We have one weapon in our hands - a free word": media confrontation of the Bolsheviks and Sibirskaya Zhizn', 1917

The article discusses the conflict between the Bolsheviks of Tomsk and the newspaper Sibirskaya Zhizn' [Siberian Life] (Tomsk, 1897-1919), which developed throughout 1917. The chronology of the events is being restored, the features of the "media confrontation" coverage in the newspaper, methods of organising "public opinion" in defence of the periodical are analysed. The newspaper Sibirskaya Zhizn' was the largest daily newspaper in Tomsk. Its circulation was 14-15 thousand copies, and in the days of the February Revolution of 1917 reached 25 thousand copies. The stable publishing model of Sibirskaya Zhizn', established by 1917, allowed the authors to inform the readers about the events as soon as possible. At the same time it gave an opportunity for an analytical interpretation of the current situation. Sibirskaya Zhizn' was a vivid representative of Russian high-quality journalism, independent of the government, oriented to the interests of its Siberian reader. The study identified three episodes of clashes between the newspaper and the Bolsheviks in 1917 which were covered in Sibirskaya Zhizn' in three different scenarios, in accordance with the editorial views on the need to protect freedom of speech in each individual case. The first episode was the demand of the Bolsheviks to abolish the publication in Sibirskaya Zhizn' of reprints from a Moscow newspaper on the interaction of the Bolsheviks with Germany (July 1917). The editors were forced to give in, but then published the controversial material with their commentaries, voluminous authors' materials explaining the rejection of Bolshevism as a phenomenon, as well as a reportage sketch describing the critical attitude of the "people of the nation" to the Bolsheviks. The second episode was the coverage in the newspaper of the situation with the boycott of Sibirskaya Zhizn' the Bolsheviks organised in June-September 1917. This conflict was covered in the newspaper at different levels. The ideological confrontation with the Bolsheviks was declared by the leading publicists of the newspaper - the editor A.V. Adrianov and G.N. Potanin. Numerous letters from readers and responses of fellow journalists testified to the public support of the newspaper. The situation with Sibirskaya Zhizn' was considered in the context of the all-Russian life and in addition, the newspaper carried out the "information support" of the boycott, published reports on its manifestations. The third episode - the Bolsheviks' suspension of the publication of the newspaper in late October and early November 1917 - was mainly reflected in the letters of readers aimed at supporting Sibirskaya Zhizn' and condemning the Bolsheviks. In each case, Sibirskaya Zhizn' consistently upheld the principles of freedom of speech, considering them as the most important achievement of 1917. The newspaper did not conceal its rejection of the Bolsheviks' ideas of centralising power, of subordinating life to a single doctrine, while it considered it necessary to give its readers a complete picture of what was happening, not to be silent about the actions of the Bolshevik Party. Defending its position, Sibirskaya Zhizn' drew the confidence in its rightness from the letters of readers who showed high activity in the described "media confrontation".

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