Prosveshcheniye

Prosveshcheniye, meaning “Enlightenment” in Russian, was a Bolshevik socio-political and literary monthly magazine founded in Saint Petersburg in December 1911. It emerged during the late imperial Russian period as part of the Bolshevik press network and was intended to continue the political and intellectual work of Mysl, a Moscow-based Bolshevik journal that had been prohibited by the tsarist authorities. Vladimir Lenin proposed the new publication as a replacement for Mysl and was closely associated with its political direction. The magazine combined ideological commentary with literary material. Its subject matter reflected the concerns of the Bolshevik movement, including Marxist political analysis, party debates, social questions and the nationalities question within the Russian Empire. Maxim Gorky served as editor of the fiction section, giving the periodical a notable literary dimension alongside its explicitly political purpose. Prosveshcheniye therefore operated both as a party-oriented publication and as a venue for fiction and cultural writing. One of its historically notable publications was Joseph Stalin’s essay “Marxism and the National Question,” printed in 1913. The essay presented a Bolshevik approach to nationality and national self-determination. It is also associated with the first publication in which Stalin used the name by which he later became widely known; he had been born Ioseb Jughashvili. The magazine’s life was interrupted by state censorship. The tsarist government banned Prosveshcheniye in June 1914, shortly before the First World War. The publication did not continue as a regular monthly after the ban. A further double issue appeared in autumn 1917, during the revolutionary upheaval, but the available reference material does not establish a sustained subsequent publishing run. Prosveshcheniye is consequently best understood as a short-lived but historically significant Bolshevik periodical rather than as the modern Russian educational publishing company that uses a similar name. Its historical importance rests on three connected roles: it helped replace an earlier suppressed Bolshevik journal; it provided a platform for political and literary work associated with prominent revolutionary-era figures; and it published an early and influential statement of Bolshevik nationality policy. The magazine’s brief existence also illustrates the constraints placed on oppositional and revolutionary publishing under the late Russian Empire.

Prosveshcheniye was established in Saint Petersburg in December 1911 as a Bolshevik socio-political and literary monthly. Its creation followed the tsarist government's suppression of Mysl, a Moscow-based Bolshevik publication. Vladimir Lenin proposed Prosveshcheniye as a successor publication capable of continuing the earlier journal's political and intellectual work under the Bolshevik banner. The periodical mixed political writing with literature. Its content included Marxist analysis, commentary on social and political affairs, and discussions relevant to the Russian Empire's nationalities question. Maxim Gorky edited the fiction section, linking the magazine to the wider literary culture of the period while preserving its role as a politically committed publication. The magazine's most historically noted contribution was its publication in 1913 of Joseph Stalin's essay “Marxism and the National Question.” The essay articulated a Bolshevik position on nationality and is significant in part because it marked the first use in print of the name Stalin by its author, who had been born Ioseb Jughashvili. Prosveshcheniye was subject to the censorship environment of late imperial Russia. The tsarist government banned it in June 1914, on the eve of the First World War. Regular publication therefore ended after only a few years. A further double issue appeared in autumn 1917, amid the revolutionary events of that year, but the available source does not establish that the magazine resumed as a sustained periodical. Its documented history is consequently that of a short-lived Bolshevik journal whose influence exceeded the length of its publication run.

• 1917

  Double issue published

  [1]Prosveshcheniyeen.wikipedia.org

  A further double issue appeared in autumn during the revolutionary period.

• 1914

  Banned by the tsarist government

  [1]Prosveshcheniyeen.wikipedia.org

  Authorities prohibited the magazine in June, ending its regular publication.

• 1913

  Publication of “Marxism and the National Question”

  [1]Prosveshcheniyeen.wikipedia.org

  The magazine published Joseph Stalin's essay on Bolshevik views concerning nationality and national policy.

• 1911

  Magazine founded and launched

  [1]Prosveshcheniyeen.wikipedia.org

  Prosveshcheniye began publication in Saint Petersburg in December as a Bolshevik replacement for the banned journal Mysl.

A Bolshevik political and literary periodical combining Marxist commentary, revolutionary political writing and fiction.

• Socio-political and literary periodical · 1911

  Prosveshcheniye monthly magazine

  The core publication was a Bolshevik monthly combining political and Marxist commentary with literary material. It served as a platform for revolutionary-era debate, social analysis and writing on nationalities policy. Maxim Gorky was responsible for the fiction section. Regular publication began in 1911 and was halted by the tsarist ban in 1914, with one later double issue appearing in 1917.

• 1914

  Publication halted following government prohibitionOther

  Background

  The magazine operated under the censorship system of the Russian Empire and faced official opposition to Bolshevik publishing.

  Action taken

  The tsarist government banned Prosveshcheniye in June 1914.

  Aftermath

  Regular publication ended, although a further double issue appeared in autumn 1917.

  Source

• 1911

  Create a successor to MyslStrategy

  Background

  The Bolshevik journal Mysl had been banned by the tsarist government, creating a need for another publication outlet.

  Action taken

  Vladimir Lenin proposed Prosveshcheniye as a new Bolshevik socio-political and literary monthly.

  Aftermath

  The new magazine began publishing in Saint Petersburg in December 1911.

  Source

1. 1Prosveshcheniyeen.wikipedia.org