurmountable barriers to developing a discourse powerful enough to challenge the state narrative.
This panel adopts an approach that sees the 19th-century Russian press as a form of public sphere—one that frequently promoted views that diverged significantly from those imposed by the state. In this sense, the community of authors and readers in the late Russian Empire functioned as a social institution comparable to the civil society of Western Europe and North America. While this idea is not new and can be traced at least as far back as the works of Alexander Herzen, it remains highly relevant for contemporary media studies and social history.
Drawing from these fields, the panel examines the dynamic interaction between the press and public opinion in Imperial Russia. Participants will explore how various groups—including writers, journalists, and professionals—used periodical publications to shape public opinion and, in turn, were influenced by its growing power. This complex interplay among the press, public opinion, and state authority contributed to the development of civil society and the construction of a particular image of reality.

Sub Unit

• Literature: 19th Century

Chair

• Eric Kim, Stanford U

Papers

• The Politics of Literary Description on the Eve of the Emancipation of the Serfs - Vadim Shneyder, UCLA

• Between Public Opinion and Censorship: The Representation of the 1891-92 Famine in the Press -

• A Muddle of Normative Interventions: Coffee, Russia, and the Public Sphere - Zachary Murphy King, Bilkent U (Turkey)

Discussant

• Christopher David Ely, Florida Atlantic U