Petr Weiner: The Publisher, Editor and Publicist of the Starye Gody Journal

The aim of this article is to study the editorial, publishing and exhibition activities of Petr Weiner, the publisher, editor and publicist of the journal Starye Gody [The Bygone Years] (1907-1916) against the background of the cultural "explosion" in Russia in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. To reach the aim, the author had studied the issues of the periodical of different years and identified two important goals the editor and the staff of the journal set to achieve: (1) the publication of articles on the protection of historical and cultural monuments to educate readers and (2) the coverage of museum and exhibition life in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area in the period under review. The memoirs of Weiner's contemporaries, including the journal's reviewers, the works of researchers of the history of Russian periodical press, responses to the publications of Starye Gody in various editions, and archival documents were also used. The author begins the article with the topic of the spiritual guidance that V.asily Vereshchagin (1859-1931), the editor of the Russkiy Bibliofil [Russian Bibliophile] journal and the author of the book Russkiy Knizhnyy Znak [Russian Bookplate], provided to Weiner and the role he played in the professional formation of the young lover of art. It was Vereshchagin who attracted Weiner to participate in the Circle of Lovers of Russian Elegant Editions that Vereshchagin organized in St. Petersburg in 1903. Later Weiner became its secretary, and the idea of an edition for lovers of art and antiquity-a monthly journal Starye Gody- was born in this Circle. The author emphasizes that, despite the fact that at the time of the establishment of the journal Weiner was a novice collector, he managed to quickly win the recognition of his colleagues and, in the future, the journal readers whose number increased every year. One of the important reasons for this was the content and design of the journal, the rejection of party membership, and the free expression of opinions and tastes. The editor's trust in the readers, correspondence with them, and seeking help and assistance in the preparation of issues for printing contributed to success. Thanks to the solution of many artistic tasks the editor of had set, the journal gradually gained respect among journalists of a number of metropolitan editions. During the first few years of its existence, as evidenced by the cited responses in the periodicals, Starye Gody became the main guard of cultural monuments in St. Petersburg. And Weiner, its editor and publisher, played the leading role in this process. The author also notes that a characteristic feature of Weiner's editorial policy was the combination of journalistic research activities and expository and even charitable ones. The study shows that, despite the difficulties of the wartime and the forced closure of Starye Gody in 1917, the multifaceted activity of its creator and leader left a deep mark on the history of Russian art and became a high model of the spread of artistic knowledge through the national periodical press.

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