Review: Chernova I.S. Formation and functioning of the professional community of Siberian journalists in the second half of the XIX – early XX centuries. Novosibirsk: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2024. 303 p.

Irina Sergeevna Chernova's monograph is devoted to the urgent problem of the formation of professional journalism in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which inevitably led to the formation of local communities of press employees, united by a common identity, similarity of ideas about the world order and their role in the broadcasting of socio-political and socio-cultural phenomena in the country and its remote regions. The research vector chosen by the author fully fits into the modern historiographical situation of redefining approaches and practices of historiography, characterised by a shift from the description of events to the construction of historical reality, which is inseparable from the experience of historical and anthropological reflection on the images of social groups, local and professional communities of pre-revolutionary Russia. In addition, I.S. Chernova's treatment of the circumstances of the formation of professional communities of Siberian journalists opens up broad prospects for anthro-pologising scientific knowledge of the formation and functioning of the Siberian press through a reflection on the everyday professional experience of regional journalists and the model of their communication. The review notes the key features of the research's scientific novelty, which are cumulatively reduced to the author's identification of the main stages of formation and functioning of the professional community of Siberian journalists in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries; identification of factors that influenced the formation of the group's professional identity; construction of the communicative space of regional journalists, within the boundaries of which ordinary members of the community and leaders interacted, presenting their views in a variety of ‘platforms’; and identification of the main stages of the formation and functioning of the professional community of Siberian journalists in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. It is especially emphasised that the author's experience in defining and clarifying the key concepts of the thesis, such as ‘profession’, ‘journalist’ and, in a generalised perspective, ‘professional community of Siberian journalists’, can be used in researching a wide range of issues in the history of the national periodical press, as well as in writing works on the history of socio-political movements and socio-political thought. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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