The major transformations that took place in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century and were connected with the activities of Peter I were prepared by the entire course of the development of our country.

From the first years of his reign, Peter strived to provide Russia with free access to the seas, which was urgently demanded by state interests. He is waging war with Turkey for the Black Sea, soon outlines new goals for the Russian foreign policy and prepares the army for battles on the Baltic coast. In 1700, peace was concluded with Turkey, and the troops set off on a campaign against the Swedes. The Northern War began, dragging on for more than two decades. It ended with the establishment of Russia on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Russia has become one of the strongest states in the world.

The flip side of the successes were the hardships that fell on the serfs. Peter I carefully guarded the interests of the nobility and merchants, but was cruel to the peasants. The people bore the heavy burden of landlord oppression, supplied recruits to the army, workers to factories and construction, and starved. In 1707-1708. on the vast territory of the Don and the Volga region, an uprising broke out, raised by ataman Kondraty Bulavin. It acquired a wide scope, spread to many districts of central Russia, and nevertheless ended in a merciless defeat. Peter's reforms also had enemies among the ruling classes.

Peter, with his imperious hand, destroyed the established way of life, planted new customs and orders, which caused discontent of the boyars and attempts to fight back on their part. journalism printed newspaper

In an effort to bring Russia into the circle of Western European states as soon as possible, to overcome the backwardness of the boyar-feudal way of life in Russian life, Peter hastily and indiscriminately borrowed foreign models, forced Russian people to accept them and recruited foreigners in large numbers. Along with the good, through the “window to Europe” opened by the tsar, the unnecessary, harmful also penetrated, which demanded respect for itself only for one reason of its foreign origin. Kowtow before the West in the years of Peter's reign begins to take root in the nobility, and then in bourgeois society.

However, realizing that one could not rely on foreigners and their readiness to help with their knowledge, Peter quickly created a cadre of domestic specialists. At the same time, business trips abroad were only part of Peter's educational program. It was much more important to establish the cause of secular education in Russia. A navigation school was opened in Moscow, later transferred to St. Petersburg (Naval Academy), then classes began in engineering and artillery schools, which trained officers for the army and navy. Future doctors were trained in the surgical school. Arithmetic and geometry were studied in digital schools, where non-nobles were also accepted - the children of soldiers, clerks, townspeople and churchmen. The Academy of Sciences was supposed to lead the education of the country, whose tasks included maintaining research work and student education. Peter invited the best foreign scientists to serve, including Leibniz, Wolf, and others.

The printing press was busy producing instructions and manuals on shipbuilding, navigation, artillery, fortification, architecture, translated from foreign languages. Not limited to purely practical purposes, Peter also paid attention to scientific books, ordering the translation of political discourses, treatises on jurisprudence, works on history, geography, mythology, etc.

At the beginning of the 18th century, due to rapidly developing events, Russia was in dire need of operational information. Following the example of European countries, where the publication of newspapers was widely practiced for these purposes, on December 16, 1702, Peter I signed the "Decree on the printing of newspapers to inform them of foreign and domestic incidents."

Peter I was guided by the following idea: any government should adopt the all-creating action of a “typographic projectile” capable of uniting the nation, shaping public opinion, and instilling state ideology in the minds of readers. The first Russian newspaper was called "Vedomosti about military and other affairs worthy of knowledge and memory that happened in the Muscovite state and in other surrounding countries" - briefly "Vedomosti".

The first issues of the newspaper appeared on December 16 and 17, 1702, but no printed copies have survived. Most full set Vedomosti, published in 1903 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the newspaper, begins with the issue of January 2, 1703, from which the beginning of the Russian periodical press is counted. This date (January 13, according to the new style) has been celebrated since 1992 as the Day of the Russian Press.

The cost of the newspaper also varies - from 2 to 8 money, i.e. from 1 to 4 kopecks. Half a kopeck was called money, and this price was rather big for its time (the compositor of Vedomosti received three money a day for his work). The first surviving number is dated January 2, 1703 and was quite expensive - 2 "money". Having a newspaper in the house was considered a great chic. The newspaper was inserted into an expensive frame and shown to all guests, emphasizing the wealth and education of its owner.

The newspaper was a small booklet 1/12 of a sheet in size, half the size of a modern typewritten page (11 x 16 cm, the size of the typesetting strip was 5 x 7.5 square meters) and usually consisted of four pages, individual issues came out in a larger format with up to 22 pages.

The newspaper also did not have a constant format, circulation, strict periodicity of release. In the first year of the newspaper's existence, 39 issues were published, in subsequent years - 30-40 issues each, except for 1718, when only one issue was prepared. The circulation of the newspaper experienced great fluctuations - from several tens to several thousand copies. The first circulation of Vedomosti amounted to a thousand copies,

Until 1710, Vedomosti was printed in church type at the Moscow Printing Yard. In 1710, Peter I introduced the Civil font for printing secular publications as a result of the first reform of the Russian alphabet (changing the composition of the alphabet and simplifying the outline of the letters of the alphabet). In 1711, after the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg, Vedomosti was published in two versions. Since 1715, Vedomosti was printed mainly in a new font. In the first place, military news was published (Russia was at war with Sweden). Information was also published on "Russian trade and industrial affairs", the construction of canals, the construction and opening of new factories. After the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg, a separate page of Vedomosti was devoted to information about the arriving ships, listing the goods they brought. Vedomosti also wrote about events in European life, often reprinting information from foreign newspapers. In form, these news from distant countries were the prototypes of the future reporter's chronicle and the notes of "special correspondents."

Vedomosti was an official publication, and Peter I himself took part in their preparation - he wrote teaching articles for his subjects in Vedomosti, among them were tips on educating the citizens of young Russia. Peter I selected material for publication, checked the quality of translations, and corrected some articles with his own hand. However, despite this, mistakes and curiosities could not be avoided. So, in one of the first issues, due to a careless translation, the meaning of the message was distorted, in which, instead of writing about the ships going to Jamaica, it was printed that the ships went to the fair.

The authors and editors were prominent statesman F. Golovin, the first Russian journalists: F. Polikarpov, the "informer" of the Moscow Printing House and translator, A. Makarov, the cabinet secretary of Peter I, M. Avramov (since 1711), directors of the St. Petersburg printing house, Ya. journalists of Russia, "reporter"), B. Volkov (since 1719).

Through the efforts of these people, the newspaper gradually turned into a mouthpiece for government ideas. If at first it was dominated by a chronicle, event notes, then they were gradually replaced by political feuilleton, which by that time had become widespread in the Western press, analytical articles, and in its infancy - sketches, reports, correspondence. Some materials were not devoid of elements of publicism. The reader was addressed to comments on important events in domestic and foreign policy. It is noteworthy that Vedomosti began to publish announcements about new published books. The first "Register of civil books" - the prototype of modern bibliographic listing - was printed in 1710. An important innovation introduced by Peter I was the interpretation of incomprehensible Russian people foreign words. It was from the newspaper that the reader got acquainted with such concepts as "concilium-council", "negotiation-agreement", "jewellery-jewelry". The introduction of new terminology made it possible to revive literary language and bring it closer to European lexical norms.

Importance was attached external design newspapers. From No. 3 for 1711, the first page (head page) was decorated with an engraving depicting Mercury, the patron of trade and news, soaring with a pipe and a caduceus wand over the Neva against the backdrop of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

It should be noted the serious difference between the first Russian newspaper and the first newspapers of other European countries. The first Russian newspaper was least of all a commercial publication, as were the first European newspapers. The Russian newspaper from the first steps of its existence discovered its important potential qualities - to be a conductor of a certain policy, to be a propagandist, and sometimes an organizer public opinion in favor of state reforms, in favor of the defense of national autonomy and independence. The ideological level of the first Russian newspaper was undeniable and very bright, despite the fact that informational materials prevailed in it.

"Vedomosti" undoubtedly broadened the horizons of readers, acquainting them with the life of European countries, popularizing geographical knowledge, systematically explaining geographical terms, and so on.

After the death of Peter I, his "most amiable organ" lasted less than two years. Gradually, the subject matter of published materials was narrowed, it was more and more limited to the description of official celebrations. The newspaper was published very rarely: in 1727 only four issues appeared. In the same year, the newspaper was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences, and from 1728 to 1914 it was already published under the name "Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti".

Thanks to the Vedomosti newspaper, journalism received a proper foundation and began to develop. The first printed newspaper was a fairly successful move on the part of Peter I. The fact that the first Russian newspaper was very high in its level, in its functions, as a type of informational newspaper, is indirectly indicated by the further successful development of Russian journalism. Already in 1728, the first experience of publishing a Russian journal called "Notes" appeared. In the same year, the newspaper "St. Petersburg Vedomosti" began to be published at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, replacing Peter's "Vedomosti". It was published in Russian and German and was more successful than its predecessor. But, despite all these shortcomings, the Vedomosti newspaper was popular. If not for the death of Peter I, which resulted in the loss of the reader and, accordingly, the circulation, Vedomosti would have continued to exist.

On January 13, Russia celebrates the Day of the Russian Press. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR of December 28, 1991 N 3043-1 "On the Day of the Russian Press" reads:

Paying tribute to historical justice - the release of the first issue Russian newspaper Vedomosti in January 1703, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR decides:

However, there is every reason to doubt the validity of this date.

The history of Russian journalism begins on December 16, 1702 (December 27, 1702 according to the new style), when the first issue of the Vedomosti newspaper was published. The day before, the emperor issued a decree "Vedomosti be!". However, the earliest preserved newspaper number - dated January 2, 1703 ( January 13, 1703 new style). It was this date that became memorable thanks to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation.

This priceless, battered rarity, about the size of half a school notebook (how big are modern newspapers?), contains several references to earlier published issues. On this basis, it can be assumed that the very first issue was published not on January 2, 1703, but on December 16, 1702.

The newspaper came out irregularly, as God puts on the soul. The frequency of Vedomosti varied. In 1703 and 1704 39 issues were published, in 1705 - 46 (this is the largest figure). Over the years, the release dates are increasingly stretched: for example, only three issues for 1717 and one for 1718 are known. The issue consisted of different number pages - from 2 to 22, which determined its price. The format was set to an eighth of a sheet (about half the width of a school notebook), but individual numbers were also printed in sheet format. From No. 3 for 1711, the first page (page) of the newspaper receives an engraving, which depicts a view of St. Petersburg with the Neva and the Peter and Paul Fortress and flying Mercury with a pipe and a rod - a caduceus. The interval was daily, monthly and very different.

Vedomosti constantly changed its name: Vedomosti Moskovskie, Vedomosti Moskovsky Gosudarstvennost, Vedomosti Rossiyskiye, Vesti, Relyatsia, Genuine Report, and at one time the newspaper came out under such an amazing headline: Vedomosti o military and other affairs worthy of knowledge and memory that happened in the Muscovite state and in other surrounding countries. However, this is not surprising, because in the 18th century there were a lot of long titles of printed publications. At first, the newspaper was published in Moscow, and since 1711 it began to be published in St. Petersburg. The volume of Vedomosti was regular - 22 pages. The circulation of the newspaper experienced great fluctuations - from several tens to several thousand copies. Data, for example, for 1708 show that individual issues of Vedomosti were printed in the amount of 150, 200, 400, 700 and even 1000 copies, and in 1724 the circulation dropped to 30 copies. The news about the Battle of Poltava was printed in the amount of 2,500 copies and sold in its entirety, but a number of issues did not find distribution and remained at the Printing House.

The newspaper was made for very wealthy people, and cost from two to eight money (money - a Russian coin, equal to half a kopeck of those times). For example, a compositor then received from three to four money, working at the hardest work.

The first Russian newspaper propagated the point of view of the authorities. At that time, Vedomosti wrote about the Northern War and Peter's cultural policy. Then came the beginning of censorship. The first journalists were, firstly, Peter himself, as well as his officials. The first editor of Vedomosti was Fedor Polikarpov, director of the Printing House in Moscow, literary educated person who wrote poetry. He prepared newspaper materials, processed translations from foreign press, which were supplied by officials of the Posolsky Prikaz, obtained news from other departments and offices, monitored the location of notes in the issue and kept proofreading. When Vedomosti was transferred to St. Petersburg, the director of the capital's printing house, Mikhail Abramov, began to deal with it. Yakov Sinyavich - clerk of one of the orders, the most famous of the first journalists in Russia, "reporter".

Vedomosti began to be read less and less. Firstly, I got tired of the Northern War, which lasted more than twenty years. Secondly, they came out irregularly. Thirdly, they were very expensive. Already after the death of Peter, in 1727, having become completely uninteresting, they died. In the same year, another newspaper "picked up the baton" - "Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti", which can be bought today. One year she went to German, and from 1728 - became in Russian. Therefore, today in the headline of this newspaper it appears that it has been published not since 1727, but since 1728. The first editor-in-chief of the Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti was the German Gerhard Friedrich Miller. This is the first Russian regular newspaper. She went out twice a week, on the so-called postal days (twice a week, horses delivered mail - along with a newspaper to the houses). The first issue of the Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti for 1728 was printed on four pages in a quarter of a sheet, the rest were published in the same format. On the first page, under the headline of the newspaper, there was a vignette depicting a double-headed eagle with a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Below is the publication date. The content of the issue was news from Hamburg, London, Vienna, Berlin, Rome, Paris and other European cities, as well as the court chronicle - messages about the congratulations of the sovereign on the new year, about promotions and awards. At new newspaper There were several sources of information:

1. foreign newspapers;
2. Traveling officials;
3. Opening letters of major diplomats;
4. Rumors and gossip;

Nowadays, perhaps, only letters are not opened to obtain information in the newspaper. And on the basis of paragraph 4, there are more than a dozen modern Russian newspapers.

In 1728, together with the "Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti", an appendix-dictionary "Monthly Historical, Genealogical and Geographical Notes" began to appear, but it did not last long - until 1742. This application served to explain to the illiterate words they did not understand. Now the newspaper published ethnographic and other scientific articles. "Notes" had an independent character, articles flashed on their pages that were not at all attached to newspaper reports, and they turn into a kind of scientific digest, a magazine published together with Vedomosti twice a week. The newspaper began to be published monthly. Lomonosov worked here, and wrote a brilliant article "Reasoning about the duties of journalists", which became a moral and ethical code. This is the first article about what a journalist should be like. Here are Lomonosov's main requirements for a journalist:

1. Competent;
2. Modest;
3. Respectful of the opinions of others;
4. Knowing the phrase "It's a shame to steal other people's thoughts";

THE ORIGIN OF THE RUSSIAN MEDIA

The forerunners of the first Russian newspaper were chimes or messenger letters, which were drawn up in the embassy order with extracts from foreign newspapers and were submitted to the tsar and some of his entourage. On December 16, 1702, the foundation of an official newspaper was laid, and on January 2, 1703, the first sheet of Vedomosti was published. However, as early as December 27, 1702, a "Journal or daily painting was published in Moscow, which, during the past siege, under the fortress of Noteburh, was repaired on September 26, 1702." Peter took an active part in the compilation of Vedomosti, marked with a pencil the places for translation from Dutch newspapers and corrected the proof; the Moscow Synodal Library keeps the proofs of Vedomosti with its amendments. "Vedomosti" in the first year of its existence was printed in Moscow in church type; they were published indefinitely in total 39 nos., 2–7 sheets in 8°, in the amount of 1000 copies. The content of Vedomosti consisted of: 1) information related to Russia and 2) foreign news, probably borrowed from the newspapers Breslauer Nouvellen and Reichs-Post-Reuter, as well as from others. In the form of special additions, sometimes reports of military operations came out. For the first year of publication, only two complete copies are known in the Imperial Public Library, where there are also complete copies for 1704 (No. 35), 1705 (No. 47), 1706 (No. 28 and 6 appr.) ; since 1707 there are no complete annual copies. Until 1710, the font in Vedomosti was exclusively ecclesiastical, from 1710 it was either ecclesiastical or civil, and from 1717 - one civil, except for the relations that were printed by the church. At first, Vedomosti was published in Moscow, but on May 11, 1711, we have a sheet printed in St. Petersburg, and since that time Vedomosti has been published in St. Petersburg, then in Moscow. Some issues of 1711 are decorated with a vignette depicting the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Neva, covered with courts, and Mercury hovering above it with a caduceus and a trumpet. The volume of Vedomosti especially increased in 1719, when the number consisted of up to 22 pages. In 1727, the publication ceased. The right to publish the newspaper passed to the Academy of Sciences, which released on January 2, 1728 No. 1 of Petersburg Vedomosti, and Moscow Vedomosti began to be published only on April 26, 1766. In addition to itself, they assume participation in Vedomosti as an editor, Count Fyodor Alekseevich Golovin. It is also known that around 1719 they were headed by M. Avramov. In 1720, a translator Yakov Sinyavich was appointed to compile statements in a foreign collegium. In 1723, Vedomosti was "ruled" by Mikhail Volkov, whose signature M. W. is also found earlier.

The Grand Sovereign pointed out: according to the statements about military and all kinds of affairs that are necessary for declaring the Moscow and neighboring States to people, print chimes, and for printing those chimes, statements in which orders, about which there are now and will continue to be sent from those orders to The monastic order without delay (without delay, without delay), and from the monastic order, those statements should be sent to the Printing House. And about that in all orders to send from the Monastic order of memory.

Complete collection of laws Russian Empire Volume 4 (1700–712) No. 1921 http://www.nlr.ru/e-res/law_r/search.php

THE FIRST ISSUES OF VEDOMOSTI

It is no coincidence that the decree on the publication of the newspaper dates back to 1702. The Northern War began unsuccessfully for Russia. Having suffered a defeat near Narva, the Russian army lost all artillery. And now, when Russia was exerting all its strength to repulse the troops of Charles XII, it was necessary to convince the people of the need to continue the war with the Swedes, to explain the significance of certain government measures, for example, the confiscation of bells from churches for pouring them into cannons. Finally, it was necessary to inform the population of the country that the factories were increasing the production of weapons and ammunition, that the tsar, in addition to the Russian troops, had support from the peoples of Russia ...

Very characteristic in this respect is the content of the issue of December 17, 1702. First of all, it reports on the solemn, after successful military operations, the entry of Peter I into Moscow, that the tsar "brought a large number of conquered Swedish altileries, which he took in Marienburg and Slyusenburg." Further we are talking about the promise of the "great owner of Ayuki Pasha" to deliver 20 thousand of his armed soldiers, about the discovery of deposits of iron ore, sulfur, saltpeter, that is, materials necessary for further waging war with the Swedes.

The next issue (dated January 2, 1703) is sustained in the same spirit. He informs readers: "In Moscow, again, 400 copper cannons, howitzers and mortars have been cast ... And now there are 40,000 pounds of copper in the cannon yard, which is prepared for a new casting." Further, the chimes report on the development of natural resources, "from which the Muscovite state expects a considerable profit."

Is "Day of the Russian Press" a historical inaccuracy?

By a decree of December 16, Peter I decided: “According to the statements about the military and all kinds of affairs, which are due to announce the Moscow and neighboring States to people, print chimes, and for the printing of those chimes, statements in which orders, which are now and will continue to be, send from those orders to the Monastic order without rewinding, and from the Monastery order those statements should be sent to the Printing Yard. And send about that to all orders from the Monastic order of memory.

One of the first copies of Vedomosti

In fact, according to researchers, the first issues of Vedomosti appeared as early as 1702, almost immediately after Peter's decree. However, these numbers are considered to be trial numbers, since they have been preserved only in the form of handwritten copies and were discovered relatively recently. The very first copy of the newspaper that has come down to us in printed form is dated January 2 (January 13, according to the new style).

Peter I, being a skilled politician and talented strategist, began to publish his own newspaper at the very right time. By 1702, Russian troops had already suffered a number of serious defeats in the Northern War. Narva, where the Russians left almost all their artillery and up to 7,000 dead, shook the faith of the people in a quick victory over the troops of Charles XII. Petrovsky Vedomosti, according to historians, was created precisely in order to convince society of the possibility of victory in the Northern War. This is evidenced by the materials that were published in Vedomosti: for example, in the first December issues, successful military operations were reported, the capture of enemy artillery and the consent of the head of the Kalmyk horde to put 20 thousand of his soldiers at the disposal of Peter.

"Vedomosti" dated June 28, 1711

It is no coincidence that Vedomosti is usually called Peter's. This suggests not only that the newspaper appeared during the reign of Peter, but also that the future emperor personally participated in the creation of the newspaper. Some copies still keep traces of editing, which was done by Peter himself. He, as the researchers proved, often even provided texts for publication himself, sometimes forbade anything to be printed, and also found time to criticize some editions of the newspaper.

What did the country's first newspaper look like?

First of all, Vedomosti was an extremely unstable publication: there was no clear format, no set circulation, no strict periodicity of release, no fixed price, not even a single name (the newspaper could be called differently from issue to issue: there were also Vedomosti of the Moscow State”, and “Rossiyskiye Vedomosti”, and “Relations”, and “Essence from French printed newspapers"). Sometimes Vedomosti was even given out to the people for free. And even the spelling of letters changed in connection with the introduction of civil type by Peter in 1710. The volume of the newspaper different time ranged from 2 to 22 pages.

Report on the victory in naval battle off the Gangut Peninsula, published in Vedomosti

The first Russian newspaper was a purely official publication, which is also evidenced by the fact that Vedomosti underwent preliminary (that is, even before publication) censorship. Basically, Petrovsky's Vedomosti presented a chain of laconic reports from various places, with most of their material taken from foreign publications. The main genre in which the first Russian journalists worked was relation (reporting on incidents during the war). In the first years of its existence, Peter's associates published in the newspaper: B. Kurakin, P. Tolstoy, A. Dolgoruky and F. Golovin.

The Adventures of the French King in Vedomosti

Vedomosti was published with a circulation of 500 to 4,000 copies. Now these figures seem ridiculous, but for that time such a circulation was quite large. So, for example, the legendary Sovremennik by Nekrasov, after almost a century and a half, came out with a circulation of 3,100 copies. However, by 1724 the circulation of Vedomosti had already become really small: one of the issues was published in the amount of 30 copies. This is probably due to the fact that the reader has not yet acquired a real habit of reading.

The first issue of "Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti" in Russian

With the death of Peter I, the history of Vedomosti did not end: in 1728, the publication was transferred to the Academy of Sciences, and the newspaper itself became known as Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti. With this name, the newspaper existed until 1914, then, along with the renaming of the city, the name of the publication also changed: now the Petrogradskiye Vedomosti appeared before the reader. In October 1917, when the Bolsheviks came to power, the newspaper ceased to exist. The publication was resumed only in 1991: the modern version is the largest daily publication in the North-West region.

Predecessor of Petrovsky Vedomosti

By the way, it can be noted that in the Petrine decree there is not a word about the newspaper, it is only about some kind of "chimes". The thing is that in Muscovy, as in other European countries, the appearance of the first printed newspapers was preceded by handwritten editions that contained information about political and economic events. So in this regard, Vedomosti cannot be called the first edition, since Russian handwritten newspapers appeared around 1600, and they were called precisely “Courants” (from French Courant - current).

Handwritten Chimes for 1631

The Chimes, however, were least of all similar to a modern newspaper and even to Vedomosti. First of all, because they were in the nature of state secrets, and the dissemination of information that was in the Chimes was unacceptable. The first handwritten newspaper was compiled with the help of a number of informants who lived in European countries. The "chimes" were issued in a single copy and read to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, sometimes the boyars were allowed to stand under the door and listen to what they read to the tsar.

Printed newspapers appeared several centuries ago and quickly gained popularity. The oldest appeared in the east. This “fashion” came to Russia from Europe. Among the newspapers there are also very unusual ones.

The oldest newspaper in the world

Newspapers seem to be losing their popularity. The reader is increasingly turning to the Internet for information, considering it more relevant. The newspaper being the oldest in the world is now on the Internet.

We are talking about a newspaper that was published in Sweden in a circulation of a thousand copies, having been established by the Queen in 1645. Its name is "Post-och Inrikes Tidningar", which means "Post and Domestic News". The publication was free, it was distributed to residents of cities in order to inform them about the affairs of the state. Also, copies of newspapers were posted on a kind of "bulletin boards" in the busiest places where everyone could read them.

Almost without changing its content, this old edition was published until 2007. It was filled with official information and government news. The publication was published daily, each issue contained almost one and a half thousand official documents. There were fewer and fewer people wishing to buy this newspaper, and by the end of 2007 there were less than a thousand of them. As a result, the printed version has become obsolete. It was decided to continue publishing online.

Despite the fact that Post and Domestic News is a newspaper that can no longer be read in paper form, it still remains the oldest in the world of those that have survived to this day. She has changed hands today. Formerly it was the Swedish Academy, now it is the Swedish Company Registrar. The transition of the newspaper to the Internet can be called a cultural disaster.

The printed edition of the Capital Bulletin, which appeared in China in the eighth century, is also considered the oldest newspaper. To print these newspapers, characters had to be cut into boards, covered with ink, and then printed.

In Europe, the beginning of newspaper periodicals is considered the year 1605, when the first printed edition was published in Strasbourg. The publisher and editor was Johann Carolus, who had previously compiled handwritten newspapers.

The oldest newspapers in Russia

Newspapers were originally written in Russia by hand, they were called "Messages". They first appeared in 1613. Outwardly, these handwritten editions looked like long ribbons. To this day, it was possible to save such a copy. It was written in the year 1621 and was called "The Chimes". Handwritten versions were issued until the beginning of the eighteenth century, until, at the direction of Peter I, the printed version of the Vedomosti newspaper saw the light of day. This innovation was brought by him from Europe, and the first printed newspaper appeared in 1702. The king personally made a selection of information. The name of the newspaper changed, but the word "Vedomosti" was always present in it.

At first, the circulation was one thousand copies, the newspaper was the size of half a notebook sheet and was published irregularly. To this day, one such issue, printed in January 1703, has been preserved. This date is considered the birthday of journalism in Russia. The first newspaper was publicly available, its price and circulation varied, sometimes reaching four thousand, but it was not popular. Vedomosti was published until 1725.

The boom of newspaper business in Russia began in the second half of the nineteenth century. Clear distinctions in periodicals on the subject of announcements, news, summaries of global information appeared only towards the end of the nineteenth century.

The most unusual newspapers

Despite the fact that newspapers are in crisis, handwritten editions still exist. It's about the newspaper "Musalman Daily". Every day, its text is written by four calligraphers in Urdu and pasted onto photographic sheets, after which this sample is reproduced by means of a printing press.

The smallest newspaper known is Terra Nostra, which was released in a limited edition in Portugal in 2012. With dimensions of eighteen by twenty-five millimeters, its weight was only one gram. The Guinness Book of Records did not leave such a newspaper unattended. Other periodicals are also surprising. For example, there are books that have been sold for $1.243 million. The site has a site about the most expensive books.
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