"Voronezh Provincial Gazette" in shaping the spiritual reading circle of the Region's Population in 1843–1845

Abstract

The article examines the materials of the newspaper «Voronezh Provincial Gazette» of the mid-forties. In the 19th century, the types of publications characteristic of this period are highlighted, their quantitative assessment is carried out in order to determine the directions of the spiritual sphere of life of the population, which were reflected on the pages of the first newspaper of the Voronezh province. In the course of the research, more than two hundred publications with religious features were identified, the typologization of the selected materials was carried out, and the priority of religious topics of the «Voronezh Provincial Gazette» was analyzed in the context of each calendar year and in dynamics during the period under study. In the course of the study, it was revealed that most often in the period from 1843 to 1845 years, advertisements for bidding were published, mainly for the supply of necessary products and materials for charitable institutions, and the establishment of fairs on church holidays was regularly reported. With the help of this newspaper, it was possible to find out information about the publication of books of a religious nature and get acquainted with their contents. The newspaper covered information about the pressing problems of the region, including the facts of the anonymous abandonment of children. In addition to these topics, the «Voronezh Provincial Gazette» published information about many other spheres of spiritual life, which together, based on the results of the study, made it possible to recognize this newspaper as a fairly significant link in the formation of the circle of spiritual reading in the Voronezh region in 1843–1845 years.