Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnal

Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnal, whose Russian title means “Post and Telegraph Journal,” was an official administrative and professional periodical serving Russia's postal, telegraph, and telephone institutions. It was established in 1888 and remained in publication through 1919, spanning the final decades of the Russian Empire, the political transition of 1917, and the first years of Soviet rule. Rather than functioning primarily as a commercial consumer magazine, it operated as an institutional publication that communicated departmental rules and reported on the development of communications services. The journal was initially published in St. Petersburg by the Chief Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs of the Russian Empire. Its official section carried orders, directives, postal rates, and other administrative material relevant to the operation of the state communications system. This made the publication an important channel for disseminating policy and procedural information to postal and telegraph personnel and to readers interested in the administration of communications. Alongside the official material, the journal maintained an unofficial section devoted to articles about the history and contemporary condition of postal, telegraph, and telephone services in Russia. This section gave the periodical a broader professional and historical role: it documented institutional developments, discussed communications infrastructure, and provided context for the technologies and organizations managed by the state. From 1888 to 1892, the official and unofficial sections were printed together in a combined issue released 24 times a year. The publication schedule subsequently changed. The official section appeared weekly, while the unofficial section was issued monthly, separating the administrative function from the journal's more analytical and informational content. The journal's institutional affiliation changed with the governments that controlled Russia's communications administration. It was issued in Petrograd in 1917 under the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs of the Russian Provisional Government. In 1918 and 1919, after the Bolshevik government consolidated power, it became the official organ of the People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR and moved its publication location to Moscow. Its final year of publication was 1919. The journal is therefore significant as a source for the history of Russian postal, telegraph, and telephone administration across imperial, provisional-government, and early Soviet periods.

Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnal was founded in 1888 as an official publication of the Russian postal authorities. Its original publisher was the Chief Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs of the Russian Empire, and the journal was produced in St. Petersburg. The publication served both an administrative and professional purpose. Its official section communicated the rules and decisions governing the postal and telegraph departments, while its unofficial section examined the history and current condition of postal, telegraph, and telephone services. During its first period, from 1888 through 1892, the two sections were issued together. The combined publication appeared 24 times per year. At a later point, the publication schedule was reorganized so that the official section was issued weekly and the unofficial section monthly. This arrangement reflected the journal's dual role: one part functioned as a regular administrative bulletin, while the other offered less time-sensitive professional, historical, and analytical content. The official section included departmental orders, directives, postal rates, and other materials needed by the communications administration. These contents made the journal a mechanism for circulating government decisions and operational information. The unofficial section addressed the development and condition of the communications network, giving the publication value beyond its immediate bureaucratic purpose. It also contributed to the documentary record of Russian communications history. The journal continued through the political upheaval of 1917. In that year it was published in Petrograd by the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs of the Russian Provisional Government. This change reflected the transfer of authority following the end of imperial rule, while the journal retained its connection to the state administration of communications. In 1918 and 1919, the publication was issued in Moscow and became the official organ of the People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR. Its institutional identity consequently shifted again, from an imperial departmental journal to a publication of the early Soviet government. The periodical ended in 1919. Across its 32-year existence, it documented the administration of postal, telegraph, and telephone services during three successive political frameworks: the Russian Empire, the Provisional Government, and the RSFSR.

• 1919

  Publication ends

  [1]Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnalen.wikipedia.org

  The journal's documented publication period concludes in 1919.

• 1918

  Becomes an early Soviet official organ

  [1]Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnalen.wikipedia.org

  Publication moves to Moscow and the journal becomes the official organ of the People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR.

• 1917

  Transferred to the Provisional Government's communications ministry

  [1]Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnalen.wikipedia.org

  The journal is issued in Petrograd by the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs of the Russian Provisional Government.

• 1892

  Publication frequency reorganized

  [1]Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnalen.wikipedia.org

  After 1892, the official section is published weekly and the unofficial section monthly.

• 1888

  Publication begins

  [1]Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnalen.wikipedia.org

  Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnal begins publication in St. Petersburg as an official journal of the Chief Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs of the Russian Empire.

• 1888

  Combined official and unofficial sections

  [1]Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnalen.wikipedia.org

  The journal's official administrative content and unofficial professional content are issued together, with 24 issues published annually during 1888–1892.

An official government and professional journal for the administration, operation, and historical study of postal, telegraph, and telephone services in Russia.

• Government administrative bulletin · 1888

  Official section

  The official section carried the administrative material required by Russia's postal and telegraph authorities, including orders, directives, postal rates, and other departmental information. It served as a formal channel for communicating regulations and operational decisions to the communications service.

• Professional and historical periodical content · 1888

  Unofficial section

  The unofficial section published articles about the history and contemporary state of postal, telegraph, and telephone services in Russia. It provided professional, historical, and descriptive material distinct from the journal's formal administrative notices.

1. 1Pochtovo-Telegrafnyi Zhurnalen.wikipedia.org