Literature and Writers in Finljandskaja Gazeta

This study examines publications of the Finljandskaja Gazeta newspaper, issued in Helsinki between 1900 and 1917, concerning literature and writers. These have been classed into a number of thematic groups. The selection of names highlighted in the newspaper, the established literary hierarchy and reviews of works all indicate that the “literary” section was maintained by critics of mediocre ability and conservative views. Their articles were compilatory in nature, relying on other materials, above all from the Novoe Vremja newspaper. The authority of these materials was supported by their publication in the “national” Russian press; that is, they had already been vetted by censors, superiors and other readers.