On the history of a Tomsk magazine Silhouettes of Life of the Hometown (1909) - Silhouettes of Siberia (1910)

The article discusses the history of a poorly known satirical magazine published in Tomsk in the early 20th century, Siluety zhizni rodnogo goroda [Silhouettes of the Life of the Hometown] (1909) and Siluety Sibiri [Silhouettes of Siberia] (1910) (hereinafter Silhouettes). It was issued in the period of stabilization of Russian public life, decline of revolutionary activity and understanding of the events. Satirical and humorous publications in 1909 and 1910 both in the capitals and in the Russian province were more focused on entertainment, political component in them is minimal. Among the publications at that time the Tomsk magazine Silhouettes was characterized by integrity, loyalty to satirical traditions of the previous period, desire to maximize the total reflection of local life in all its aspects -political, literary, etc. Archive files stored in the funds of Tomsk provincial administration of State Archive of Tomsk Oblast (GATO) have information about the original program of the edition, the transfer of the magazine from one hand to another during 1909 and 1910, about its circulation from 600 to 1,000 copies. A Tomsk censor characterized the magazine as non-political and entertaining, having no commercial success. Research of newsprint periodicals of the 1910s gives grounds to assert that the leading newspaper in Tomsk, Sibirskaya Zhizn' [Siberian Life], closely followed the release of Silhouettes, supported it by printing ads and reviews on individual issues, noting the progress of the magazine. Since materials were mainly signed by pseudonyms in Silhouettes, it is quite difficult to identify its authors. However, it was found that known satirists and artists of Tomsk collaborated with the magazine; in 1910, the magazine has publications by local poets, writers, publicists. The main theme that is constantly discussed in the magazine was the unsettled urban life. Satirists described mud and potholes on the roads, slippery sidewalks in the winter and dust in the summer, etc. Topics touched upon the behavior of Tomsk citizens, nonfeasance of city delegates, Tomsk customs in general, including the local literary life. The role model was the famous satirical Russian magazine Satyricon (St. Petersburg, 1908-1914). In 1910, the thematic spectrum of the magazine expanded to cultural, scientific and popular subjects. Silhouettes published articles about contemporary writers and outstanding Siberians, about the introduction of jury trials in Siberia, about the artistic life of Siberia. The text and pictures in the magazine complemented each other. Active editors' work on building cooperation of local amateur satirists and cartoonists contributed to the revival of the literary and artistic life of the city. The study indicates that Silhouettes is a worthy representative of Russian satirical journalism in the beginning of the 20th century and needs a further detailed study.

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