Zhukovsky, German revolution and institutions of imperial propaganda (based on the unpublished correspondence with Grand Duke Alexander Nikolayevich)

The article uses the unpublished correspondence of 1848 between V.A. Zhukovsky and Grand Duke Alexander Nikolayevich to describe the interaction of the poet's political j ournal-ism with the institutions of imperial propaganda. Propaganda efforts in the reign of Nicholas could be consolidated due to the development of the so-called official nationality ideological program, with its four main propaganda channels: 1) direct addresses of the court published in official bulletins and manifestos; 2) the information policy of pro-government magazines and newspapers approved as the sources of ideologically relevant materials; 3) support of propaganda activities of certain ideologists from the literary and scientific environment and, finally, 4) censorship as a tool of control over alternative ideological programs. Of these channels, Zhukovsky thought the third one as the most appropriate to appeal to a broad audience on socially important issues. The Russian culture considered this channel the rudiment of the patronage system. The Russian press could cover the revolutionary events in Germany only under strict ideological control. The highest sanction was required to publish Zhukovsky's articles, which originally represented letters to Tsarevich ("Letter from a Russian in Frankfurt", "Letter of V.A. Zhukovsky to Prince P.A. Vyazemsky"). The poet sought to expand the space of journalistic freedom, using more independent channels of communication: anonymous brochures published in Germany ("On the Accidents of 1848. A letter to Count Sh.", "Joseph Radovits"), materials in German newspapers ("On German press attacks on Russia", "On the incidents of 1848. A letter to Count Sh."). This was the way to construct the system of formats, pushing the boundaries of official propaganda. The resources of a rigid patronage system, coterie literary communication and professional foreign journalism gave Zhukovsky a field for maneuver, which he actively used later. In the article, the authors give a new dating of Zhukovsky's article "On German press attacks on Russia" (March 1848) on the basis of a newly discovered epistolary autograph. The appendix contains a previously unknown letter from Zhukovsky to Grand Duke dated by March 1848.

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