The role of the Ministry of Finance of Tsarist Russia in the creation of professional periodicals in the interests of domestic entrepreneurs

The study of the history of the formation and development of periodicals in our country has a long tradition. It has been studied both as an independent historical phenomenon, and as a vivid witness of the epoch and as a historical source

^[1,2,3,4]. According to the researchers, attention to the entire rich spectrum of the press of the early XX century. in the 1980s, "somewhat revived", due to "the increased interest of historians, philologists in the civil history and culture of Russia of the pre-revolutionary decades, there were works by representatives of disciplines related to the history of Russian journalism: the history of Russia, the history of literature, theater studies" ^{[4, p. 3]}. And this interest does not fade, but continues to grow. Since the periodical press in the process of formation acquires its real significance precisely during the development of bourgeois relations, then, naturally, many authors consider it from this angle, taking into account the fact that periodicals reflect the current life of society and influence it. This, in particular, can be judged by the history of the appearance of the first professional publications, which were intended for the emerging class of domestic entrepreneurs.

A well-known Russian specialist V.Ya. Laverychev noted: "The study of the nature of the relations of large capitalists with certain newspapers and magazines is of undoubted interest. Some features of the process of folding the Russian bourgeoisie into the class of capitalist society help to identify periodicals of the post-reform decades" ^{[5, p.109]}. He pointed out that "at the beginning of the XIX century. The Ministry of Finance organized the publication of the magazine "Manufacture and Trade" (1825) and the newspaper "Manufactory and mining News" (1839), which aimed to "inform the owners of factories and plants useful and necessary information for them." However, these publications were not popular among capitalists." Although the subscription was made through official state and local institutions ^{[5, p.109]}. The author does not explain why this happened. Although he writes below that "the awakening of the political consciousness of the big bourgeoisie" took place only after the Crimean War, as evidenced by "the strengthening of liberal opposition sentiments in both Westernist and Slavophile circles" ^{[5, p.109]}.

In other words, before this period in the Russia of Nicholas I, political life in all strata of society was suppressed after the Decembrist uprising. The Russian bourgeoisie itself was going through a period of formation of its self-consciousness, especially considering that most entrepreneurs came from the peasant class. If we turn to an even earlier period, then in the proposals to the famous Laid Commission of Catherine II, no noticeable specific bourgeois demands were expressed. There were wishes not to equate the merchant class with the "vile estate", to lift it up. Which Catherine did, defining guilds, certain privileges, honorary titles and orders for the merchants, authorizing the creation of special commercial educational institutions for the training of specialists in the field of trade and industry ^{[6, 268 p.]}. The domestic merchant class was not at all like the Western European bourgeoisie, since it had not yet outgrown its class framework. As modern researchers write, "it was either a serf, like Savva Morozov, who founded his textile factory in Orekhovo-Zuev, or a serf, like Demidov, yesterday's Tula blacksmith, who became a nobleman and lost touch with his class, or a small merchant who served a poor urban turnover and dreamed of becoming Demidov, Such a bourgeoisie did not it could play an independent role and act as a driver of economic development – this function still belonged to the state" ^{[7, p. 264]}. It can be added that by the middle of the XIX century, not all merchants, even large ones, were so literate to read specialized publications on economics and finance.

V.Ya. Laverychev notes that the first "timid attempts" to publish their own magazines and newspapers, which reflected the purely "professional" interests of entrepreneurs belong to the "pre-reform years" ^{[5, p. 110]}. He gives an example of the creation of the journal "Bulletin of Industry", published mainly at the expense of noble entrepreneurs A.P. And D.P. Shipov since 1858. As a leader, they invited retired Professor F.V. Chizhov, "known for his Slavophile views and connections" ^{[5, p. 111]}. And one of the main authors was I.K. Babst, a professor of political economy popular in those years, who was appreciated by many entrepreneurs. As the big Moscow manufacturer Ya wrote to Babst . Prokhorov, "Your articles are very interesting. Of course, in some places we see in you the ideas of a new doctrine on freedom of trade, but you sensibly explain, and we, the unlearned, understand" ^{[5, p. 112]}. In 1859, the Shipovs also began publishing the weekly newspaper "Shareholder". It contained more specific information on trade and industry, statistical data (for example, information on the trade balance of Russia, on the scale of exports and imports), articles by experts, political comments, in particular, even criticizing the consequences of the reform of 1861, It was about the obstacles that entrepreneurs met from the local authorities already after the abolition of serfdom ^{[6, pp. 104-105]}.

Both publications, despite the interest of a number of large entrepreneurs, quickly ceased to exist due to financial difficulties and, if I may say so, because of the "underdevelopment" of the Russian bourgeoisie. A.N. Bokhanov, a researcher of the Russian bourgeois press and its relations with big capital, noted: "… Due to the insufficient development of capitalist forms in industry and the credit system and, as a consequence, the limited financial transactions with securities, the exchange [print] bodies either quickly disappeared or moved away from financial and economic topics and, in pursuit of the reader, began to focus on other topics ^{[8, p. 102]}.  At first it ceased to be published in 1863 . "Bulletin of Industry", and in 1864 – the newspaper "Shareholder". They generally reflected the interests of the commercial and industrial circles, as they touched upon important issues of Russia's economic development. But, apparently, the lack of organizational unity of the developing bourgeoisie affected, the low demand for a number of published materials, the power of the printed word not fully realized, and, as V.Ya. Laverychev notes, "a narrowly limited understanding of the possibilities and tasks of the periodical press" ^{[5, p.138]}. So not only the "Bulletin of Industry" and "Shareholder" disappeared or were reoriented, but also the "Exchange Newspaper", "Exchange Vedomosti", etc.

Nevertheless, attempts to start publishing new periodicals continued. However, neither the "Trade Collection", nor the "Nizhny Novgorod Fair Reference Leaflet", nor the "Kazan Stock Exchange Leaflet" have become popular socio-political and professional print media ^{[5, p. 116]}. Russian Russian bourgeoisie's interests were reflected by publications published under the leadership of the famous figure of the Slavophile movement I.S. Aksakov – "Parus", "Steamboat", "Russian Conversation", "Day", "Moscow", "Moskvich", "Rus". But all of them were mainly socio-political, literary publications, had economic departments, but were not fully professional publications. The same applies to other newspapers and magazines that appear in post-reform Russia.

The Ministry of Finance began to publish truly professional publications for the developing domestic bourgeoisie and reflecting its interests. There was a tradition there, starting with Count E.F. Kankrin, according to which specialists, and not "random generals", were at the head of the Ministry of Finance ^[9]. Having suffered some setback in the first half of the century with the publication of periodicals designed for the domestic large entrepreneur, the Ministry did not abandon its efforts to bring important commercial, industrial, financial, stock exchange and other information to the interested reader. This was important both from the point of view of educating a cultural capitalist who is oriented in complex economic issues, and from the point of view of informing about the activities of the ministry and the government itself.  Since August 1869, the "Yearbook of the Ministry of Finance" began to be published. But as capitalism developed in post-reform Russia, there was a need for more operational publications. As A.N. Bokhanov notes, "when capitalism in Russia entered its imperialist stage, the stock exchange press appeared, so to speak, in its pure form" ^{[8, p. 102]}. In November 1883, the "Index of government Orders for the Ministry of Finance" appeared. Its editorial office, while remaining part of the Minister's Office, became, in essence, an independent institution with a special staff of employees (7 people).  The position of assistant editor was established, to which A.K. Veselovsky, a prominent functionary of the Ministry, was appointed, and M.M. Fedorov, an official of special assignments of the Ministry of Finance, was appointed as his deputy. The success of the "Pointer" exceeded all expectations: the subscription from 3,000 copies rose within a year to 4,500 copies ^{[10, p.28]}. Unlike the failure with the previous editions of the Ministry of the pre-reform period, this was an undoubted success. Apparently, two factors worked here: the value and presentation of the published information, and the greater preparedness of its consumers, who were actively involved in trade, industrial and financial life at a new level of understanding of their place in the economic development of the state. In this regard, further reorganization was carried out. The "Index of Government Orders for the Ministry of Finance" contained all official information concerning the activities of the Ministry. All other information of a financial and economic nature was placed in a special weekly addition to the "Index" called "Bulletin of Finance, Industry and Trade" ^{[10, p.28]}.

The following program of the new edition was planned:

I. Government orders for the Ministry of Finance.

II. Reviews of the most important branches of the state and national economy in Russia and in the major powers. Legislation. Statistical information: 1) Finance; 2) Credit and credit institutions. Exchanges; 3) Manufacturing industry; 4) Domestic and foreign trade.

III. Consular reports.

IV. Bibliography.

V. Correspondence from the province.

VI. Balance sheets of public and private credit institutions ^{[10, p. 29]}.

To obtain the necessary information, the organization of collecting regular data on the course of trade in the most important goods, according to their importance in Russian life, both in Russia and abroad, as well as on the state of various industries, followed. To this end, the editorial board of the "Bulletin" first used materials from special bodies of the foreign press, "reports of chambers of commerce, circulars of large firms and, finally, consular reports." Over time, she began to attract local specialists abroad to obtain information of interest to her from foreign countries ^{[10, p.36]}.

As for the collection of information within the country, the editorial board found it necessary to form a team of its own correspondents from individuals and institutions directly interested in trade and agriculture. "For this purpose, she turned to the assistance of exchange committees, banks and tax inspectors," and, at the same time, "began gradually recruiting correspondents among the most commercial and industrial class of different cities and localities of the empire" ^{[10, p.36]}, thus forming a "reliable circle of correspondents" in the most important points, which acted on the basis of developments and recommendations of the editorial board ^{[10, p. 38]}.

Thanks to these efforts, the "Bulletin of Finance" in its volume reached up to 1,500 pages already in the first half of 1884. Therefore, it was divided into 2 volumes. And in 1885 - already for 4 volumes. As for the "Index" itself, from January 1, 1889, it was allocated from the "Bulletin of Finance" to a special department with a special page numbering.

On May 18, 1891, A.K. Veselovsky died suddenly, and on May 23, 1891, his deputy M.M. Fedorov was appointed editor of the periodicals of the Ministry of Finance. He was an energetic, knowledgeable person who was actively engaged in the development of the publishing activities of the department, trying to put the case at the highest professional level.

In order to obtain commercial information more quickly, the editorial board began organizing telegraphic messages, and for this purpose it first used the services of the Department of Trade and Manufactures, which received information by telegraph from the main points of the empire and abroad, which, with the permission of the Minister of Finance, were printed in the form of special bulletins entitled "Prices for bread, alcohol, freight and insurance premiums". These bulletins were then issued in a separate edition and a separate subscription was even opened for them for some time ^{[10, p. 41]}.

 It quickly became clear that the weekly publication "is not able to meet the ever-increasing demand of our developing economic life. Especially in the commercial and industrial field, where rapid and complete awareness is possible, plays a significant, sometimes even decisive role. In this area, demands were made for more timely information about the course of trade in the most important items of our internal and external commodity exchange, about the mood, about price fluctuations, about the reasons that produce such fluctuations ..." ^{[10, p.42]}.

 M.M. Fedorov presented to S.Yu. Witte a memorandum on the publication of a daily supplement in the "Bulletin of Finance" - "Trade and Industrial Newspaper" (TPG). It should "give as timely and complete a selection as possible of facts of common interest in the field of economics in general and, in particular, trade and industry, explain and point out their mutual connection and note those of them that may have important consequences." At the same time, as an organ of the Ministry of Finance, the TPG, "sensitively monitoring all manifestations of economic life," should promote the promotion of those ideas "that are recognized by the government as useful and warn against being carried away by those phenomena, the consequences of which can easily be harmful." Thus, the TPG, according to M.M. Fedorov, would become not just an addition to the "Bulletin of Finance", but would represent an "independent interest and significance". Due to its efficiency and greater accessibility, the newspaper would have to "link the editorial office with smaller figures in the field of trade and industry," i.e. perform informational, political and organizational functions ^{[10, p. 43]}.

M.M. Fedorov's proposal was discussed at a special meeting of the heads of the main departments of the Ministry of Finance, which approved it. On November 26, 1892, a trial issue of the TPG was published, in which the program of the future newspaper was given, which was very extensive and promised the reader information on the most important issues of the economic life of the country and abroad: from official government documents to information on the conditions of individual industries, exchange rates, commodity prices, railway tariffs, freight, etc. Thus, the goals and objectives of the "Bulletin of Finance" changed, which could now deal with larger problems, while the current information was transferred to the pages of the newspaper. And the editorial office, which now performed a very large amount of work, was doubled. The Proofreading Department was also added ^{[10, p. 45]}.

TPG at the beginning of its journey was small-format (1/2 printed sheet). But since January 1, 1897, due to the increase in the published material and some expansion of the subject, it began to be published in the format of the main metropolitan newspapers.

In March 1897, M.M. Fedorov presented to the Minister of Finance his thoughts on the need to create a printed body dedicated to discussing "general issues of a theoretical nature, and in which people of science and practice could share their knowledge and express their conclusions acquired by theoretical study and long-term experimental work in one or another area of the national economy." Fedorov believed that the theoretical conclusions "could serve a useful service when the government discusses economic issues and measures put forward by life itself." Minister S.Y. Witte approved the publication of a similar publication by the editorial board on May 15, 1897, "in the form of a special unofficial appendix" to the "Bulletin of Finance" - a monthly magazine called "Russian Economic Review" ^{[10, p.49]}.

The magazine turned out to be quite interesting and in demand. It was attended by many scientific forces and specialists, both domestic and foreign. M.M. Fedorov, who proved himself to be a serious expert in the field of economics and finance, has repeatedly appeared on its pages. The magazine existed until January 1, 1906, i.e. almost 9 years. The termination of its publication is probably due to the separation of the Ministry of Trade and Industry from the Ministry of Finance. M.M. Fedorov himself became the head of this department. And the crowning achievement of his career in the Ministry of Finance was his appointment as director of the Trade and Telegraph Agency (TTA) created by him on the basis of the TPG correspondent network in 1902 - in fact, the ancestor of modern news agencies of our country. The TTA was created on the initiative of the Ministry of Finance, but it has never been a narrowly departmental institution that limited its interests to commercial or financial data only. Since the beginning of its activity, it has actively cooperated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, helped to overcome the dependence of the information space of our country on foreign agencies ^[11]. This once again shows how widely Witte and his staff thought.

Thus, the formation and development of professional publishing activities in the field of commercial, industrial, financial, stock exchange, etc. periodicals is closely related to the initiatives of the Ministry of Finance of Imperial Russia, which, especially in the late XIX - early XX centuries. turned out to be the most dynamic and modern in the perception of the economic and political life of the country. We do not provide specific materials that were published in the periodic bodies of the Ministry of Finance. But it follows from the works of modern researchers that these materials were distinctly liberal in nature, reflecting the interests of the most active part of the domestic bourgeoisie, which was formed by this period [12. pp.500-514]. According to the content and variety of periodicals of the Ministry of Finance, it is possible to judge to a large extent the degree of development of capitalism in Russia at the turn of the century and the process of formation of the domestic bourgeoisie.

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