The formation and development of satirical journalism in the Dnieper Ukraine in the 19th - early 20th centuries

The purpose of this article is to review the prerequisites and conditions of Ukrainian satirical journalism, features of using satirical techniques of reality reflection on the pages of the general political and specialized satirical periodicals in the 19th - early 20th centuries in the Dnieper Ukraine. Formation of satirical journalism was preceded by the use of satirical techniques, images and elements in oral folklore and literature which can be considered its "forerunners". Ukrainian satirical journalism is born almost simultaneously with the periodical press as an important part of it. Its history can be counted from 1816 - the time the magazine Kharkovsky Demokrit (1816) was established. It remained the only humorous satire publication in the Dnieper Ukraine for nearly a century. In the context of the prohibition of the Ukrainian language and any printed materials in it the information vacuum in the Ukrainian land was overcome by the journals published in Russian. Satirical journalism was not limited to specific types of publications, especially in the initial stages, and increasingly permeated the pages of general political, literary and other magazines, and newspapers. It was publications of general content (Khliborob, Ridnyi kray, Gromadska Dumka, Rada, etc.) that formed the tradition of Ukrainian satirical journalism. It was developed and concentrated in the satirical press. The result of the transformation processes in the information space during the first Russian revolution was the emergence of satirical cartoon magazines. Magazines Shershen', Gedz, Budyak, Rep'yakhy and the satirical leaflet Hrin witnessed the formation of such features of the satirical magazine as: 1) volume (8-16 pages); 2) periodicity (mostly weeklies or biweeklies); 3) design, or graphic signs (independent value of different types of illustrations); 4) combination of satire and "civil lyric", non-fiction; 5) prevalence of short genre forms; 6) professional artists as part of the Authors (often playing the major role in developing the concept of the edition). The peak of Ukrainian satirical journalism is in 1906-1907. The period of the reaction that followed the defeat of the first Russian revolution promoted transformation of the satirical magazine into humorous entertainment publications deprived not only of acuteness and criticism, but also of aesthetic taste.

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