Peter's reform of font and graphics In 1708, a Russian civil font was created, and Peter I himself took an active part in making sketches of letters. In 1710, a sample of a new alphabet font was approved. This was the first reform of Russian graphics. The essence of Peter's reform was to simplify the composition of the Russian alphabet by excluding from it such redundant letters as “psi”, “xi”, “omega”, “Izhitsa” and others, and the abolition of homophonic pairs “izhe and”, “zelo zemlya”. However, some of these letters were subsequently restored to use. During the introduction of the civil font, the letter E (“E” is reverse) appeared in order to distinguish it from the letter E, and the small yus was replaced by the letter Y (going back to one of its cursive variants). In the civil font, uppercase (capital) and lowercase (small) letters are established for the first time.
On the first edition of the ABC on January 29, 1710, in the hand of Peter it is written: “These are the letters to print historical and manufacturing books. And those that are underlined [meaning the Cyrillic letters crossed out by Peter], those [in] the above books should not be used.”
Reform of Russian spelling in 1918 In accordance with the reform: 1. The letters Ѣ (yat), Ѳ (fita), І (“and decimal”) were excluded from the alphabet; instead of them, E, F, I should be used, respectively; alphabet yat fita I E F I 2. The hard sign (Ъ) at the end of words and parts of complex words was excluded, but was retained as a dividing sign (rise, adjutant); hard sign (Ъ) of words 3. The rule for writing prefixes in s/s has changed: now all of them (except for the actual s -) end in front of any voiceless consonant and in s before voiced consonants and before vowels (break, break apart, break apart, break apart , but make way);
In accordance with the reform: 4. In the genitive and accusative cases of adjectives and participles, the endings - ago, - ago were replaced by - oh, - him (for example, new new, best best, early early), in the nominative and accusative cases of the plural numbers of feminine and neuter genders - ыя, - ія на - ы, - ь (new (books, publications) new); number of genders 5. The word form of the genitive case singular ee (neya) on her (her).
Reform In the last paragraphs, the reform, generally speaking, affected not only spelling, but also spelling and grammar, since the spellings of one, one, ee (reproducing Church Slavonic orthography) to some extent managed to enter Russian pronunciation, especially in poetry (where they participated in rhyme: he / wife in Pushkin, my / her in Tyutchev, etc.). spelling grammar In the documents of the spelling reform. nothing was said about the fate of the letter V (Izhitsa), rare and out of practical use even before 1917; in practice, after the reform, it also completely disappeared from the alphabet. Izhitsy
Peter's era (1700-1730). This is the beginning of the formation of the Russian literary language. The Petrine era in the history of our people is characterized by significant reforms and transformations that affected statehood, production, military and maritime affairs, and the life of the ruling classes of the then Russian society. These transformations revolutionized the consciousness and habits of Russian nobles and industrialists, and it is natural to look for their reflection in the development of the Russian literary language.
1) Changed alphabet.
2) The emergence of mass printing
3) Introduction of norms of speech etiquette.
4) Changing the internal essence of language.
The Petrine era is the last stage in the functioning of the book Slavic language in Russia; from now on its fate is connected only with the confessional sphere. The language of the Peter the Great era was characterized by further democratization due to its rapprochement with living colloquial speech, which was due to socio-economic and political changes in the life of Russian society in the 17th and 18th centuries. During this period, a type of written language was created, called the civil mediocre dialect, in which elements of the book Slavic language, the old command language and everyday speech of the 18th century coexist. The use in the literature of the Peter the Great era of all linguistic units actually existing at that time led to linguistic and stylistic diversity of written monuments, where everyday means of expression (dialectal, vernacular, colloquial) were used along with book ones. The Peter the Great era was characterized by the borrowing of foreign language vocabulary and tracing - the translation of foreign terms into Russian. There is a noticeable desire of philologists and writers to regulate the use of various language units, to determine the phonetic, grammatical and lexical norms of the language.
Conclusion: In the ancient era, the Russian literary language begins to be used in all spheres of communication - written and oral, the dialect of the city of Moscow becomes a universal standard language, on the basis of which the language of the nation is formed.
Political disruption, changes in the social structure of the state, democratization of state power, and strengthening of foreign contacts lead to the formation of a language that can be called a mediocre folk dialect.
The convergence of book language and living spoken language, sharp logic, opposition (which was relevant for the Slavic language) which are mixed. This process receives a bright external manifestation (reform of the Russian alphabet). Occurs during 1708-1710.
Citizen - ABC
Geometry - first book
Conclusion: the language of the Peter the Great era for us reading these texts seems motley and combining incompatible things.
An explosion of foreign language borrowings, a huge influx of foreign words (and an outflow of foreign words in 20-30 years).
Groups of words are the most active for penetration.
· Everyday vocabulary (luggage, chest of drawers, coffee, bandage).
· Terms of literature and art (ballet, concert, symphony).
· Military vocabulary (army, governor, artillery).
· Administrative vocabulary (governor, amnesty, minister).
· Scientific vocabulary (axiom, algebra, geometry).
· Social and political vocabulary (constitution, nation, patriot).
· Technical and professional vocabulary (workbench, factory, manufactory).
Conclusion: redundancy and insufficiency collide.
The main conclusion of the Petrine era:
8) Destruction of the book-Slavic type of the Russian language.
9) Further democratization of the literary Russian language with lively colloquial speech.
10) Creation of a new special language that lasted 30 years.
11) Connection of the unconnected: penetration within one text, diversity.
13) After the 30s, people began to strive to clean up the Russian language.
Alphabet reform: brought the Russian printed font closer to European standards, eliminated unused letters - xi, psi, small and large yusy, doublet letter zelo; the letter acquires a rounded, simple outline; the superscripts and numeric values of the letters have been abolished. Contributed to the widespread spread of literacy in Russian society. The main significance of the graphic reform was that it removed “the veil of “holy scripture” from literary semantics”, provided great opportunities for revolutionary changes in the sphere of the Russian literary language, opened a wider path for the Russian literary language and the styles of living oral speech, and to the assimilation of Europeanisms that surged at that time from Western languages.
The Westernizing tendencies of the Peter the Great era are expressed not only in the borrowing of many words to designate new objects, processes, concepts in the sphere of state life, everyday life and technology, but also affect the destruction of the external forms of church book and social everyday language by such barbarisms for which there was no direct need . Western European words attracted people like fashion. They bore the special stylistic imprint of innovation. They were a means of breaking away from the old traditions of the Church Slavonic language and the Old Testament everyday vernacular. The very unusualness of the phonetic connections in the borrowed words seemed to hint at the possibility and necessity of a new structure of the literary language, corresponding to the appearance of the reforming state. There was a fashion for foreign words both in everyday life and in the official language of the Peter the Great era.
Some of the Europeanized nobles of that time almost lost the ability to correctly, normally use the Russian language, developing some kind of mixed jargon. This is the language of Prince B.I. Kurakin, author of “The History of Tsar Peter Alekseevich”: “At that time, the named Franz Yakovlevich Lefort came into extreme favor and confidentiality of amorous intrigues.”
Peter I condemned the abuse of foreign words.
The use of foreign words was an external symptom of a new, “European” style of speech. A peculiar feature of the business, journalistic language of the Peter the Great era is striking, the technique of duplicating words: next to a foreign word there is its Old Russian synonym or a new lexical definition, closed in brackets, and sometimes simply attached through an explanatory conjunction or (even a conjunction and). The educational significance of this technique appears against the background of the general government tendency to involve the broad masses of society in the new political system. And in laws, and in journalistic treatises, and in technical translations of the early 18th century. up to the 40s. one notices this duality of word usage, this parallelism of Russian and foreign words. For example: “the admiral, who controls the vanguard (or the front formation) of ships, belongs to”, “the housekeeper (house manager)”...
Strengthening Western European influences and new sources of them.
In the Russian literary language of the early 18th century, phenomena emerged that testified to attempts to create new forms of national Russian expression, closer to Western European languages and testifying to the broader influence of European culture and civilization.
The Polish language still retains for some time the role of supplier of scientific, legal, administrative, technical and secular everyday words and concepts for high society. Many Polonisms are borrowings from a previous era. Polish culture continues to be an intermediary through which the baggage of European concepts and the load of French and German words comes to Russia. However, the number of translations from Polish has decreased, because increased familiarity with Latin and Western European languages in general allowed us to strengthen the translation directly from the originals, bypassing Polish mediation.
Polish influence begins to yield in strength to German influence. The Polish and Latin languages, in some of their forms already quite deeply embedded in the system of Russian book and colloquial speech of the upper classes, create an appetizing background for the further Europeanization of the Russian literary language, for the development of abstract concepts in its semantic system. The Latin language played a huge role in the process of developing abstract scientific, political, civil, and philosophical terminology of the 18th century.
The importance of translations in the process of Europeanization of the Russian literary language.
The intensified translation activity of the Peter the Great era, directed towards socio-political, popular science and technical literature, led to a convergence of the constructive forms of the Russian language with the systems of Western European languages.
A new way of life, expanding technical education, a change in ideological milestones - all this required new forms of expression. New intellectual demands of society were satisfied by translating into Russian concepts developed by Western European languages, or by using dictionary borrowings.
True, at the beginning of the 18th century, the influence of Western European languages on the Russian literary language was still external, shallow: it was expressed more in the assimilation of words-names, in the borrowing of terms and in the replacement of Russian words with foreign language equivalents, than in the independent development of the European system of abstract concepts.
Elements of the same verbal fetishism that remained in the attitude of Russian society towards the Church Slavonic language were transferred to the terminology, vocabulary and phraseology of Western European languages.
The translation of special technical and scientific terminology in that era was fraught with almost insurmountable difficulties, since it assumed the presence of internal semantic relationships and correspondences between the Russian language and Western European languages. But even experienced translators could not overcome the resistance of the language material. The Russian language still lacked semantic forms for the embodiment of concepts developed by European science and technology, European abstract thought.
On January 29 (February 8), 1710, Peter's reform of the Cyrillic alphabet was completed in Russia - Peter I approved the new civil alphabet and civil font. The Russian Orthodox Church continued to use the Church Slavonic alphabet.
The reform was related to the needs of the state, which needed a large number of educated domestic specialists and the timely delivery of official information to the population. The achievement of these goals was hampered by the weak development of printing, which was focused primarily on the dissemination of spiritual literature and did not take into account changes in language. By the end of the 17th century. The alphabet, which came to Rus' along with Christian writing, retained its archaic features, despite the fact that some letters in secular texts were not used or were used incorrectly. In addition, the form of letters, established within the framework of written culture, was inconvenient for typing printed texts due to the presence of superscripts. Therefore, during the reform, both the composition of the alphabet and the shape of the letters changed.
The search for a new model of the alphabet and font was carried out with the active participation of the king. In January 1707, based on sketches supposedly made personally by Peter I, fortification engineer Kulenbach made drawings of thirty-three lowercase and four capital letters (A, D, E, T) of the Russian alphabet, which were sent to Amsterdam for the production of letters. At the same time, according to the sovereign's decree, word-casting work was carried out at the Moscow Printing Yard, where Russian masters Grigory Alexandrov and Vasily Petrov, under the leadership of word-literate Mikhail Efremov, made their own version of the font, but the quality of the letters did not satisfy the king, and the font of the Dutch masters was adopted for printing books. The first book typed in the new civil font, “Geometry of the Slavic Land Survey”, was published in March 1708.
Later, based on the results of typesetting tests, the king decided to change the shape of some letters and return several rejected letters of the traditional alphabet (it is believed that at the insistence of the clergy). On January 18, 1710, Peter I made the last correction, crossing out the first versions of the characters of the new font and the old characters of the printed semi-charter. On the back of the binding of the alphabet, the tsar wrote: “These are the letters to print historical and manufacturing books, but those that are underlined should not be used in the above-mentioned books.” The decree on the introduction of the new alphabet was dated January 29 (February 9), 1710. Soon after the publication of the Decree, a list of books printed in the new alphabet and going on sale appeared in the Gazette of the Moscow State.
As a result of Peter's reform, the number of letters in the Russian alphabet was reduced to 38, their style was simplified and rounded. The forces (a complex system of diacritic accent marks) and the titla - a superscript that allowed letters to be skipped in a word - were abolished. The use of capital letters and punctuation marks was also streamlined, and Arabic numerals began to be used instead of alphabetic numbers.
The composition of the Russian alphabet and its graphics continued to change later towards simplification. The modern Russian alphabet came into use on December 23, 1917 (January 5, 1918) on the basis of the decree of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR “On the introduction of a new spelling.”
At the beginning of the 18th century. In the life of Russia, radical changes took place, caused by the development of productive forces and prepared by the entire previous course of historical development. The foundations of industry are being created, domestic and foreign trade is developing, a regular national army and navy are being organized, and Russia’s economic and cultural ties with the countries of the West and East are being strengthened. The international authority of the Russian Empire is growing.
Rapid economic and political development was accompanied by rapid growth of national culture, science, and education. Breaking with the religious traditions of the past, the new Russian culture acquired a pronounced secular character. State schools of various types were opened (both general and special, according to exact knowledge), accessible to people of different social status. Scientific, cultural and educational institutions were created to promote the development of Russian science and culture, the restructuring of the life of Russian people (Library-Kunstkamera, Academy of Sciences, etc.).
The development of exact sciences was encouraged. Russian social thought and journalism, literature and art developed fruitfully. The introduction of the January calendar and Arabic numerals was of great cultural significance.
Publishing in the first quarter of the 18th century. gained wide scope. Until now it has served primarily the needs of the church. Peter I put book printing at the service of the interests of state transformation and the development of a new culture. Peter I personally supervised the printing and publishing business, determined the topics of publications, supervised the translation of books and was the editor of many of them. His name is associated with the creation of a Russian printing house in Amsterdam, the founding of the St. Petersburg printing house, the introduction of civil type, the creation of the first Russian printed newspaper Vedomosti and much more.
In the development of Russian culture and publishing, the reform of the Russian alphabet, and on its basis, the reform of the press, played a major role.
The press reform was carried out in 1707-1710. The essence of the reform is the replacement of the old Cyrillic alphabet with its complex graphics and system of superscripts, which is difficult to type in typography, with a new civil alphabet, which was based on the handwriting of the late 17th - early 18th centuries, which differed from the usual semi-character only in the roundness of a number of letters - b, c, e, o, r, etc. Letters of this design, close in character to European fonts, were found in some engraved publications of the early 18th century, for example, on the map of the Dvina River (1702).
Such experienced people as the famous figure in the field of book printing I.A. were involved in the creation of the new alphabet. Musin-Pushkin, head of the first Moscow civilian printing house V.A. Kipriyanov, word writer Mikhail Efremov. The drawings of the new font were made by draftsman and draftsman Kuhlenbach. Peter I himself gave instructions on the destruction of superscripts and some letters (“ot”, “psi”, “xi”, etc.), borrowed at one time from Greek writing and which became unnecessary with the development of the Russian language, on changing and improving graphics individual letters.
The new alphabet was easy to learn and easy to type. It democratized reading and contributed to the spread of literacy and education. Subsequently M.V. Lomonosov wrote about her:
“Under Peter the Great, not only the boyars and noblewomen, but also the letters, threw off their wide fur coats and dressed up in summer clothes.”
The final version of the civil alphabet was adopted in 1710. Peter I personally inscribed on a copy of the civil alphabet: “Historical and manufacturing books should be printed in these letters. And those that are underlined should not be used [in] the books described above.”
Since 1708, the Kirillov font has been used mainly for printing church books; For some time they continued to print textbooks, religious books, and the most important publications intended for wide distribution throughout Russia, since civil script penetrated slowly into the provinces. The Cyrillic alphabet was more familiar than the civilian font, this explained the “survivability” of books of the old Cyrillic printing.
The civil font played an important role in the creation of a new type of book. The idea of its development belonged to Peter I. Based on his sketch, under his personal supervision, the military engineer Kulenbach made drawings that were approved by the Tsar and sent to Holland for casting. The new font was created based on the existing business cursive. In its style, it resembled the best Latin Elsevier fonts. The typeface, made in Holland and improved by Russian craftsmen, was finally approved in 1710. The decree on its introduction read: “Print historical and manufactory (technical - T.K.) books in these letters.” The Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet was left for liturgical books, although sometimes it continued to be used for the purpose of widespread publication of legislative and political documents, decrees, and statements.
The first book printed in civil type, “Geometry of Slavic Land Measurement” (March 1708), is a translation of a textbook on geometry widespread in the West (circulation of 200 copies). Following it, the book “Butts, how different compliments are written” was published (April 1708). It was a manual outlining the rules of behavior in society.
Books promoting the dissemination of secular knowledge were printed in a new font. Books and other printed materials that required wide circulation, such as numerous decrees and regulations, often continued to be printed in the old characters. Books on church topics are most fully represented by the traditional gospels, menaions, prologues, books of six days, psalters, and books of hours. The same craftsmen worked on their production as on secular publications. Therefore, the interpenetration of design elements of these two groups of books is often observed, especially in the first years of activity of secular printing houses.
The natural course of development of book publishing at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries was disrupted by radical measures aimed at restructuring society and forming a new secular worldview. During this critical period, book publishing begins to develop in two directions - civil and church. To spread new ideas, a printing press was used, producing hundreds of book titles that were previously known to a very limited circle of people. In the first quarter of the 18th century alone, 650 titles of books on secular subjects were published with a circulation of half a million copies. At the same time, about eleven titles were published in the church press per year, which accounted for only 14 percent of the total volume of book publishing.
The first experience in publishing books of a new type, according to the decision of Peter I, was undertaken in the foreign printing house of J. Tessing (?-1701). In 1698, a printing house was opened in Amsterdam, in which, according to Peter’s decree, it was ordered to publish “land and sea paintings and drawings, and all kinds of printed sheets and persons..., mathematical, architectural and other art books.” The activities of the printing house were headed by I. Kopievsky (1615-1714). Under his leadership, several books were published, printed by order of the Russian Tsar. These are “A Brief Introduction to All History” (1699), “A Brief and Useful Guide to Arithmetic” (1699), “A Brief Collection of Leo the Peacemaker” (1700), etc. These books did not meet the assigned tasks, and the printing house collapsed. I. Kopievsky independently continued to publish books for Russia. He published over twenty book titles, the most notable of which are “The Book for Teaching Sea Navigation” (1701), “Symbols and Emblems” (1705), “Guide to Slavic-Russian Grammar” (1706), the first translations of ancient writers. Books were printed in Cyrillic, sometimes in combination with Latin script.
Solving the task set by Peter I so that “Russian subjects could receive a lot of service and profit and learn in all kinds of arts and knowledge,” foreign publishers sought to maintain the Russian traditions of creating books. So, in particular, they use the technique of Russian masters, when the type at the end of the book takes the shape of a triangle, using engraved initials. At the same time, in the design of title pages, the dominance of the European style is observed, namely, strict text without any frills or decorations. In the book "Symbols and Emblems", published by the printing house of Heinrich Weststein in 1705, a list of typos appears for the first time.
Despite the efforts of Dutch printers, books published in Amsterdam did not find a lively demand in Russia and sold slowly for several years. Even the luxurious edition of the Emblemata, richly illustrated with emblems and allegorical pictures, was sold throughout the first quarter of the 18th century.
To make engravings, an Engraving Workshop was opened at the Armory in 1698. Its activities were led by the Dutch master Adrian Schonebeek (1661-1705). He founded an engraving school, among his first students were Alexey Zubov and Pyotr Bunin. Foreign masters also worked here - Bliklant and Devit.
Initially, the workshop engraved and printed coats of arms, stamps on paper, and cartouches for compasses. Soon large sheet engravings began to be created depicting newly built ships of the Russian fleet, views of military battles, and panoramas of cities.
In 1699-1700 Schonebeck performed the first print, “The Siege of Azov in 1696,” representing a wide panorama of the besieged city. He also engraved star maps, technical drawings, and artillery manuals. After the death of A. Schonebeck in 1705, the workshop was headed by Peter Picart (1668/69-1737). Engravers were constantly in search of new subjects. To do this, they went to the active army, followed surveyors, and were present during the construction of fortresses and defensive structures. As a result of their efforts, many conclusions (battles), persons (portraits), triumphal processions and fireworks appeared. The foundations of Russian printmaking were laid in the Engraving Workshop.
In 1705, on the initiative of V.A. Kiprianov, the Civil Printing House was created - the first specialized enterprise in Russia for the production of secular books and engravings. It operated according to the publishing program proposed by the founder. The printing house planned to produce “large and small arithmetics, grammars in different dialects, doctoral and medical ABC books, mathematical teaching, and musical singing.”
The first publication of the printing house was the engraved sheet “A New Method of Arithmetic,” which is a brief and popular summary of the textbook “Arithmetic.” The main products of this printing house are engravings. During the short period of its existence (1705-1722), more than two dozen of them were produced.
V.A. Kiprianov took an active part in the preparation of his publications, often acting as an author, engraver, and editor. He taught the art of engraving to many masters. The most talented students turned out to be A. Rostovtsev and A. Zubov. With their participation, many geographical maps were published. World atlases were published twice - in 1707 and 1717. In 1713, the first educational atlas “The Whole Earth Circle Table” was engraved. It included five sheets. The most popular was the six-sheet “Bruce calendar” (1709-1715).
In addition to engravings, two books were printed at the Civil Printing House: “Tables of Sines” (1716) and “Tables of Horizontal” (1722). They were intended for navigators, as well as for navigators and students of navigation schools.
The civil printing house was one of the first to establish secular book publishing, and the experience of its activities was taken into account when creating new centers of Peter the Great's book printing.
First of all, the oldest Russian printing house, the Moscow Printing House, underwent reorganization. Reconstruction began in 1708 with the production of civil printing presses and the introduction of a new font, called “civil.” In 1710, the Engraving Workshop was moved here. A type-casting workshop was set up in the printing house, which from now on supplied other printing houses in Moscow and St. Petersburg with new fonts.
Gradually, the number of printing mills increased, and so did the staff. In 1722, it consisted of 175 people: inquiry officers, book readers, engravers, Fryazhsky printers (printers of engravings), banner makers, engravers, blacksmiths, clerical workers, etc. Sometimes hired workers, most often bookbinders, were hired to carry out urgent work. Overall, it was a complex enterprise with a clear division of labor. The Moscow Printing Yard already performed the functions of not only a printing house, but also a publishing house. The first director was appointed the outstanding educator, author and translator F.P. Polikarpov (1670-1731).
Under his leadership, the publication of books on secular subjects was established, primarily civil calendars, which enjoyed nationwide recognition. The general management of book publishing was carried out by the country's spiritual department - the Synod, established in 1721 instead of the Monastic Order.
In 1711, another universal printing house was opened - St. Petersburg. To equip it, by decree of Peter I of October 29, 1710, a printing press, fonts and masters were transferred from the Printing House. At the beginning of 1711, the printing house was already operating in the new capital. It employed 4 typesetters, 2 teredor workers and 2 warrior workers. Subsequently, the staff of the printing house steadily increased, and over the years it turned into the largest printing house in the country. In 1722 there were already 5 printing mills here, which were serviced by over 80 people. In 1714, an Engraving Workshop was opened, equipped with a “figure mill” for the production of illustrations for books, as well as engravings.
In May 1711, the first edition of the St. Petersburg printing house, the Vedomosti newspaper, was published, and a year later the first dated book, “A Brief Image of Processes and Litigations,” was published. Subsequently, the printing house produced educational and general education books, military and naval literature, technical manuals and calendars. The number of books published in this printing house grew from year to year. Thus, in the first twelve years of its existence, the volume of book publishing increased fourfold.
The most significant was the publication of the “Book of Mars,” which was replenished over a number of years (1713-1716) with engravings reflecting the events of the Northern War. The plan for the book was not finally realized, and it remained unfinished.
Moscow and St. Petersburg printing houses exchanged books, reprinted them from each other, for which they borrowed fonts and engraving boards. At the same time, each of these printing houses introduced originality into their books, typesetting techniques, and design and design elements. New book publishing centers have opened in St. Petersburg under various departments. Their activities were specialized in nature, and printed products were intended for the needs of government agencies and educational institutions.
In 1718, the Senate printing house was opened. It published mainly legislative materials - decrees, manifestos, reports. The first editions of this printing house that have reached us date back to 1721, although work there began much earlier. Its activities were headed by former typesetter of the Printing House Ivan Nikitin. Under his leadership, the printing house's staff grew steadily and its equipment improved.
Initially, the printing house had only one civil printing mill, then two more printing mills were acquired, which remained after the death of V.A. Kiprianova at the Printing Yard. His son V.V. Cyprian did not publish books, and, according to him, his camps were “thrown apart.” Therefore, he sold them, along with the equipment, to the Senate Printing House.
In 1719, on the initiative of F. Prokopovich (1681-1736), a prominent church figure, a printing house of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery was opened. She published books printed in Cyrillic. Its most famous publication is the primer by F. Prokopovich “The First Teaching to the Youths,” which went through twelve editions in five years from 1720 to 1724. Translations of books were published, for example, the historical works “Pheatron, or the Historical Shame” (1720).
At the beginning of 1721, the printing house of the Maritime Academy was established. Initially, the needs of students were met by Moscow and St. Petersburg printing houses. Thus, practical manuals for navigators “Tables of Sun Declination” and “Tables of Width Differences” were ordered in Moscow from the Civil Printing House, but by April 1721 they were printed in the Maritime Academy’s own printing house. The main share of its output was literature on maritime subjects. Most often these were translated works by English and Dutch authors.
During the period of Peter the Great's reforms, a centralized book publishing system developed in Russia, the leading place in which was occupied by the Printing House.
For the first time, specialized book publishing centers arose that served the needs of various departments.
Strict regulation and control over the activities of printing houses made it possible, in the shortest possible time, to organize the production of books that met the state objectives and contributed to the formation of a new ideology.
In 1703, the Vedomosti newspaper was created - the first organ of the Russian press, conceived as a mass media. It replaced the handwritten Chimes and became more accessible to a wide range of consumers. In 1703 alone, 39 issues were published. The newspaper contained material from foreign sources and reports from diplomats. Initially, information of a military nature dominated, with military actions against the Swedes being covered in particular detail. Gradually, the pages of the newspaper were filled with messages about the construction of ships, canals, lunar and solar eclipses, and the opening of new factories and manufactories. Beginning in 1719, Vedomosti increasingly reflected events in the country’s internal life. The material was drawn from reports from the field: from the provinces, from various government agencies. Peter I constantly made sure that the newspaper reflected everything “that is needed to communicate to the people.”
In the second decade of the 18th century. Printing houses appear in the new Russian capital - St. Petersburg. The first of them, the St. Petersburg Printing House, was founded in 1710. It produced the bulk of civil books, becoming in a short time the leading printing house in the country. The first dated book published by this printing house in July 1712, “A Brief Description of Processes, or Litigations,” sets out the rules for the trial and investigation.
In 1720, a second printing house opened in St. Petersburg at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. It published in Cyrillic font the “Sermons” and “Words” of F. Prokopovich and other associates of Peter I, some textbooks, including the popular primer of F. Prokopovich - “The First Teaching of a Youth.”
In 1721, a printing house was established under the Senate, where legislative documents were printed in large quantities - decrees, regulations, charters, as well as manifestos and other literature.
For the needs of students and the printing of orders of the Admiralty College, a printing house was created at the Moscow Academy.
On the pace of development of book printing in the first quarter of the 18th century. The numbers speak: if in 1701 8 book titles were published, then in 1724 - 149. Over 24 years, publishing output increased almost 19 times. Publishing activity reached its highest level in 1720-1722, i.e. at the end of the Northern War.
Subjects and types of publications of the first quarter of the 18th century.
Russian books of the first quarter of the 18th century. were connected with the practical tasks and needs of the state, contributed to the implementation of reforms, and helped to assimilate everything new that was introduced into the life of Russia. Their topics are very diverse and new. Most of all publications were of a political nature, necessary for the government to influence the masses. The propaganda role was played by decrees, regulations and manifestos that reflected the development of Russian legislation. Political publications also include reports on military operations and victories in the Northern War. They were printed on one side of a sheet and posted in crowded places for wide familiarization with them.
In connection with the wide network of general education and special schools that opened in the first quarter of the 18th century, there was a very great need for textbooks, especially for primary education. Among the new primers, two are especially interesting - “The First Teaching of a Youth” by F. Prokopovich and “An Honest Mirror of Youth.” In the first of them, instead of prayers common in old primers, their interpretations were given, which made it much easier for children to learn to read and write. The preface talked about raising children. “An Honest Mirror of Youth” is the first secular textbook. At the beginning of the book, the alphabet, syllables and numbers were given, and at the end - exercises - rules of behavior and good manners. Such books contributed to the restructuring of the worldview and life of the Russian people.
In addition to primers, dictionaries were published, for example, “The trilingual lexicon, that is, the sayings of Slavic, Hellenic-Greek and Latin treasures,” compiled by F.P. Polikarpov. Dictionaries and manuals for studying foreign languages were necessary in international relations, navigation, and science, so great attention was paid to their publication.
Mathematics textbooks became very important: without knowledge of it, industry, military engineering and maritime affairs could not develop. As a rule, they were of an applied nature. A typical example of such a textbook is “Arithmetic,” compiled “for the sake of teaching the wise-loving Russian youths, and of every rank and age of people” by the Russian mathematician, teacher of the Moscow Navigation School L.F. Magnitsky. “Arithmetic” was published in 1703. The content of the book is much broader than its title. It provides initial information on arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry in their practical application to mechanics, geodesy, and navigation. Magnitsky’s “Arithmetic” aroused interest in the sciences and was understandable and accessible to a wide range of readers in the 18th century. Many generations of Russian people studied from this book, which absorbed all modern knowledge in the field of mathematics.
In 1708, “Geometry of Slavic land surveying” was published - the first book of the civil press. On the title page it was noted that the book was printed in a new font, “published with new typographical embossing”, the place and date of publication were indicated - “In the reigning great city of Moscow” on March 1, 1708. “Geometry” was of an applied nature - it gave not only theoretical knowledge, but and methods of their practical application in various branches of technology, knowledge in the field of drawing. The book contains many drawings and images of fortresses. The initial circulation of “Geometry” (200 copies) did not satisfy the need, and it was reprinted several times and distributed in handwritten copies.
The wars waged by Russia and the creation of the army and navy created a great need for specialized literature on military engineering, fortification, artillery technology, navigation, shipbuilding, etc.
In 1708 the first printed technical book was published. It was dedicated to hydraulic engineering and was called “The Book of Methods for Creating Free Flow of Rivers,” abbreviated as “The Book of Weeping.” It was a translation of a book by engineer Buyer, published anonymously in Amsterdam in 1696. Its appearance was associated with the construction of waterways necessary for the development of industry and trade.
Urban planning in Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century, especially the construction of St. Petersburg, increased interest in architecture and construction technology. Connected with this is the publication of a book by the outstanding Italian architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, who together with Michelangelo built the Cathedral of St. Peter's in Rome, "The Rule of the Five Rules of Architecture." The publication contains more than a hundred engravings with explanatory text. The books on architecture are accompanied by an album of engravings entitled “Kunsts of Gardens”. The engravings show garden pavilions, gazebos, trellises, vases, etc.
Due to the development of navigation, the demand for books on astronomy increased. The “Book of the World View, or Opinion on the Heavenly Globes” was published twice. This is the first printed publication in which the Copernican system was presented in a popular form. The author of the book, Dutch mechanic, physicist and mathematician Christiaan Huygens, described the structure of the solar system, the structure and movement of the planets, gave an idea of the distances of the universe, and developed the idea of organic life on the planets.
“Geography, or a Brief Description of the Earth’s Circle” was published several times. The book contains additions concerning Russia.
“General Geography” by B. Vareniya, translated from Latin by F. Polikarpov, gives a physical and geographical description of the globe. Separate chapters are devoted to “ship science.” The book uses mathematical and astronomical information.
In terms of the number of publications, humanities literature occupied a prominent place in Peter's time. Of the 50 books on the humanities, 26 are from historical disciplines, 12 from politics, 8 from philology, 1 from jurisprudence, and 1 from library science. Historical works were published especially frequently. This is the “Synopsis” of I. Gisel, “The History... of the Devastation of Jerusalem”, “A Brief Description of the Wars from the Books of the Caesarians”. In the “Introduction to European History” by the German scientist S. Pufendorf, not only does the chronology of events appear, but for the first time an attempt is made to generalize historical facts. The “Book of Mars, or military affairs” can also be classified as historical books. These are separate reports and “journals” about battles in the Northern War and engravings. They were collected over a number of years and stitched together only as needed.
“Butts of How to Write Different Compliments” played a big role in changing the Moscow way of life, in which new samples of letters were given. “Butts” taught politeness, respect for the individual, and introduced the “you” address for the first time. The same role was played by the book “Friendly Conversations” by Erasmus of Rotterdam, which contained examples of polite conversation. There are still few works of fiction. Translations of ancient classics were mainly published - Aesop's fables and others.
Prose and poetic greetings for various special days, collections of moralizing stories, war stories, and proverbs were also published. Calendars were published in large numbers every year. They also provided a variety of information from history, astronomy, and medicine. The first “January” calendar was published in Amsterdam at the Tessing printing house. In Moscow, it was printed in civil type in 1708. The circulation of books at this time ranged from 100 to 1200 copies, but alphabet books, church books and government decrees were published in much larger quantities. In total, in the first quarter of the 18th century. 561 books were published, including about 300 civilian books, which have now become a bibliographic rarity.
The first Russian printed newspaper
Throughout the first quarter of the 18th century. The first Russian printed newspaper Vedomosti was published, which replaced the handwritten Chimes.
The first issues of Vedomosti were published on December 16-17, 1702, but printed copies have not survived. On December 27, 1702, the “Journal, or Daily Painting,” which was repaired during the recent siege near the Noteburkh fortress, was published in a thousand copies. September from the 26th in 1702." The first surviving issue is dated January 2, 1703. The beginning of the Russian periodical press is counted from there. “Gazettes” usually consisted of four pages of 1/12 of a sheet; individual issues were published in a larger format with the number of pages up to 22.
Until 1710, Vedomosti was printed in small church font, from February 1 (12), 1710 - in civil font, but the most important issues were also reprinted in the former Cyrillic font for wider distribution. Since 1714, most of the Vedomosti circulation was printed in St. Petersburg.
The circulation of Vedomosti ranged from tens to several thousand copies. The frequency was uncertain. There were also handwritten collections of Vedomosti. The topics of Vedomosti are varied. Vedomosti appeared at a time when Russia was straining all its forces to repel Charles XII. The publication of Vedomosti was supposed to help launch counter-propaganda. Carefully selecting facts, the newspaper, in reports from the theater of military operations, created a broad and eloquent picture of the increase in Russia's military power and the increase in its superiority over the Swedish army.
The newspaper often published materials about the successes of Russian industry and popularized the successes of education. In the first issue that has reached us, we read: “By the command of His Majesty, Moscow schools are multiplying, and 45 people listen to philosophy and have already graduated from dialectics. More than 300 people study at the Sturman Mathematical School and embrace good science.” Vedomosti reported on events in foreign life, covering them from the point of view of Russian state interests. Trade information directly related to the interests of the Russian merchants occupied a large place in the newspaper. The newspaper was edited alternately by F. Polikarpov, M. Avramov and B. Volkov. The court chronicle was kept (since 1720) by the translator of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Yakov Sinyavich.
The newspaper's circulation did not always sell out, and the remainder, as a rule, was used as material for binding books. The publication of Vedomosti was discontinued by the successors of Peter I after his death.