Izvestiya of the Novgorod Soviet of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies: The first Soviet edition in Novgorod

The paper deals with the history of the first Soviet edition in Novgorod. Izvestiya of the Novgorod Soviet of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies was published from May 1917 to December 1918. The evolution of the political orientation of the edition is analyzed, because the newspaper first supported the Socialist Revolutionary Party (the SRs), and then the Bolsheviks. This change in the political orientation of the newspaper was associated with the political events in Russia in 1917. In the first months of release, the newspaper was similar in format and content to universal party editions, for example, Novaya Zhizn (1905), Rech. The newspaper had universal rubrics, literary and journalistic materials: satirical article, poems. It described the SRs' activities in Novgorod Governorate. Publications about the activities of the Novgorod Social Democrats were rare and small in size. The newspaper participated in the preparation for the elections to the Constituent Assembly: it published lists of party candidates and slogans calling to prepare for elections. The events of October 1917 determined the political orientation of the first Soviet edition in Novgorod: it passed to the local Bolsheviks, which was manifested in the change of provincial officials, and in the change of the editorial committee of the newspaper. In 1918, as a result of administrative-territorial reforms, Novgorod Government became significantly smaller, out of eleven uyezds, six were left: Borovichisky, Valdaisky, Demyansky, Krestetsky, Novgorod, Starorussky. Beloozersky, Kirillovsky, Tikhvinsky, Ustyuzhensky and Cherepovetsky uyezds were split off, and it was a big part of the territory and population. After the closing of the newspaper Novgorod Provincial Vedomosti in early 1918, Izvestiya became the only official press organ. This led to significant changes in the design and content of the edition: it was universal party publication with an official focus in the Soviet official format, while in page making it used techniques characteristic of the pre-revolutionary Novgorod official press. The "Official Part" appeared in the last pages of Izvestiya, where important administrative information, orders of the authorities were published. In general, the style of the edition became less journalistic and more official, although the genre of a satirical article was preserved. The history of Izvestiya of the Novgorod Soviet of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies reflects important trends in the development of national journalism, and specific features of the regional journalistic process in the early years of Soviet power.

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